The Tahsili (SAAT) Exam: Dates, Attempts, and How to Prepare

The short answer first. The Standard Achievement Admission Test, or Tahsili as students call it, is a standardised exam from the Education and Training Evaluation Commission that measures what you actually learned in your secondary school subjects. It runs for two hours and five minutes, and you get two attempts before graduation and two after.

Why does it matter more than you think? Because many universities give it the largest weight in the weighted percentage that decides your admission. Plenty of students prepare hard for Qudurat then walk into Tahsili almost improvising, and the result is a gap in the final score that is hard to recover.

This guide brings the official facts and a practical plan together in one place.

The difference between Tahsili and Qudurat, simply

Qudurat measures how you think: inference, relationships, problem solving. There is no set syllabus to study.

Tahsili is its exact opposite: it measures what you took from the curriculum itself. Its questions come from the subjects of all three secondary years, and studying for it is possible and direct.

In one line: Qudurat asks how you think, Tahsili asks what you learned. That is why preparing for each is fundamentally different, and we cover Qudurat in its complete guide.

The two tracks: science and literary

Tahsili comes in two versions according to your secondary school track:

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

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

Your track is confirmed automatically when you register on the Qiyas platform, since the system shows you the exam matching your course of study.

What does the science Tahsili cover?

According to the Education and Training Evaluation Commission, the exam focuses on the general concepts in the following subjects: biology and ecology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics, across all three secondary years.

Its official structure: five sections of 22 questions each, 110 multiple choice questions in total. You can sit it in Arabic or English, by your choice at registration.

An important point from the official source: calculators are not permitted. Train on mental and paper arithmetic from the start, because many timing errors come from long reliance on a calculator.

What does the literary Tahsili cover?

According to the official exam page, the literary version covers the shared subjects of the sharia track and the business administration track. Its subjects include: tawhid, hadith, fiqh, literary studies, rhetoric and criticism studies, and language competencies limited to the grammatical and spelling elements only. Added to those are social studies, history, geography, principles of law, and digital technology.

Its structure: five sections of 24 questions each, 120 questions in total. Its language is Arabic only.

Why does the question count differ between tracks?

This is a fact many published articles get wrong, publishing a single number for both tracks.

The correct position from the official source: the literary version has 120 questions, the science version has 110, and the duration is the same for both at two hours and five minutes. That means a literary track student faces more questions in the same time, with less average time per question.

The practical lesson for a literary student: timed practice is part of your preparation, not a luxury. And for a science student: your time per question is slightly longer, so invest it in careful reading rather than rushing.

How many attempts do you have?

According to the official FAQ: two attempts before graduation for year twelve students, and two attempts after graduating from secondary school.

The practical translation of that rule: Tahsili is not one decisive shot, but it is not unlimited either. Plan all four attempts from the start, and make your first sitting a serious one rather than exploratory, because it is your best score that is used in admission.

First period or second? How to choose

Tahsili is held each year in two windows close together. The official 2026 dates:

• Exam dates — First period: 13 to 17 May 2026 · Second period: 5 to 9 June 2026
• Registration opens, male students — First period: 23 February 2026 · Second period: 23 February 2026
• Registration opens, female students — First period: 2 March 2026 · Second period: 2 March 2026
• Late registration begins — First period: 13 April 2026 · Second period: 5 May 2026

Note two things that catch out students every year. The first is that registration opens once for both periods together, so anyone waiting for a second registration window before the second period will find they have missed it. The second is that registration opens for male students a week before female students, so do not assume your date matches a classmate's.

Which should you choose? If your preparation is complete, the first period is better because it keeps the second as a backup within the same year. And if you are behind on studying, the extra three weeks before the second period may be worth more than a retake.

Registration, and the 72 hour change window

Registration runs through your profile on the Qiyas platform, part of the Education and Training Evaluation Commission. You create your account, choose the exam, then pay the fee by bank or credit card. Confirmation of your date and exam centre follows.

The fee comes in two tiers: 100 riyals for early registration and 150 riyals for late. Register early and you save the difference and secure the centre closest to you.

And one official rule worth memorising: cancelling or changing your date is available up to 72 hours before the paper exam. After that the door closes, so do not leave a change of plan to the last night.

Why its weight in admission is higher than you expect

The weighted percentage universities use to calculate your admission combines three numbers: your secondary school GPA, your Qudurat score, and your Tahsili score. At many universities Tahsili carries the largest weight of the three, especially in competitive programmes such as medicine and engineering.

The logic is clear: school GPAs are marked differently from one school to another, whereas Tahsili is a single measure applied to every student. That is why universities trust it in ranking applicants.

The practical result: every extra point in Tahsili moves your weighted percentage more than you think. It may be the difference between the programme you want and the one you settle for.

A realistic preparation plan for the time you have

You have a full term. Divide the subjects across the weeks and start with your year ten and year eleven material, since it is furthest from memory. Reserve the last two weeks for practice exams and error review.

You have a month. Do not try to read everything. Focus on the core concepts in each subject, work through past models daily, and record every mistake in an error log you review every three days.

You have a week. Practice exams are everything now. One full model a day against a real timer, then review the errors only. Good sleep in the final three nights raises your score more than staying up to revise.

And if you discover that your weakness in a subject predates secondary school itself, that is a foundation gap that revision will not close, and working through it with a capable tutor beats dozens of unfocused hours.

Common Tahsili mistakes

• Delaying registration until it closes or moves to the higher fee tier, which a reminder on your phone for the opening day solves
• Studying year twelve material only, when the exam covers all three years roughly equally
• Neglecting timed practice, which matters most for literary students with their higher question count
• Relying on a calculator in practice then being caught out by the ban on exam day
• Treating the first attempt as a trial, when each of your four attempts deserves full preparation

In summary

Tahsili rewards the organised: dates published well in advance, a syllabus with a known source, and a counted set of attempts. Register early, learn the structure of your track's exam, study all three years rather than the last one alone, and train against the clock before it catches you out.

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