Training & Support
Global assessment provider GL Education has agreed a partnership with Diglossia, the leading provider of Arabic language assessments that measure proficiency across the three domains of vocabulary, reading, and writing.
Under the agreement, GL Education will add the TALA assessment, designed specifically for students who are mother-tongue speakers of Arabic, to the portfolio of assessments that it offers to schools across the MENA region. The agreement will help schools already using GL Education’s suite of assessments – including the Cognitive Abilities Test and the New Group Reading Test – gain a broader perspective on their students, providing them with a much more comprehensive understanding of student progress, as well as helping them identify untapped potential and uncover unseen barriers to learning.
TALA provides a standards-based measure of Arabic reading and writing proficiency of children against the widely adopted Arabic standards developed by Dr. Hanada Taha. Its scores provide schools with the evidence they need to make informed decisions regarding student progress. The assessment is especially helpful for schools that teach in English who want to better understand the progress of students who are speaking Arabic in their home environment.
Available for school grades 3, 4, 6, 7, 8 and 10, TALA is a twice-yearly benchmark assessment. The test is computer adaptive, allowing for the delivery of individualised assessments targeted to each student's ability level. The reading test is administered via computer or tablet using a standard web browser, with results available immediately. The writing test is paper and pencil based and is scored by trained and certified native Arabic speakers.
Greg Watson, Chief Executive of GL Education, said: “Our assessments are already well used across schools in the UAE and this partnership is a logical and natural next step for us. We have long-admired Diglossia’s TALA assessment and now that we can offer it to our customers we will be able to provide schools with an even more complete picture of their students.”
Mimi Jett, Founder and CEO, Diglossia, added; “We launched in 2014 with the aim of promoting Arabic literacy in the MENA region. Our assessments address the unique needs of a very fast-moving language education landscape and we have high hopes that this partnership with GL Education will widen awareness and take-up of the TALA assessment.”
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About GL Education
GL Education has worked in partnership with schools for 40 years to develop a suite of assessments that support better outcomes for students. Its tests provide teachers with a comprehensive understanding of a student’s ability, attainment and attitudes, as well as any barriers to learning they may have. They are built on the best academic research and have been extensively trialled to help teachers make quick and effective interventions.
About Diglossia
Diglossia FZ-LLC is dedicated to fostering language development and literacy throughout the Middle East and North Africa. We partner with leading language experts, academics and educational institutions to develop strategic, standards-based, data-driven solutions for the unique challenges of modern language education. Our suite of language assessments provide educators with valid and reliable data to help understand individual student progress and make informed decisions on program effectiveness, adopting new curricula, and targeting professional development needs. Diglossia FZ-LLC is a wholly owned UAE subsidiary, licensed and registered through the twofour54 Media Zone Authority.
