Model College Entrance Examination Scores as Predictors of Students’ Performance in Junior Secondary Certificate Examination in Mathematics and English Language in Abia State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study investigated model college Entrance Examination scores as predictors of students’ performance in Junior Secondary Certificate examination in Mathematics and English Language in Abia State, Nigeria. Four research questions and four null hypotheses guided the study. The design of the study is correlational. A sample size of 500 students drawn from four (4) out of six (6) Model State Secondary Schools in Umuahia North Local Government Area through simple, stratified and purposive sampling techniques was used for the study. The students sat for both Model College Entrance Examination (MCEE) in 2011 and 2012 and Junior Secondary Certificate Examination (JSCE) in 2014 and 2015. The MCEE and JSCE results in mathematics and English language were used for data collection. Simple regression Analysis of Variances (ANOVA) and t-test associated with the regression were used to test the null hypotheses at 0.05 alpha level. The results revealed that the students’ scores in MCEE in both mathematics and English Language in 2011 had significant predictive powers on their performance in 2014 JSCE. Also in 2012, it was realized that students MCEE scores in both Mathematics and English Language had no significant predictive powers on students’ performances in 2015 JSCE in both subjects. On the basis of these findings, it was recommended among others that teachers should give adequate preparation to the students for the Model College Entrance Examination in order to retain consistency in their Junior Secondary Certificate Examination.