Abu Dhabi: Private schools across the country have activated the ‘Academic Difficulties’ indicator to provide a proactive response by employing artificial intelligence technologies to analyse data and identify students facing learning challenges.
This is based on a set of evidence-based factors and criteria, helping to understand their needs and guide appropriate intervention and support using tiered intervention models. These models begin with in-class support and progress to more specialised interventions tailored to the student's individual needs.
The factors include academic achievement, behaviour, language difficulties, additional educational needs, and circumstances affecting the student or their family, in addition to assessments, referrals, and parental involvement.
In detail, private schools have confirmed the activation of a data-driven system with continuous monitoring, combining educational assessment tools, the professional expertise of teachers and support teams, and the use of artificial intelligence technologies to analyse indicators and identify educational needs. They emphasised the importance of partnership with families in understanding the factors affecting student learning, monitoring the effectiveness of interventions, and refining them based on the student's response and progress.
Three-tiered model
In letters sent to students' families, the Ministry outlined a three-tiered model to support students facing academic difficulties. The first tier focuses on comprehensive, evidence-based instruction provided to all students in the classroom, emphasising building positive relationships and creating a supportive environment.
Student progress is continuously monitored, and those who do not respond to interventions at this level are moved to the next level for additional instruction to achieve their academic and behavioural goals. The third level of intervention is the ‘intensive level’, which focuses on specialised, individualised instruction requiring tailored intervention to the student's specific needs and may include assistance from external specialists.
The schools emphasised the importance of developing intervention programs using a comprehensive, structured, and phased approach. This approach is based on assessing the underlying factors that led to a student being considered at risk of academic difficulty.
It aims to comprehensively address the needs of these students through collaboration between school and home, adopting a holistic approach within the school that seeks supportive improvement in both contexts, implementing high-quality intervention programs grounded in culturally and linguistically relevant research, and employing adaptive teaching to support inclusion. The approach reinforces the principle that every student has the capacity to learn and reach their full potential.
Cooperative families
The schools explained that the elements of the intervention program for students at risk of academic difficulty also include integrating an evidence-based data collection and assessment system, including comprehensive and diagnostic screening, and monitoring progress to guide decision-making at each level of support.
This system utilises problem-solving techniques to develop individualised learning plans, employs a research-based positive behavioural approach in the school and classroom to support academic achievement and psychosocial learning, and implements a collaborative approach to analysing student data and coordinating the intervention process.
The schools urged families to cooperate in monitoring any indicators or signs that might suggest academic difficulties in their children, and to share any relevant observations or information that could contribute to understanding the student's needs and the factors affecting their educational progress.
They emphasised that effective partnership between the school and the family is essential for the early detection of educational challenges and helps in taking appropriate measures in a timely manner, ensuring the provision of support and interventions tailored to the student's needs, and the continuous monitoring of their academic and behavioural development.
Adnan Abbas, Executive Director of Al Nahda National Schools in Abu Dhabi, affirmed that academic difficulty monitoring programs are an important tool for identifying challenges students may face early on. He explained that "their goal is not limited to identifying weaknesses in academic achievement, but extends to understanding the reasons and factors affecting the student's progress, whether they are academic, behavioural, social, or related to additional educational needs."
He said, “These programs allow the school to intervene promptly and develop support plans tailored to each student’s needs, rather than waiting until difficulties worsen and negatively impact their academic performance, self-confidence, and motivation to learn. Furthermore, these educational interventions will be supported by artificial intelligence, as schools are developing and implementing technological programs and solutions that enable them to analyse data more effectively, understand students’ needs, and tailor educational interventions to each student’s specific requirements. This will enhance the school’s ability to provide more precise and responsive support.”
He emphasised that the effectiveness of these programs depends on a genuine partnership between the school and the family, along with continuous monitoring of the student’s response to the interventions. He affirmed that the data and observations collected by the school are used to guide educational decisions and develop support plans, not to create fixed classifications for students.
Interventions are tiered according to the student’s level of need, ranging from in-class support for all students to specialised and intensive interventions when necessary. Parents are involved in the monitoring and evaluation stages, in developing the support plan, and in tracking the student’s progress.
Meeting students' needs
Educational consultant Shereen Farag emphasised the importance of having an early detection system for academic difficulties, "because it helps us understand the student's needs before the educational gap widens, and thus support can be provided in a timely and appropriate manner."
She added: "The earlier the intervention, the greater the student's chances of regaining their academic progress and maintaining their self-confidence and motivation to learn, especially since academic difficulties do not occur suddenly, but are often preceded by a set of indicators that can be detected early, whether through assessment results, class participation, achievement level, or changes in motivation, behaviour, and interaction with learning. Most importantly, the goal of monitoring is not to classify the student or place them in a failing category, but rather to understand what they need so that we can help them succeed."
She continued: “Gradual intervention models are among the most effective practices in addressing students’ needs because they begin in the classroom and with the teacher’s daily practices. If follow-up shows that the student needs deeper support, the school moves to a more focused level of intervention. What distinguishes this model is that it doesn’t wait for the student to reach an advanced stage of difficulty, but rather relies on continuous monitoring and measuring the impact of the intervention, then adjusting the level of support based on the student’s response. This makes educational decisions more flexible and accurate.”
She explained that the real contribution that artificial intelligence can make to the monitoring and follow-up process lies in its ability to analyse large amounts of data and link a range of indicators simultaneously, such as academic achievement, assessment results, attendance, participation, and progress patterns. This helps schools detect certain patterns or risk indicators at an early stage and gives teachers and support teams a more comprehensive picture of the student. She pointed out that artificial intelligence in schools is a tool to support educational decision-making, not a replacement for the teacher or professional judgment.
She stressed that parents are key partners in the success of the student support system, because they contribute to providing a more comprehensive picture of the student’s needs and the factors that may affect his learning. Continuous communication between the family and the school helps to unify efforts and follow up on the support plan more effectively. The more the parent is a partner in understanding the student’s needs and following up on his progress, the more consistent and sustainable the interventions become, and this is reflected positively on the student’s progress and motivation to learn.