Aafaaq Al-jaam'h
42
Mountain Top Newsletter
SAUDI ARABIA AND PISA, By: Rizwan Ghani
In education, Saudi Arabia needs to address standardization of education and its assessment
framework, bringing education and evaluation standards at par with international standards, help
local students compete at international level, reduce share of expenditure on overseas education
and link education with local job markets to improve and sustain local economy. In my view,
Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) of Organization for Economic Co-operation
and Development (OECD) is one model that can help Saudi policy makers to address country’s
education challenges and help participate in international assessments.
PISA was started by OECD in 1997 to help countries improve their education systems without
changing local curriculums and monitor the outcomes of education systems in terms of student
achievements within a common internationally agreed framework. The program provides a basis
for member countries for international collaboration in defining and implementing education
policies, evaluate quality, equity and efficiency of national education system, allows governments
and policy makers to measure scientifically what students can do (than what they know), show
features common to high performing students, schools and education systems and draw policy
lessons. Seventy countries including 34 OECD states are PISA members. Together, they constitute
90 percent of world’s economy.
Under PISA, every three years students are evaluated in reading, mathematics and science. Every
four years, surveys are conducted. In PISA 2009, 470,000 students of member states were tested.
PISA defines students as a 15-year- old student who has completed his or her r school education and
is about to join higher education. In practice, the tests and surveys include students from grade 7 to
13. In PISA tests, a difference of 39 score points in student performance is equivalent to one year of
school education. PISA 2009 report comprises of seven books is available on www.pisa.oecd.org.
In terms of reading test, PISA uses term “reading literacy” instead of “reading” or “literacy”
to evaluate student’s ability to apply knowledge and skills in real life. To keep pace with use
of technology in real life, PISA reading literacy evaluation includes reading of electronic texts,
computerized test of reading and understanding electronic text. Accordingly, PISA has developed a
reading assessment framework, which includes print reading and electronic text assessment (ETA).
The reading results of PISA 2009 show that: a) students’ “reading habits” play an important
role in their results. Reading habits in PISA include enjoyment of reading, time spent reading for
enjoyment, diversity of reading material, diversity of online reading activities and reading for
school. b) the students who were aware of “approaches to learning” strategies like memorization,
elaboration and summarization performed better than students who are unaware of these strategies.
c) The students who approached reading with definite objectives scored better. d) the students who
enjoyed leisure reading were better readers. Students who spent 2 hours daily on reading for
enjoyment and were aware of learning strategies scored 90 points more on average as compared
to those who spent the same amount of time on reading but failed to pass (reading level 2) because
they were unaware of learning strategies.
The survey established relation between type of materials students read and their performance
in reading examinations. The score points of students reading fiction, comic books, non-fiction,
When defining one of its important aspects, Islam, it means
complete submission to Allah by choice and conviction, not through
seduction or compulsion. Islam accommodates and welcomes
all people as brothers and sisters regardless of their distinctive/
particular affiliations or backgrounds. The Islamic attitude towards
the followers of other religions is not only to show tolerance towards
their beliefs, but also to affirm a non-negotiable Islamic principle of
tolerance and religious responsibility.
«There is no compulsion in [accepting] religion. The right course
has become clear from error.» (The Qur’an 2: 256)
In fact, Islam through the course of its history has granted the
people of other faiths the highest degree of tolerance by allowing
them to follow their way, although some of their practices might
have been in conflict with the religion of the majority. It was this
degree of tolerance that the Muslims adopted towards their nonMuslim citizens.
There is another aspect of this matter which cannot be found in
the written laws, nor can it be enforced by courts or governments:
it is the spirit of tolerance which underlies upright attitudes,
benevolent dealings, respect for one’s neighbors, and all the
sincere sentiments of piety, compassion, and courtesy. Execution
and report of such attitudes are required of every Muslim and
cannot be obtained through constitutional legislation or court
jurisdiction.�
Many Qur›anic teachings have emphasized dealings with
non-Muslims with justice and respect, especially those who live in
peace with the Muslims and do not raise enmity against them.
