Page 30 - ALEF EDUCATION PR REPORT - FEBRUARY 2024

2/7/24, 11:05 AM Alef Education collaborates with MetaMetrics – Bizpreneur Middle East
Alef Education collaborates with MetaMetrics

LATEST NEWS, NEWS February 6, 2024 News

Alef Education, a UAE-based global leader in education technology, announces a strategic
collaboration with MetaMetrics®, the US-based developer of the Lexile® Framework for Reading, to
launch an Arabic reading scale to improve the literacy skills of approximately 100 million K-12 Arabic
speakers across the Middle East and North Africa. The unique scale is set to become the de facto
standard for Modern Standard Arabic, just as the Lexile® Framework for Reading is now the
standard for English, as ministries of education in the MENA region strive to preserve and promote
Arabic language and culture.
This innovative collaboration aims to provide native Arabic speakers with a powerful tool to improve
their literacy in Arabic, promoting a more effective and personalized approach to improving literacy in
the region. By leveraging the expertise of Alef Education and the MetaMetrics® Lexile® Framework
for Reading, the initiative aims to provide students across the MENA region with the foundational
skills they need for academic success and lifelong learning.
Benefits of an Arabic reading scale include the ability for governments to identify and measure
students’ reading levels and progress over time, regardless of the reading materials used, by
comparing geographic regions, school districts, and individual schools using the same scale. In
addition, publishers, EdTech companies, and authors of Arabic language content will be able to link
their reading materials and assessments to the unified scale to meet learners’ needs for reading
materials. It will be easier for teachers to measure their students’ levels and create data-driven plans
for their individual development. At the same time, parents will understand their children’s reading
levels so that they can further develop and improve their reading skills.
Recent data from the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) shows that six Arab
countries scored an average of 406 points in their PISA exams, while the international OECD
average is 480. The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) shows that
eight Arab countries scored an average of 432 points in elementary school and 441 points in
secondary school, while the global average is 500. The Progress in International Reading Literacy
Study (PIRLS) shows that seven Arab countries scored an average of 441, while the worldwide
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