Effect of Syllabus Coverage on Secondary School Students’ Performance in Mathematics in Kenya

Abstract

Mathematics plays a vital role in individual, national and global development. However , over the years mathematics has been one of the most poorly performed subjects in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education Examinations (KCSE). In an attempt to improve performance, great effort has been put into completion of the syllabus. Recently , a study was done in Kakamega South district, covering a total of 85 secondary schools, whose objective was to determine the percentage of the syllabus covered, and compare it to student performance. 16 out of the 85 schools were purposively selected and used in the study. A total of 64 people, thus the head teacher , the head of mathematics department, and two randomly selected mathematics teachers, from each of the 16 schools, served as respondents. A descriptive survey design was adopted for the study, and data collected using three questionnaires. Correlation between syllabus coverage and student performance was 0.8343, established using the Pearsons Product Moment Correlation Coefficient formula, and its significance tested using the conversions equation 't = r(√n-2)/(1- r 2 )'. Furthermore, a One Way Analysis of Variance, (ANOVA) was determined, to confirm that syllabus coverage has a significant effect on student performance in mathematics at KCSE level.