How we rank schools
SchoolWise is independent — no school can pay to rank higher. Here is exactly how our ordering and badges work, so parents and schools can trust what they see.
What the ranking is built on
Every ranking starts with official KHDA inspection ratings— the Dubai regulator's independent judgement of each school, on a six-point scale from Outstanding down to Weak. We layer verified parent reviews on top as a secondary signal. We never sell placement, and claiming or completing a school profile cannot move a school ahead of a better-rated one.
Two ways to sort: Proven and Rising
Proven Schools (the default) ranks by a school's current KHDA rating first — every Outstanding school sits above every Very Good one, matching how parents scan. Among schools with the same current rating, the one with the longer, stronger inspection history ranks higher, so a school rated Outstanding for a decade sits above one that reached Outstanding only last year.
Ones to Watch answers: which school is performing at its best right now and heading in the strongest direction?It looks at the two most recent inspections and how far they've moved from the school's earlier history — so a school improving quickly, or holding the very top rating, both rank high. Recent parent reviews carry a little more weight in this view.
How parent reviews are counted
A school with three glowing reviews shouldn't automatically beat one with fifty reviews averaging slightly lower — a few reviews aren't yet reliable. So we use a weighted average: a school's rating is pulled toward the platform average until it has enough reviews to stand on its own. This keeps the ranking fair and makes it much harder to move a school with a handful of reviews.
A school with very little inspection history (a single inspection) is also treated with more caution, so one exceptional result can't outrank a genuinely proven record.
School badges
This school's most recent KHDA inspection improved on the one before it, reaching Very Good or Outstanding. Minor climbs that stay below Very Good aren't badged yet.
This school was rated Outstanding in its two most recent KHDA inspections.We look at the two most recent inspections rather than three, because KHDA paused inspections during 2020–2022, and many schools' older result predates that gap.
This school held a Very Good or Outstanding KHDA rating across its two most recent inspections. It recognises reliably high-rated schools that aren't at the very top or improving into a badge.
A school can hold only one badge at a time — if it is both improving and at the top, Rising Star is shown. Badges need at least two inspections; a single inspection can't establish a trend.
Honest limitations
KHDA hasn't rated every school — a small number of newer schools have no inspection yet, and appear lower because we have no quality signal for them. Ratings also predate the 2020–2022 inspection pause for some schools. We show the underlying inspection history on every school's profile so you can judge for yourself.
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