Abstract:
This study aims at identifying the differences in performance levels between government secondary school students and their counterparts in private schools in the General Aptitude Test )GAT( in Saudi Arabia. The study sample consisted of )91,467( students at )839( private schools and )345,220( students at )4563( public schools. Using percentages and test )Z( to study the differences between the ratios of the two independent samples, the study found out that the level of performance at private schools which scored good and average in the GAT is statistically significant than those of public schools. The results have shown that there is a general decline in the schools that scored a good level of performance in the GAT. The results have also shown that, private schools students with the proportion level of good performance in the GAT is statistically higher than their peers in public schools; while public school students with the proportion level of performance below the average in the GAT is highly significant statistically than their peers in private schools. Finally, the study concludes with a number of recommendations: most notably, the urgent need for developing the overall capacity of the students in various stages of basic education, whether public or private, through the formation of scientific specialized committees, setting up appropriate practical plans that could narrow the gaps between the performance of students in the GAT at government and private schools, and initiation of awareness programs for students to make them aware of the importance of GAT.
