Dubai’s private schools have reached top 10 rankings globally across every core subject evaluated in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2025 cycle, achieving a central milestone set out in the emirate's long-term educational strategy.
Data released on 8 September 2026 by the Government of Dubai Media Office confirms that private institutions ranked sixth worldwide in reading, alongside eighth-place finishes in both mathematics and science. Administered by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the assessment sampled 9,600 students across 168 private schools in the emirate.
The results reflect significant movement from the previous PISA cycle in 2022, when Dubai private schools ranked ninth in mathematics, 13th in reading, and 14th in science. Since first participating in the OECD benchmark in 2009, average test scores in private schools across the emirate have increased by 37 points in mathematics, 36 points in science, and 22 points in reading.
Among the various educational systems offered across Dubai, International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum schools delivered the highest overall scores, averaging 557 points in science, 542 in mathematics, and 538 in reading. Emirati students in private education also recorded steady progress from earlier baseline figures, rising by 31 points in mathematics, 30 points in science, and 18 points in reading.
The independent OECD results provide objective confirmation of school standards across the private sector. The benchmark fulfils a primary objective of the Dubai Education 33 Strategy, to improve global educational standards across the emirate.
His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence of the UAE, and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai, commended the broader academic community for the achievement, and noted that the progress reflects combined efforts across school leadership, teachers, and families at the start of the new academic year, while supporting national goals focused on long-term human development.