Predicting the Performance of the Diploma Engineering Students Using the Pre-test Method

Abstract

In the Faculty of Engineering & Built Environment (FKAB), UKM, there has been great concern among the academicians over the poor performance of the diploma students in their engineering mathematics course. An early performance indicator is needed to detect students with mathematical problems at an early stage so that relevant actions can be undertaken to mitigate the problem. The objective of this paper is to study the effectiveness of the pre-test mathematics questions in predicting the performance of the students in the subsequent engineering mathematics course. A number of 23 diploma students were selected and their previous institutional details were classified. The pre-test paper consists of 30 objective questions which were constructed based on the compulsory requirements on several mathematical concepts in engineering course. The results of the pre-test were moderated and compared with the results of two subjects, Vector Calculus and Linear Algebra of the same students in the first semester. The correlation analysis was performed between the pre-test results and the results of Vector Calculus and Linear Algebra. The analysis reveals a weak correlation between the pre-test, Vector Calculus and Algebra Linear results. However, a strong correlation was found between Vector Calculus and Linear Algebra results. The study indicates that the pre-test necessitates further refinement and improvement on the contents, for it to be used as indicator to the diploma students’ performance in the engineering mathematics course.