Hidden Potential: An Exploratory Study of the Prevalence of Twice-Exceptional Students in Saudi Arabia

Although twice-exceptional students are receiving more attention than before, the topic is still under-researched. This poses a major problem for this group, as a comprehensive educational policy that meets its needs can only be developed based on realistic estimates. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the prevalence of twice-exceptional students in Saudi Arabia. It also sought to investigate whether prevalence rates vary according to gender, age, and academic subject. The sample included 6875 students ranging from second to twelfth grade. These students were screened via a two-step process. First, students with potential learning disabilities based on a discrepancy of more than 1.5 standard deviations between their academic achievement in two subjects (e.g., between Arabic and math) were flagged for further assessment. Second, a giftedness test was administered to these students to screen for gifted students. The first step suggested that 23.6% of students showed indicators of learning disabilities. The intelligence test in the second stage indicated that 24.5% of students with potential disabilities may be gifted. The preliminary analysis suggests that approximately 5.9% of the sampled student population may be twice-exceptional, which represents a substantial number of underserved students. This suggests the potential value of developing educational policies and practices to meet the needs of this population, although broader replication is needed before definitive policy recommendations can be made.