Basic Education Certificate Examination Research Articles

Estimating the extent of educational resource deprivation among basic schools and its effect on quality education in Ghana

Policymakers continue to contend with the challenge of measuring and classifying schools concerning educational resources, which makes it difficult for policy development and implementation towards efficient allocation of the scarce resources available to education managers. This study, therefore, sought to estimate the extent of educational resource deprivation among Basic Schools in Ghana and find out its effect on the delivery of quality education. The study used data from the Annual School Census (ASC Data) (2015/16–2018/19) and Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) pass rates (2015/16–2018/19) The findings revealed that the extent of educational resource deprivation has improved from 45.1 % in 2015/16–35.4 % in 2018/19 with higher regional disparities. The incidence of deprivation has also improved from a highest 83.6 % to a lowest 77.9 % while the intensity of the deprivation in Ghanaian basic schools changed from 49.6 % to 46.7 % with the northern sector of the country, especially the Brong Ahafo Region recording highest levels of deprivation. Again, it was found that quality basic education as evident in performance in BECE is determined by the availability of library facilities and ICT infrastructure, the nature of school building, supervision, teacher-pupil ratio, and availability of professional teachers. The study recommends the adoption of the Multidimensional Education Resource Deprivation Index (MERDI) as a guiding index in Ghana's educational resource distribution. Also, the Ghana Education Service should prioritise the deployment of quality teachers and the distribution of textbooks and other reading materials.

School environmental factors, pupils’ characteristics, and academic performance: The case of junior high school pupils of the Krachi west district of Ghana

BackgroundData suggest that Ghana has made significant improvements in the educational system, resulting in some accomplishments. Nonetheless, pupils’ academic performance at the junior high school level and in the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) remains poor nationally. Some factors have been identified to influence poor academic performance in some parts of Ghana, but none in the Krachi West district. Thus, it has become imperative to determine the local factors accountable for this trend and identify the most appropriate localised solutions. Materials and methodsAn embedded research design was employed to ascertain the influence of pupils’ characteristics and school environment factors on academic performance. In all, 361 participants (325 BECE candidates, 12 teachers, 12 head teachers and 12 PTA/SMC Chairpersons) were selected using cluster sampling, simple random and purposive sampling across 12 schools in the district. The academic performance of pupils was assessed using scores from six (6) subjects in the standardised district-level mock examination. ResultsBased on the examination scores, half of the pupils performed poorly in the six subjects. Even though from the quantitative study, pupils’ characteristics had no significant influence on academic performance, school location (β = −3.29, p < 0.01), school type (β = 1.15, p < 0.01), and school environmental factors (β = 0.807, p = 0.024) were significant predictors of academic performance in the district. Pupils in private schools were thrice more likely to achieve average academic performance than pupils from public schools (OR = 3.2, CI = 1.06–9.47). Also, schools with good environmental factors were twice as likely to have average academic performance than schools with poor environmental factors (OR = 2.2 CI = 1.11–4.52). ConclusionWhile school environment factors and pupil characteristics have a relationship with academic performance as suggested by the ecological theory, it was established in this study that only school location, school type and school environment factors were the significant predictors of academic performance in the Krachi West District. Therefore, education stakeholders need to consider these predictors when coming up with integrated but local strategies to improve pupils’ academic performance in that district.

Correlates of Ghanaian Teachers' Understanding of Mathematics Strands and Cognitive Domains in Basic Education Certificate Examination

Correlates of Ghanaian Teachers' Understanding of Mathematics Strands and Cognitive Domains in Basic Education Certificate Examination

Examining the Predictive Capacity of School-based Assessment on Students' Mathematics Performance in Large-scale Examinations

This study underscores the importance of school-based assessment (SBA) in predicting students' mathematics performance in the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) in Ghana. The study was conducted using 150 mathematics teachers from public junior high schools in Ghana's Central Region, the research employed a quantitative approach, using surveys to gather data on internal examination scores, SBA practices, teaching experience, and gender. Regression analysis revealed a strong predictive relationship between internal exam scores and BECE performance (R² = 0.663, B = 0.374, SE = 0.006, t = 67.24, p &lt; .000), while ANOVA showed significant variations in SBA practices based on teaching experience (F (3, 146) = 6.99, p &lt; 0.05). However, t-tests indicated no significant gender differences in SBA practices among teachers (t (148) = 1.100, p = 0.273). These findings highlight the critical role of internal assessments and teaching experience in enhancing educational outcomes and suggest that educational policies should support effective SBA practices and professional development for teachers. Based on these findings, it is recommended to enhance formative assessment practices by focusing on continuous and comprehensive internal assessments, provide ongoing professional development for teachers to improve their skills in implementing SBA, and allocate adequate resources for mathematics education to support effective teaching and learning environments.