«Allah does not forbid you concerning those who do not fight
you because of religion and do not expel you from your homes
from being righteous towards them and acting justly towards them.
Indeed, Allah loves those who act justly.» (The Qur›an 60:8)
Although Muslims might disagree with other ideological
systems and religious dogmas, it should not prevent them from
demonstrating the correct manner of discussion and interaction
with non-Muslims:
«And do not argue with the People of the Scripture (Christians
and Jews) except in a way that is best, except for those who commit
injustice among them, and say we believe in that which has been
revealed to us and revealed to you. And our God and your God
is one; and we are Muslims [in submission] to Him.» (The Qur’an
29: 46)
In this context, it seems appropriate to raise the question: Is
magazines and newspapers were 53, -2, 22, 15 and 16 respectively. Out of these students, 31
percent read fiction, 23 percent comic books, 18 percent non-fiction, 58 percent magazines, and
61 percent newspapers.
PISA divides readers into six groups based on their reading performance, reading habits and
awareness of approaches to learning. Seventeen percent students fall in group-1 (deep and wide),
25 percent in group-2 (deep and narrow), 29 percent in group-3 (deep and highly restricted), 5
percent in group-4 (surface and wide), 10 percent in group-5 (surface and narrow) and 13 percent
in group-6 (surface and highly restricted). It allows improvement of weak and strong readers and
help address the complex issue of student performance versus teaching standards. For example, the
results of Argentinean students in regular education system and out of regular education system offer
illuminating insight. The regular students scored 439, 421 and 439 in reading, mathematics and
science and the stay-at-home students scored 335, 337 and 341 in the three subjects respectively.
Saudi policy makers can use the six group based approach to achieve two objectives: a) hold
an electronic one page survey at the start of every semester to categorize students into six groups
so that weak readers can be familiarized with approaches to learning and reading habits to bridge
the gap with strong reader. b) ask general education ministries divide ten-year-old students into six
groups to make students aware of reading habits and approaches to learning at an early age and
improve strong and weak readers from an early age.
PISA 2009 results showed that despite increase of 35 to 70 percent increase in education budgets,
the reading standards have dropped by one percent between 2000 and 2009. Similarly, the girls
continue to score 20 score points more than boys for the last ten years. Results also show that girls score
more because they are more aware of reading strategies and boys tend to associate reading as “girl
thing”. This underperformance of boys on average results in 20 percent loss to national economies.
Policy makers need to improve reading habits of boys to reduce losses to the national economy.
The results show that the students coming from poor socio-economic backgrounds perform
poorly as compared to their rich counterparts mostly due to non-availability of reading material
and leisure time. Results show that awareness of reading strategies and reading habits helped
improve their results. The report indirectly shows that increase in poverty and lack of leisure reading
time results in poor reading scores. For scoring, PISA uses scoring guide of no credit, partial credit
or full credit for each answer. Sample questions are available on http://www.pisa.oecd.org/
dataoecd/47/23/41943106.pdf.
Finally, 70 OECD member states are successfully using PISA since 1997 to keep pace with
international standards of education, participate in international assessments, review and update
national educations. PISA assessment framework measure student abilities and the question difficulty
on a single continuum. The program helps to learn about the strengths and innovations of education
systems of other countries. Saudi policy makers can study PISA model to address higher education
and general education challenges, review and update assessment frameworks, participate in
international assessments without changing national curriculum and language of instruction and
develop foundations for international accreditations.
TOLERANCE IN ISLAM
By: Prof. Abdallah H. Al-Kahtany
Director of the Research Center
tolerance of other religions as preached by Islam a matter left to
the Muslims to decide about? As a matter of fact, tolerance in Islam
has ideological basis in the Qur’an and the teachings of Prophet
Muhammad, and it is not subject to any human interference.
