Is There Negative Marking on the Teacher License Exam?

No. Neither the General Pedagogical Test nor the Specialized Subject Test applies negative marking. An unanswered question and a wrong answer cost you exactly the same on Saudi Arabia’s teacher professional license exam: nothing.

What does the absence of negative marking actually change?

It removes any downside to answering a question you are not confident about. On an exam that did deduct marks for wrong answers, leaving a difficult question blank could be the safer choice; here, an educated guess carries no risk relative to leaving it blank, since both score zero if wrong. There is no scenario on either the GTT or the STT where answering costs you more than not answering.

Does this apply to both the GTT and the STT equally?

Yes, both tests are scored out of 100 with no penalty for an incorrect response, and this applies regardless of which specialization’s STT you are sitting. What actually separates the GTT from the STT covers the content differences between the two tests, but the scoring rule on wrong answers is the same across both.

Does that mean I should guess on every question I am not sure of?

Given there is no penalty, yes, answering every question, including ones you are genuinely unsure of, cannot hurt your score relative to leaving them blank, and it gives you a chance at picking up marks you would otherwise leave on the table. The only reason to skip a question and come back to it is time management, not fear of a penalty.

How does this affect the pass thresholds I am aiming for?

Since your raw score out of 100 is simply the count of correct answers, with no deductions, the 50, 70 and 80 percent thresholds for the Practitioner, Advanced and Expert license tiers are straightforward percentages of questions answered correctly. How the three license tiers work covers those thresholds directly.

Should this change how I use my two hours of testing time?

It is worth answering every question at least once, even with a guess, before spending remaining time revisiting difficult ones, precisely because a guess costs nothing. How to prepare for the GTT and STT covers preparation strategy more broadly, but managing your two hours so that every question gets at least one answer is a exam-day tactic that follows directly from there being no negative marking. The exam’s own page, Professional License Exam for Teachers, confirms the no-negative-marking rule alongside the full scoring pattern.

Frequently asked questions

Does guessing wrong lower my score below not answering at all? No, both score zero for that question; there is no additional penalty for guessing wrong.

Is negative marking used on any part of the teacher license exam? No, neither the GTT nor the STT, regardless of specialization, applies negative marking.

Should I leave a question blank if I truly have no idea? There is no scoring reason to; an answer, even a guess, cannot score worse than leaving it blank.

Does the absence of negative marking apply to retake sittings too? Yes, the scoring rule is the same whether it is your first attempt or a retake.