Saudi Standardized Tests and English Competence - Association and Prediction for Freshmen Medical Students’ Performance in Chemistry

Sep 18, 2026

Research investigates whether Saudi standardized admission criteria and English competence can predict freshmen medical students’ performance in chemistry. The study evaluates the General Aptitude Test (GAT), the Scholastic Achievement Admission Test (SAAT), and English competence using a sample of 240 participants. Regression analyses estimate the predictive weight of each admission criterion. Results indicate admission criteria predict chemistry grades with about 30% variance, and English competence is especially influential. Further large-scale studies are recommended.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages6

Reading Time15 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Validity concerns about national standardized tests

Study design and aims

Context at King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences (KSAU-HS)

Related global research on medical admissions

Saudi Standardized Tests and English Competence: Association and Prediction for Freshmen Medical Students’Performance in Chemistry Abdulaziz Althewini1 1 King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences and King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, Saudi Arabia Correspondence: Abdulaziz Althewini, P.O. Box 22490, Riyadh 11426, Saudi Arabia. Received: December 5, 2019 doi:10.5539/ies.v13n5p144 Accepted: January 14, 2020 Online Published: April 18, 2020 URL: [https://doi.org/10.5539/ies.v13n5p144](https://doi.org/10.5539/ies.v13n5p144) Abstract The research is created to investigate the prediction of admission criteria for medical student achievement in chemistry in Saudi Arabia. It examines if the General Aptitude Test (GAT), the Scholastic Achievement Admission Test (SAAT), and English competence, can to a certain extent predict and foretell students’achievement in the chemistry. The study sample consists of 240 participants, providing their grades in the admission criteria and chemistry. Regression analyses are utilized to define the weight of individual admission criterion prediction for student achievement in chemistry. It illustrates that admission criteria could predict students’ grades in chemistry with a variance of 30% . The results also show English competence does play amore significant rule in predicting students’ performance in chemistry. More research is needed to examine whether these criteria are also predictors with a large scale of students’population. Keywords: standardized tests, English competence, chemistry education, predictive validity, medical education, college admission 1. Introduction There is widespread concern in the Saudi academic community about the validity of the national standardized tests on which college admission is partly based. These tests are the General Aptitude Test (GAT) and Scholastic Achievement Admission Test (SAAT) . The GAT is intended to test students’ critical thinking skills and mathematical reasoning. The SAAT is meant to examine students’ comprehension of foundational ideas in chemistry, biology, physics, and mathematics covered in high school. Students complain that such tests consume a lot of their time and effort, and yet are not necessarily related to their college learning trajectory. In addition, English competence has been used in Saudi colleges as another indicator for students’ success in college, with either international/in-house standardized tests or through preparatory intensive language learning programs. There are questions on whether English competence, as well as GAT and SAAT, do predict students’performance in college. Such a major concern should be taken seriously to improve the Saudi college admission system. It also merits extensive study in several research projects. The present study looks at the effectiveness of these standardized tests and their legitimacy for college admission. It is designed specifically to test the prediction of GAT and SAAT as standardized tests as well as English competence for freshmen students’ achievement in an introductory chemistry course in their first year of college. Chemistry teachers are intrigued to learn whether students’ English proficiency level does help them to perform well in the chemistry course or they need more language learning support. In addition, the teachers are interested to see whether there is a connection between students’ fresh background of GAT, SAAT, and highschool and their performance in the chemistry course, so they could think about how to adapt their curriculum and teaching method. The study provides an invitation to college educators to think broadly and critically about the validity of using both the GAT and the SAAT standardized tests and English competence for college admission. It will help them to think about how interrelated the three are with chemistry as a science subject. It will help specifically English and science educators to map the co

FAQs

Which admission criteria are analyzed to predict chemistry performance?

The study examines GAT, SAAT, and English competence as predictors for freshmen medical students’ achievement in chemistry.

How many participants are included, and how is prediction assessed?

The sample includes 240 participants. Regression analyses are used to determine how much each admission criterion predicts chemistry achievement.

What do the results suggest about the strength of admission criteria and English competence?

Admission criteria can predict students’ chemistry grades with approximately 30% variance. English competence plays a more significant role in predicting chemistry performance.

Sep 18, 2026

Uploaded by Felix Montgomery