The foregoing analyses suggest that achievement in Year 12 students was not related to either the use of exploratory teaching methods or the standard of science facilities. Possibly this was due to the fact that only senior students who had chosen to study science were included in the investigation. These results are based on data from Year 12 students who had chosen to study science and may therefore be different in important respects from other Year levels. It is possible that data from a sample of the whole age group in junior secondary school could yield a different pattern of relationships. Other studies (Ainley, 1978c) have suggested that in the junior secondary area the provision of better facilities was associated with enriched science learning experiences. Perhaps the Australian Science Facilities Programme would have been of greater benefit had it been directed more to the junior science area rather than to the senior science specialities.