Development of a Software Package for Computing Psychometric Properties of Multiple Choice Tests Using Norm-Referenced Approach.

This work is on the development of a software package for computing the psychometric properties of multiple choice tests using norm-referenced approach. Focus was on item indices which are difficulty, discrimination and distracter indices. There are no easily affordable statistical packages in the Nigerian market for the computation of these indices. Most studies involving them have always been done manually due non-availability of affordable statistical software. Hence, the researcher was motivated to embark on this investigation. Three research questions were formulated to guide this study. Analysis of the existing system was done on BILOG-MG statistics. This study deployed the following methodologies: mathematical, structured systems analysis and design methodology (SSADM), the object-oriented analysis and design methodology (OOADM) and prototyping. The design for the study was instrumentation. The population for the study was 225 students which consisted of all the JS3 students of 2016/2017 session in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. The researcher made use of two instruments for the study. The first was the Rivers State Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), 2017 multiple choice questions in Mathematics. The second was a group of system software: HTML, PHP, JavaScript and MySQL. The responses of the students were used to test the effectiveness and efficiency of the software package developed in this study. Data analysis was done first with manual computation and second with the software package that was developed. The manual computation took the researcher 180 hours while the electronic computation with the developed software took only six hours to complete. The findings from the results of the study showed that the developed software was accurate in computing the difficulty, discrimination and distactor indices of the test items and it has a very high rate of accuracy. The study recommended that the developed software should be used to compute the difficulty, distractor and discrimination indices of multiple choice tests.

Truancy, Indiscipline and Peer Pressure as Correlates of Students’ Academic Performance in Social Studies in Ekiti State, Nigeria

The study investigated truancy, indiscipline and peer pressure as correlates of students’ academic performance in social studies in Upper Basic Schools in Ido/Osi Government Area of Ekiti State, Nigeria. The study adopted correlational research design. The sample of this study was made up 100 upper basic 3 students from 5 out of 16 public upper basic schools in Ido/Osi LGA of Ekiti State, Nigeria was selected using multistage sampling techniques. The instruments used for data collection were Truancy, Indiscipline and Peer-Pressure Questionnaire (TIPPQ) and result of basic education certificate examination (BECE) for 2022 set. The result of BECE and TIPPQ used was validated by two experts in social studies and one expert in measurement and evaluation. TIPPQ was trial tested which yielded the reliability coefficient of 0.88 using Cronbach Alpha. Three research questions raised in the study were answered using multiple regression analysis while the three null hypotheses formulated in the study were tested using ANOVA of regression analysis. The study revealed among other that there is significant relationship between truancy and students academic performance [F1, 99 = 34.737; p&lt;0.05]. There is significant relationship between indiscipline and students academic performance [F1, 99 = 12.009; p&lt;0.05]. There is significant relationship between peer pressure and students’ academic performance [F1, 99 = 10.319; p&lt;0.05]. It was recommended among that, to improve students’ academic performance in social studies, school administrators including principals and vice-principals should set up disciplinary committee reduce or curb truancy, indiscipline and peer group among students in upper basic schools.

Content Validity Index of Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) Test Items in Basic Science and Technology (BST)

This study quantitatively provided evidence of content validity of BECE items in BST by estimating content validity index (CVI). Descriptive survey research designs were employed. Purposive and accidental sampling techniques were adopted in selecting 31 BST teachers in Abia State junior secondary schools. Three research questions were addressed. The instrument for data collection was 2021 BECE items in BST comprising four subtests with 30 items each. Item level CVIs, test level CVI and modified kappa statistic were computed. Findings revealed that 95% of the items of BST reported I-CVIs ranging from 0.70 – 1.00 and were accepted as having adequate content validity whereas the remaining 5% of the items, four from PHE and one from Computer Studies had low I-CVIs. The T-CVI yielded a high index of 0.95. Finally, kappa statistic adjusting for chance agreement indicated 0.763 – 1.00 for 95% of the BST items which proved excellent agreement among the experts.

