Supplementary exams from July 18

Students who failed in less than four subjects in the main Qatar Secondary School Certificate (QSSC) exams will sit for supplementary tests beginning on July 18 for duration of eight days with a two-day break. Results of the supplementary tests will be announced through the SEC website and SMS.

The Evaluation Institute of the Supreme Education Council recently sent out a circular to all the independent secondary schools containing the schedule for the second round (supplementary) of the QSSC exams. Students who were absent during the main exam and those who failed in less than four subjects in the main exam are required to sit for the second time. Students who failed in more than four subjects are not eligible to sit for the supplementary exams.

The exam will continue for duration of eight days with a two-day break. Five schools have identified as testing centers including: Khalifa Secondary Independent School for Boys, Al-Eiman Secondary Independent School for Girls, Al Resala Secondary Independent School for Girls and Al Shahaniya Secondary Independent School for Girls.

The SEC announced the results of the QSSC exams on Thursday July 1, 2010 after the approval of HE Mr. Saad Bin Ibrahim Al Mahmoud, Minister of Education and Higher Education and the Secretary-General of the SEC. He issued directives to all schools to start effective July 6, 2010 to provide tuition in all subjects for students who would be sitting for the second round of exam.

The QSSC for 12 graders in the independent schools measures what the students have gained and learned, through “external tests” administered by the Evaluation Institute, and “internal assessment activities” administered by the teacher under the supervision of the school, to ensure constructive and comprehensive assessment. In spite of the relative difference between the two assessments, the merging of both provides more accurate and realistic result about the student’s achievements and performance.

The role of the external test is to support the assessment process in giving more realistic and accurate picture on the level of the overall performance of the students and their capabilities. This is a global trend that many countries started to adopt in their educational systems to reach maximum fairness and objectivity there is in assessing students’ capacities and potential and to accurately measure their level of attainment.