The Complete Guide to the Qudurat Exam 2026: Sections, Attempts and Scores

The short answer in two lines. The General Aptitude Test, known as Qudurat, is a standardised exam from the Education and Training Evaluation Commission that measures your analytical and reasoning ability, not how much of the curriculum you memorised. It has 120 questions in two hours and five minutes, you get five attempts, and your result is valid for five years.

Together with your school GPA and Tahsili, it is one of the three numbers that decide your university admission. Every fact in this guide is taken from the Commission's official sources rather than from circulating study booklets. You will also find two tables rarely gathered in one place: the official section weightings, and a table of what your score actually means.

What does the exam really measure, and why can it not be memorised?

By the official definition, the exam measures readiness to learn regardless of proficiency in any particular subject. It does so across five abilities: reading comprehension, grasping logical relationships, solving problems built on basic mathematical concepts, inference, and measurement.

Notice the key phrase: regardless of proficiency in any particular subject. There is no set text you can memorise to guarantee a score, because the exam measures how you think rather than what you have accumulated.

Does that mean studying is pointless? Not at all. Training clearly improves your score, but it is training on skills and question patterns, not memorising information. That is why we built you a full training plan in our one-month Qudurat study schedule.

The difference between Qudurat and Tahsili in one line

Qudurat asks: how do you think? Tahsili asks: what did you learn from the curriculum?

The first has no syllabus and its training is skills-based; the second is drawn from secondary school subjects and can be studied directly. Both feed into your admission equation, so do not let effort on one cancel out the other. We cover the second in our Tahsili exam guide.

The two versions: science and literary

Qudurat is offered in two versions according to your secondary school track:

Qudurat for science specialisations, for students on the general track, the health and life sciences track, and the computer science and engineering track.

Qudurat for literary specialisations, for students on the sharia track and the business administration track.

The difference between them is not in the overall shape but in the internal mix of questions, as you will see in the two tables below. The clearest difference is that algebra appears in the science version and is entirely absent from the literary one.

The structure of the Qudurat exam in official numbers

• Number of sections: five
• Number of questions: 24 per section, 120 in total
• Duration: two hours and five minutes
• Question type: multiple choice
• Language: Arabic or English, by your choice
• The two parts: verbal and quantitative

A quick calculation that helps your training: your average time per question is roughly one minute. That is the rhythm you need to train at, not the unhurried pace of solving at home.

The verbal part: its areas and official weightings

The verbal part covers four areas: verbal analogy, sentence completion, contextual error, and reading comprehension. The official weighting of each as a share of the whole exam:

• Verbal analogy — Science track: 17% · Literary track: 21%
• Sentence completion — Science track: 7% · Literary track: 13%
• Contextual error — Science track: 10% · Literary track: 16%
• Reading comprehension — Science track: 21% · Literary track: 25%

Read that table strategically. Reading comprehension is the single largest area in the whole exam for both tracks, so anyone neglecting it is neglecting roughly a quarter of their score. And a literary track student faces a far heavier verbal load: three quarters of their exam is verbal, so their training should be too.

The quantitative part: its areas and official weightings

The quantitative part focuses on suitable mathematical problems requiring simple basic knowledge, where the ability to measure and infer matters more than long calculation:

• Arithmetic — Science track: 23% · Literary track: 13%
• Geometry — Science track: 10% · Literary track: 8%
• Algebra — Science track: 4% · Literary track: Not included
• Data interpretation — Science track: 8% · Literary track: 4%

The practical message for a science track student: arithmetic alone is close to a quarter of your exam, so master its basics before anything else. And for a literary track student: you have no algebra at all, so do not waste a single hour on it.

Paper or digital?

The exam is available in two forms, and each has its own trade-offs.

Paper is held in set windows during the year, results appear roughly a month after sitting it, and early registration costs less.

Digital gives you more flexible dates throughout the year, and its result is much faster: 3 to 5 working days.

When should you pick which? If a university admission deadline is close, digital is safer for the speed of the result. If you are planning early, early paper registration saves you money, and the gap between them is available to you anyway because your attempts cover both formats.

How many attempts do you have, and how long is your result valid?

Attempts available in the General Aptitude Test: five.

Result validity: five years from the date you sat the exam. That means a score you earned in year eleven stays valid for your university admission years after you graduate.