Placement model for students into appropriate academic class using machine learning

Choosing the right academic major for junior secondary students into senior secondary school will assist both students and their teachers toward achieving the academic goal. Traditionally, students seeking admission into senior classes (Gambia, Sierra-leone, Ghana, Liberia and Nigeria) must have passed stipulated examinations like Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) and/or West Africa Junior Certificate Examination, which are done at the end of year three (at a sitting). They must pass the exam(s) satisfactorily with no emphasis on any of Science, Art or Commercial related subjects. Some schools use “Mock exam” or “Placement exam” as the basis for their placement of students but all are done at a sitting (end of year three). Though this method is to an extent valid but associated with some challenges (bias) as it does not carry along the student’s academic history in making decision for placement into appropriate class. However, we proposed a model that predicts appropriate academic class of Science, Art or Commercial for Junior students based on their progressive academic performances (history) of their predecessors on related subjects using ten supervised machine learning techniques. Two evaluation techniques were applied (70/30 splitting and 10-fold cross validation). The highest results of this research showed accuracy of 93% with Random forest, 98% precision with random forest, 99% recall with Decision tree and 94% f1 score with Random forest and KNN (cross validation). The correlation coefficient of the proposed model recorded 0.3 higher than that of the existing method. This research will benefit all stakeholders in education and students in particular because their academic performances over time stands a better chance for appropriate placement.

Predictive validity of mathematics basic education certificate examination as correlate of mathematics geometry achievement among SS 2 students in Delta state

This study examined predictive validity of mathematics basic education certificate examination as correlate of mathematics geometry achievement among SS 2 students in Delta State. Two research questions and null hypotheses guided the study and Correlational research design was employed. The population of the study consisted of 105, 848 students who sat for BECE Mathematics in 2022 and SS 11 students in year 2024 in Delta State. The sample size of the study was 480 while the instruments used for this study was mathematics BECE scores and Geometry Achievement test (GAT). The internal consistency of the GAT yielded an index of 0.62. The Cronbach alpha method of estimating reliability was employed to obtain the reliability index of 0.84 for the mathematics BECE Proforma. The Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation Coefficient of Determination was used to answer the research questions while regression and fisher-z statistics were used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. Based on this finding it was concluded that BECE Mathematics is a predictor of mathematics geometry achievement. However, the magnitude of relationship and the percentage of prediction of mathematics geometry achievement from BECE Mathematics performance were very low and weak. Based on the findings it was recommended among others that BECE Mathematics scheme, contents and curriculum should be reviewed in conformity with mathematics geometry to enhance its predictive validity, BECE that are conducted by NECO should be compulsorily used by all schools to ensure uniformity.

Exploring the Difference in Academic Performance Determinants between Public and Private Junior High Schools

Despite improvements in basic education accessibility in public schools throughout time, there are worries regarding the lower Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) performance of students in public schools when compared with the performances of private schools. The current study sought to establish if there is, the differences in academic performance indicators between private and public junior high schools (JHS). The study focused on the Effutu Municipality following the establishment of the lower performance of public JHS students in literature. The study employed a quantitative approach with a cross-sectional survey design to sample JHS teachers in the Municipality. The study used a questionnaire to collect data from a sample of 385 teachers who were chosen by quota sampling. Teacher professional practice (TP), schools’ resource endowment (SR), instructional supervision (IS), school time usage (ST), teacher motivation (TM), and parental support (PS) were considered as the determinants of academic performance in the study. It was revealed that private schools scored higher in terms of the indicators of academic performance, except for ST where equal variances were established for either school type. Statistically significant differences between established with the Mann-Whitney U test were found for all indicators except as well for ST. the study recommends that there should be efforts to boost-motivate public Junior High Schools teachers, and also consider subsidization over free public schools to generate funding for school resourcing.

