A Study Of Secondary School Students’ Academic Performance In The Wassce And Neco Examinations

A Study Of Secondary School Students’ Academic Performance In The Wassce And Neco Examinations

Chapter One

Preface

Background Of The Study

Education may be simply described as the comprehensive process of mortal literacy through which information is learned, faculties are developed, and chops are acquired. Secondary seminaries aren’t only a vital element of the Nigerian educational system; they also serve as the link between abecedarian and secondary education. According to Asikhai( 2010), secondary academy education is anticipated to serve as the backbone and foundation for pursuing farther education at postsecondary institutions. It’s both an investment and a tool for accelerating a country’s profitable, social, political, specialized, scientific, and artistic growth. Regrettably, secondary seminaries moment are failing to live up to the high norms anticipated of them as substantiated by their performance on external examinations. There have been wide clamors over secondary academy scholars’ continually low performance on public examinations. According to Nwokocha and Amadike( 2005), academic achievement is the standard by which a nation’s educational capability is measured. As a result, it’s necessary to maintain a high standard of performance in internal and, more frequently than not, external examinations. For several times, publications in several public domestics and exploration findings have shown the terrible performance of secondary academy pupils on public examinations. Ajayi( 2002), Nwokocha & Amadike( 2005), WAEC( 2007), The Punch tabloid( September 27, 2008), Adeyemi( 2008), and Asikhia( 2010) all demonstrated the extent to which pupils score inadequately on external tests. The ongoing drop in scholars’ performance on public tests is exacerbating not just for scholars and parents, but also for society. One of the most important barometers for assessing scholars’ academic performance to date, if not the strongest, is through public examinations similar as the Senior School Certificate Examination(S.S.C.E.) in Nigeria. Externally covered, these examinations have wide popular confidence. Secondary education is the position of education that children admit following abecedarian academy but before entering postsecondary education. Without secondary academy products, it’s tone-apparent that no intellectual foundation can be erected for posterior academic study. According to the purposes and objects of academy establishment, one would assume that the performance of day and boarding elderly secondary academy scholars in the country would significantly ameliorate. To be sure, no educational system is without excrescencies. still, the deterioration of the Nigerian educational system has reached a point where it’s normal. Ogunsaju( 2000) characterized it as cataclysmic. Though smart scholars can be discovered at public seminaries as well, the high failure rate in WASSCE tends to marginalize the outstanding bones . At first, only Mathematics and English Language performed inadequately, but this ultimately spread to other areas, including the lores and trades. The seminaries can no longer justify the government’s and public’s confidence in them, let alone the massive popular allocations they consume each time. still, kiddies have been performing inadequately, and the situation isn’t perfecting. For case, in the May/ June 1992S.S.C.E, English Language achieved a pass rate of13.8 percent with Distinction and Credit marks, while59.6 percent of the total 381,506 aspirants failed. Only9.7 percent of scholars passed Mathematics with Distinction or Credit, while59.4 percent failed( WAEC, 1994). In the June 1994 tests,14.2 percent and13.7 percent of 618,119 pupils passed with Distinction and Credit situations in English and Mathematics, independently. English had a failing rate of56.3 percent while Mathematics had a failure rate of67.4 percent( WAEC, 1994). Other crucial areas performed also inadequately, with pupils performing significantly lower in subjects taking practical practice. For illustration, in the December 1996 WASSCE, English had a failure rate of64.6 percent while Biology had a failure rate of 58 percent. thus, if education is to retain its former status as the preeminent vehicle for promoting public development, it must be saved or revivified( Adeyemi, 2008). The common approaches of modifying the class or adding new courses, extending the length of training, or adding backing aren’t producing the asked goods. Among the external examinations are the WASSCE and NECO. The former is a indigenous test for West Africa, whilst the ultimate is a rigorously Nigerian examination regulated by the civil ministry of education. According to our educational norms, scholars who achieve five credit position grades in English language and mathematics in any of the tests inclusive are incontinently good to pursue university education in Nigeria.

Statement Of The Problem

Poor external issues among Nigerian secondary academy scholars, particularly those in elderly secondary seminaries, has come a cause of considerable solicitude for consecutive administrations and important players in the country’s education sector( Ajayi 2002). Over the times, the maturity of scholars who sat for the May/ June West African Examinations Council( WAEC) and November/ December National Examinations Council( NECO) have constantly failed, not only in terms of overall performance, but also in core subjects similar as English, Mathematics, Sciences( Biology, Physics, Chemistry), Geography, Vocational and Technical Studies, and History, where a high rate of failure has been a dominant point. still according to Ibe( 2013), statistics released by the two examination bodies, the National Examination Council and the West African Examination Council, indicate that each time the results of the West African Examination Council( WAEC) and National Examination Council( NECO) examinations are released, scholars have generally underperformed the high investment made by the government, both at the civil and state situations, as well as the private sector. As a result of the roar over scholars’ persistently poor and unpromising performance in WASSCE and NECO examinations in Imo State, Nigeria specifically, over the last six times(2007/2008,2008/2009,2009/2010,2010/2011,2011/2012,2012/2013,2013/2014) in elderly Secondary School Certificate Examinations( SSCE) conducted by West Africa Examination Council( WAEC), educationists, government policymakers, and experimenters began to question whether seminaries are failing( Ibe 2013). scholars’ success in WASSCE and NECO examinations is measured by their capability to get at least a credit in the motifs being compared.

Objects Of The Study

The main end of this study is to study secondary academy scholars’ academic performance in the wassce and neco examinations. Other specific objects of this study are

To examine the factors that affects scholars performance in secondary seminaries.

To determine if there’s a difference between the performance of scholars in WASSCE and NECO examinations.

To recommend ways of perfecting the performances of scholars in WASSCE and NECO examinations.

Exploration Questions

These exploration questions will be answered in this study

What are the factors that affects scholars performance in secondary seminaries?

Is there any difference between the performance of scholars in WASSCE and NECO examinations?

What are the ways of perfecting the performances of scholars in WASSCE and NECO examinations?

Significance Of The Study

This study would be extremely salutary to secondary academy directors, headliners, and preceptors since it would give light on which examinations campaigners score more on in WASSCE and NECO. also, the study will help government and educational stakeholders, particularly the ministry of education, in developing programs that would ameliorate scholars’ performance on external tests across the country. Eventually, the study is critical for all parties interested in the performance of scholars in Nigeria’s two major examination boards.

Compass Of The Study

This study is concentrated on a study of secondary academy scholars’ academic performance in the wassce and neco examinations. Specifically, this study will concentrate on examining the factors that affects scholars performance in secondary seminaries, determining if there’s a difference between the performance of scholars in WASSCE and NECO examinations and recommending ways of perfecting the performances of scholars in WASSCE and NECO examinations.

scholars of named secondary seminaries in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State will serve as repliers of this study.

Limitations Of The Study

As with any mortal bid, the experimenter endured small impediments while performing the study. Due to the failure of literature on the subject as a result of the converse’s nature, the experimenter incurred fresh fiscal charges and spent fresh time sourcing for applicable accoutrements , literature, or information, as well as during the data collection process, which is why the experimenter chose a small sample size. also, the experimenter conducted this inquiry in confluence with other scholarly hobbies. also, because only a small number of repliers were chosen to complete the exploration instrument, the results can not be applied to other secondary seminaries outside the state. Anyhow of the limits faced throughout the disquisition, all aspects were reduced to insure the stylish issues and the most productive exploration.

Description Of Terms

Academic performance Is the dimension of pupil achievement across colorful academic subjects.