Unlocking Potential: Inside Saudi Arabia’s National Gifted Identification Program
Saudi Arabia is opening registration for the 17th edition of the National Program for Gifted Identification, specifically for the Mawhiba Multiple Cognitive Aptitude Test (MMCAT), as part of efforts to identify gifted students and assess their abilities.
The King Abdulaziz and His Companions Foundation for Giftedness and Creativity (Mawhiba) announced the opening in partnership with the Ministry of Education and the Education and Training Evaluation Commission, represented by the National Center for Assessment. Registration will remain open until December 28, 2026.
Spotting Hidden Potential
Covering students from the third grade of elementary school through the first year of secondary school, the program seeks to identify abilities that may not always be reflected through conventional academic performance.
It assesses students’ skills across key areas including language, mathematics, science, and creativity, helping identify their latent academic potential from an early stage.
Rather than focusing on a single area of academic ability, the MMCAT assesses multiple skills, from logical reasoning and linguistic abilities to mathematical aptitude and spatial and creative patterns explored through images and dimensions.
The test is open to students in public, private, and international schools across Saudi Arabia, alongside Saudi students studying abroad.
The assessment ultimately seeks to map talent across science, technology, mathematics, and language, as well as key aspects of creativity.
In this sense, it contributes to an integrated national database built to identify gifted students across the Kingdom.
What Does the MMCAT Measure?
Students can sit for the MMCAT in person at more than 100 computerized testing centers affiliated with the National Center for Assessment. They can also choose whether to take the assessment in Arabic or English.
The MMCAT covers five key dimensions: mathematical and spatial reasoning, scientific and mechanical reasoning, mental flexibility, linguistic reasoning, and reading comprehension.
Together, they represent the assessment framework used to identify students’ abilities across different areas.
Apart from the test itself, the National Program for Gifted Identification serves as the first step in a gifted student’s journey and the primary gateway to most of Mawhiba’s services and programs.
Through its comprehensive methodology, the test seeks to ensure fairness and equity in identifying gifted students in scientific fields and guiding them toward programs and pathways tailored to their abilities.
Building a National Talent Database
As the largest annual initiative for discovering national talent in scientific fields, it contributes to building a comprehensive national database of gifted students and enhancing awareness of their characteristics and the significance of identifying and cultivating their abilities.
At the same time, it supports scientific research and helps enrich Arabic content in the field of giftedness identification.
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