JELT_V3_N4_RP3 Muhammad Javed Atezaz Ahmad Journal on English Language Teaching 2249 – 0752 3 4 21 26 Secondary School Students, Tenses, Gender and Demographic Based Comparison, Public and Private Students The present study intends to assess the ESL students' performance in tenses at secondary school level. Grade 10 students were the target population of the study. A sample of 396 students (255 male and 141 female) was selected through convenience sampling technique from the District of Bahawalnagar, Pakistan. A test focusing on five different types of tenses namely present indefinite tense, future indefinite tense, past perfect tense, present perfect tense, and past indefinite tense was developed carefully. SPSS version XX was used to analyze the data. Students' overall performance was computed. T-value was calculated to compare the mean scores of male and female, public and private, and urban and rural students. The findings of the study revealed that the overall mean score of the students was relatively better in present indefinite tense, future indefinite tense, and past indefinite tense as compared to the mean scores of past perfect tense, and present perfect tense. The analysis, based on t-value, revealed a significant difference between the mean scores of male and female students and public and private school students. Contrarily, no significant difference between the mean scores of rural and urban school students was found. The students were recommended improving their competence in weaker areas. October - December 2013 Copyright © 2013 i-manager publications. All rights reserved. i-manager Publications http://www.imanagerpublications.com/Article.aspx?ArticleId=2518