Beyond the Total Score: Revealing Cognitive Heterogeneity in High Ability Through Latent Profile Analysis

This study examined whether a single total-score cutoff in the Mawhiba Multiple Cognitive Aptitude Test (MMCAT) may conceal meaningful cognitive profile differences between students across four domains: mental flexibility, verbal reasoning and reading comprehension, mathematical–spatial reasoning, and scientific–mechanical reasoning. Archival score data from 5146 school-nominated students across three assessment levels in Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia, were analyzed. Latent profile models were estimated separately for each assessment level. A three-profile solution was retained for Levels 1 and 2, and a four-profile solution for Level 3. The retained profiles differed mainly in the overall performance level rather than the profile shape. The operational cutoff of 1540 captured globally high-performing profiles at considerably higher rates than adjacent middle-range profiles, and the identified groups remained internally heterogeneous across all levels. The findings indicate that the current identification rule effectively captures broad, high-level performance, yet it does not represent all adjacent cognitive profiles equally. This has implications for identification policy and educational programming for gifted students.