By numbers, Jordan's education system has improved significantly since its founding. The literacy rate for people over age of 15 in Jordan was once a mere 33% in 1960, but by the turn of the 21st century, it rose to 93%.
Jordan has a unique educational philosophy, which mirrors its geopolitical and religious status. For example, Islamic Theology is a mandatory subject for all Jordanian Muslims, and the Ministry of Education states the following as part of its educational philosophy:
"(b) The national, bases of pan-Arab and human:
1. The Hashemite kingdom of Jordan is parliamentary, hereditary and monarchic state where loyalty is for God, the homeland and the king.
2. Jordan is a part of the Arab Nation and the Jordanian people are indivisible from the Islamic and the Arab Nations.
3. The Arabic language is an essential pillar in the existence of the Arab Nation; its unity and renaissance.
4. The Palestine cause is crucial to the Jordanian people."
Primary and secondary schools are free of cost, and secondary students who wish to partake in higher education take the national Tawjihi exam. The Tawjihi exam determines what opportunities are available to an individual-- they influence what types of major a student can take, and even what sorts of jobs they can have. As a result, the Tawjihi exam is taken very seriously by Jordanian students and teachers.
Private schools in Jordan often have “Tawjihi Equivalency” guides on their pages-- since one needs a Tawjihi score in order to find a job in Jordan, one can use the scores they received on SAT, AP, A-Levels, IB, ACT, or other tests in order to receive an equivalent score in the Tawjihi.
Unfortunately, this leads to a type of teaching style that encourages rote memorization of answers. According to Mona Smadi, materials are taught by poorly trained teachers and there is little exploratory/discussion-based learning. In short, the system is designed to produce compliant, obedient workers with little creative thought.
In addition, there is much disparity between the education available for the rich and the poor. In public schools, many as 50 students may be in a single classroom, and the textbook and other resources used may be out of date or in considerable disrepair. Jordanian students whom the author spoke to say that there can be fist fights at school, and the teacher "does not care". Private school curriculums can differ considerably from the public school ones in terms of difficulty and accuracy. In private schools, there is much focus on universities. Jordanian students in private schools tend to apply for universities overseas-- usually the United States, United Kingdom, or Canada.