Those two facts together shape your strategy: start early in year eleven, because you have enough attempts to improve and your best result is kept for you. But do not walk into any attempt casually; five attempts run out faster than you think, and every serious sitting deserves serious preparation.

Registration requirements and fees

Who can register? Students in year eleven and year twelve, and secondary school graduates.

Official fees:

• Paper, early registration: 100 riyals
• Paper, late registration: 150 riyals
• Digital exam: 150 riyals
• Sitting the exam outside the Kingdom: 200 riyals

The gap between early and late is a full 50 riyals for the same exam. Register on the day registration opens; you save the money and secure the nearest centre before it fills.

How to register, step by step

Registration is entirely online through your beneficiary profile on the Commission's Qiyas platform:

1. Create your account on the platform. The service is available to Saudis, residents, and visitors with a separate passport
2. Choose the exam open for registration that matches your track
3. Read and accept the terms and conditions
4. Choose the exam centre and the date that suit you
5. Pay the fee by bank or credit card
6. Save your date confirmation and your seat number
7. Change your date from the same platform if needed, before the official deadline

What do you need on exam day?

Only two things, but taking them lightly has cost many students their exam.

An original, valid, accepted identity document. Officially accepted: the national ID card, a residence ID for non-Saudis, a paper passport, or a Saudi driving licence. Not accepted: photographs of documents, a work card, or a university student card.

Knowing your seat number for the paper exam, which is in your registration confirmation inside your profile.

Save this list. The exam hall is not the place to discover that your ID has expired or been left at home.

Is there a pass or fail? And what does your score mean?

This is the most important section in the guide, because misunderstanding it causes needless anxiety.

There is no pass or fail in Qudurat. The score is a comparative measure between applicants, and each university applies its own weighting to it within its criteria. What matters in your score is where you sit relative to everyone else who took the exam, and this is the official table that explains it:

• 81 and above: Top 5% of test takers
• 78 and above: Top 10% of test takers
• 73 and above: Top 20% of test takers
• 70 and above: Top 30% of test takers
• 65: The average among test takers
• 60 and below: Bottom 30% of test takers

Read it again calmly. A score of 75 that might upset you because it is not in the nineties means you are ahead of roughly eighty out of every hundred test takers. And a score of 81 puts you in the top 5% of all applicants. Understand the scale before you judge yourself by it.

How is your score used in admission? The weighted percentage

Universities calculate a weighted percentage combining three numbers: your secondary school GPA, your Qudurat score, and your Tahsili score. A common formula at many universities gives the GPA 30%, Qudurat 30%, and Tahsili 40%, and the weightings vary by university and by programme.

The practical lesson: find the formula used by the universities you are targeting from their official sites, and calculate your percentage early. You will know exactly which of the three numbers deserves your focus in the time you have left.

Common mistakes students make

• Sitting the first attempt with no preparation, treating it as a trial, which burns one of five attempts for nothing
• Studying Qudurat by memorisation as if it were Tahsili, when the exam is skills-based and does not reward memorising
• Neglecting reading comprehension, the largest single area in the exam for both tracks
• Training without a timer, then being caught out by the one-minute-per-question rhythm on the day
• Late registration, losing 50 riyals and a nearby centre for no good reason
• Turning up with a photo of your ID or a student card, neither of which is officially accepted

Where should you prepare from? Official sources first

Start with the Commission's official guide to the General Aptitude Test, which contains worked examples of every question type with full explanations. Then move on to the practice models, and make circulating study booklets your last source rather than your first, since some of them carry outdated or unofficial figures.

And if you find one area resisting improvement despite training, a tutor who commands that area specifically will save you weeks of random attempts.

In summary

Qudurat is neither a monster nor a riddle: 120 questions across known areas with published weightings, five attempts, and a result valid for five years. Your score means where you sit among test takers, not a verdict of pass or fail. Anyone who understands the structure and trains at its rhythm starts ahead of most applicants.

Start early, register early, train against a real timer, and take your daily plan from our one-month Qudurat study schedule.

And if you need focused support in the verbal or quantitative part, search Mualimi today for a verified Qudurat tutor and book before the rush. Qualifications are reviewed, the price is published before booking, and the first lesson gives you a clear plan.