Placement Assessment

GEMS World Academy - Dubai admits students according to the Ministry of Education and KHDA’s regulations as well as the GEMS admissions policies. In conjunction with previous academic reports, placement assessments are designed to determine a student’s readiness for the GEMS World Academy - Dubai programme including any language and/or special needs support for which additional fees are charged.

Our assessments are conducted in English, however students who are non-speakers or new to the language are assessed using English as an Additional Language materials (Pre-K to Grade 5 only). Parents are encouraged to make sure that their child is well rested and fed prior to the session as being tired or hungry can adversely affect their assessment.

The assessment process differs by grade level as indicated below:

Nursery

• Students are invited for an observational/practical assessment to determine Academy readiness. The sessions are generally conducted in small groups whenever possible, one-on-one as required, and last approximately 30 minutes.

Pre-K to KG2

• Students are invited for an observational/practical assessment to determine Academy readiness. The sessions are generally conducted in small groups whenever possible, one-on-one as required, and last approximately 30 minutes.
• Students in the early childhood programme must be potty-trained by the start of the Academy.

Grades 1 – 12

• For Grades 3 – 5 there is an additional online component, using the computer CAT4 test.

Grades 6 – 12

• Assessments are conducted using the computer CAT4 test and last approximately 1.5 hours.

If your child has recently completed CAT4 testing in their current school, these results can be used and the onsite GEMS World Academy - Dubai assessment can be waived.