Tests and scores

Updated 29 October 2026

Progress Test in Science (PTS)

What GL's science test covers, which level your child sits, why the scores in UAE schools run high, and how to help at home.

What PTS tests

GL says PTS measures students' knowledge and understanding of science, how they apply it, and their ability to work scientifically. Questions are grouped into three reporting areas:

• Knowledge and understanding: recognising and recalling scientific facts and ideas.
• Application of knowledge and understanding: using that knowledge in new situations, including everyday uses and issues.
• Working scientifically: how scientists answer questions, such as observing over time, looking for patterns, classifying, fair tests and collecting, analysing and presenting data.

The question-by-question analysis on the teacher's report also splits results into biology, chemistry and physics. GL notes that some questions revisit content from earlier years, and a few are harder questions to stretch the most able.

How the test works

• Untimed, but GL expects most children to take about an hour.
• No calculators.
• Digital or paper. The digital version (levels 8 to 15) runs on a computer or tablet with instructions through headphones. Paper exists for levels 8 to 14.
• Question style. GL's technical notes describe true/false and multiple-choice questions, some asking for two correct answers.
• Reading help. The person running the test may read a word aloud if asked, but must not explain its meaning or reword the question.

Which PTS level your child sits

Levels from GL's international table. There is no PTS 12; Year 7 has no end-of-year science test, and the start-of-Year-7 test PTS 11T is not available in the UAE. "International average" is the mean score of international schools in GL's 2023 benchmark table (the UK average is always 100). "Margin of error" is GL's 90% confidence band, rounded, for an average child; GL does not list one for PTS 15, which is standardised for international schools only.

In Dubai and Abu Dhabi, Years 4 to 10 sit the Progress Tests each year, usually in May or June, with science not required in Year 7. See GL Progress Tests explained for each emirate.

What your child's PTS score means

The report gives a Standard Age Score (SAS), a National Percentile Rank, a stanine from 1 to 9 and, if your child has taken PTS before, a progress category. The SAS is your child's mark adjusted for their age and compared with a national sample of UK children of the same age.

Stanine bands are GL's. Percentiles are worked out from the SAS scale (average 100, standard deviation 15); the NPR on your report comes from GL's own tables and can differ slightly.

Two cautions specific to science

The class average is high. In GL's benchmark, international schools scored further above the UK average in science than in English or maths. At PTS 8 the international average was 116.5. A child on 108 is above average nationally but may be in the lower half of the class.

The margin of error is wider. For an average child, GL's 90% band is about 9 points either side at PTS 10, against about 6 in maths at the same age. One year's science score is a rougher guide, so look at the trend over two or three years.

How to help at home

PTS samples the science taught at school, so there is no special preparation and no official practice paper for parents. Useful habits:

• Talk about the science your child is learning and the words that go with it: the more confidently they use the vocabulary, the easier the questions are to read.
• Read tables and graphs together, for example weather data or sports results, because collecting and presenting data is part of working scientifically.
• Ask "how could we test that?" about everyday questions, which is the thinking behind fair-test questions.
• Read every option. Some questions need two correct answers, so encourage your child to check all the choices before answering.

For the difference between Progress Tests and CAT4, see GL Progress Tests explained; for what each number on the report means, see GL Assessment scores explained.