Therefore, it is a constant Islamic principle that does not change
over time or place. According to the Qur’an, every human being is
to be honored as Allah has honored him/her:
“And we have certainly honored the children of Adam, and
carried them on the land and sea and provided for them of the
good things and preferred them over much of what We have
created with [definite] preference.” (The Qur’an 17:70)
Islam spread to all part of the world in order to transcend
and elevate humanity above racism, ignorance, superstitions and
injustice. Therefore, there was no need for forced conversion to the
true religion of God. It is basically up to people to use the intellect
with which God has bestowed them and make their choice. This
is the reason as to why hundreds of thousands of people keep
reverting to Islam as soon as they find out the truth about it. People
embrace Islam by their own free will and without any seduction or
compulsion. Many among them are scientists, politicians, lawyers,
evangelists and even people of fame: Cat Stephen (now Yusuf
Islam), the former famous pop singer; M. Hoffman, the German
Ambassador to Morocco; who has recently written an eye-opening
book titled, Islam is the Alternative; Morris Bucaille, the well known
French scientist accepted Islam after his long research in science
and religion that is summarized in his book, The Bible, The Qur›an
and Science; Mr. Olson, the Danish Ambassador to Saudi Arabia
who declared in a radio interview that : «If the people know the
reality of Islam, millions will embrace it». The list of those who
have sought the truth of Islam is too long to be mentioned here. It
includes people from all walks of life.
In his article “When the Moors Ruled Spain”, Thomas J.
Abercrombie (The National Geographic staff writer), revealed
many facts about the contributions with which Muslims had
presented the West. He also alluded to the justice of the Islamic
rule and tolerance: where Jews, Christians and Muslims lived
peacefully side by side for more than seven centuries. Then he
shifted 180 degrees to talk in brief about atrocities committed by
the Catholic Christians afterwards:
It was here, long after Alfonso VI that the first victims of a
growing Christian bigotry perished at the stake. In 1469 Prince
Ferdinand of Aragon wed Princess Isabella of Castile. While
waging war against the Moors to the south, they would view
as a threat the Muslims and Jews in their own lands. In 1480,
they established the Spanish Inquisition. Before it was over, three
centuries later, thousands of Muslims and Jews had died; an
estimated three million people were driven into exile. Short of its
leading businessmen, artists, agriculturalists, and scientists, Spain
would soon find itself victim of its own cruelty.�
Iriving (1973) in his book The Falcon of Spain, described the
position of Christians and Jews under the tolerant Muslim rule as
opposed to the savage intolerance by the Spanish rulers with the
blessings of the Pope:
Side by side with the new rulers lived the Christians and Jews in
peace. The latter, rich with commerce and industry, were content
to let the memory of oppression by the priest-ridden Goths sleep,
[Jews had been virtually eliminated from the Spanish Peninsula in
the seventh century by the Christians.] now that the prime authors
of it had disappeared. Learned in all the arts and sciences, cultured
and tolerant, they were treated by the Moors [Muslims of Spain]
with marked respect, and multiplied exceedingly all over Spain;
and, like the Christian Spaniards under Moorish rule – who were
called Mozarabes – had caused to thank their new masters for an
era of prosperity such as they had never known before.�
Such kind of tolerance had marked the relationship between
Muslims and Christians and Jews. Muslims gave people the
opportunity to decide on their own. Gibbon (1823) stressed the
fact that the Muslims of Spain abided by the teachings of Islam;
they did not oppress the Christians and the Jews, but rather treated
them with unparallel tolerance.
In times of tranquility and justice, the Christians have never been
compelled to renounce the Gospel or to embrace the Qur’an.�
In Islam, injustice is regarded as one of the greatest sins.
Therefore, oppressing people because they have different beliefs
is rejected. Prophet Muhammad said: “The supplication of an
oppressed person, even though he be a pagan, is heard (by Allah)
directly, without any veil.�»