An Appraisal of Educational Implications on Students in Small Scale Mining Activities in Ghana

The purpose of this study was to assess the educational implications of children involved in small scale mining activities at Kyebi in the Abuakwa South District of Ghana. Qualitatively, case study research design was adopted for the study. The population for the study consisted of junior high school head teachers in the Abuakwa South District of Ghana. Purposive sampling technique was used to select all the thirty (30) junior high school head teachers who have taught in the district between 25 to 30 years. The main instrument for data collection was Semi-structured interview guide. Data collected by the researchers from participants was analysed through the use of the interpretive method based on the themes identified at in the data collection. The themes were related to the research question and interpreted based on the number of issues raised by participants. The study concluded that, students’ academic lives are being hampered as a result of their continuous engagement in small scale mining activities at the expense of their schooling. The study also revealed that students always score below pass grades during the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) due to the menace caused by illegal mining activities, hence the poor academic performance. It is recommended that the Ghana Education Service, in collaboration with other stakeholders must institute strict measures to curb absenteeism in schools. This would go a long way to ensure that the pupils would attend school on a regular basis. It is also recommended that government intervention programmes such as School Feeding and Free School uniforms be made available to these children in order to keep them in school.

Neutrosophic-principal Component Analysis of Causes of Performance Gap among Private and Public School Students in the Basic Education Certificate Examination

The decade - old academic achievement discrepancies at the basic school level that are widely emphasized are still being worked on heavily in current research. In this study, we present a novel Neutrosophic-Principal Component Analysis and Two-way Neutrosophic ANOVA to analysing the causes of Performance Gap among private and public school students in the Basic Education Certificate Examination. One-hundred and eighty-nine respondents from the Ada East and West Districts of Ghana were involved in the study. We present a modified Neutrosophic regression equivalence of the classical least squares to solve problems of indeterminacy. The results showed that of the total 87% variability, three main components—student characteristics, instructor characteristics, and administrative-logistic features—accounted for 36%, 31%, and 20%, respectively. The remaining 13% of the variability, which was attributed to random effects by the Neutrosophic PCA technique, was tested using a two-way Neutrosophic ANOVA where the results identified that interaction between the identified factors was a contributing factor that needed to be explained. Our results reveal that Neutrosophic-PCA is a potential method to lessen human response errors, which are frequently tainted with ambiguous, conflicting, imprecise, indeterminate or uncertainty. When there is just a slight difference between the two options, the forced selection caused by the traditional Likert method will be eliminated by our new approach. When studying respondents' opinions, we recommend researchers to employ Neutrosophic- PCA in order to minimize any bias that may result from the responses' lack of precision.

Causes of Subpar Academic Achievement of Public Basic Schools with Emphasis on Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE): A Case Study of Sagnarigu Municipality in Northern Region, Ghana

The study was set up to determine the causes of poor academic achievement in the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) in the Sagnarigu Municipality in Tamale, Northern Region, Ghana. The study sought to identify the contributing causes of such subpar learning outcomes and to provide some policy interventions to address them. For the study, two research questions were established. Data collection and analysis were done using a qualitative approach. In relation to the basic schools in the Sagnarigu Municipality, the study's accessible population included students, head teachers, teachers, parents, and municipal examination officers. As data sources, interviews and historical records were used. The researcher used the case study technique because he wanted to clearly understand why Sagnarigu Municipality students perform poorly on the BECE examination. Twenty (20) Junior High Schools were chosen purposively from the Municipality. The sample size was also chosen using a random sampling technique and included (10) head teachers, (20) teachers, (20) parents, (20) students, and (2) municipal education examination officers, making a total of (72) participants. The study discovered that the low academic accomplishment in the BECE was mostly caused by all inputs and processes, including teachers, the school environment, parents, and the students themselves. The highlighted school environmental problems included a dearth of teachers with advanced degrees, a lack of suitable physical and material resources to support teaching and learning, and teachers abusing their time spent in direct contact with students. Instances of routine tardiness and absenteeism to school, inability to complete the curriculum and inadequate exercises, assignments, and projects given to students, as well as low/inadequate motivation and pay from the employer, were found to be teacher factors that contributed to the low academic achievement. The student traits that I considered relevant included instances of tardiness and absenteeism, lack of parental or guardian support for homework at home, involvement in vices like internet fraud also known as "yahoo" or "game guys", going to movie theaters and dance clubs, and drug usage. Parents' inability to offer reading materials like textbooks and supplemental readers, their lack of engagement with their children's instructors, and their lack of participation in PTA activities were all factors in the home that affected students' academic performance. Given the foregoing, the study came to the conclusion that all stakeholders—including the government, nongovernmental organizations, teachers, parents, and students—must play their respective parts in addressing the causes of low achievement in the basic schools under consideration in the Sagnarigu Municipality.

Proficiency in Algebraic Equations as a Predictor of Secondary School Students’ Academic Achievement in Mathematics

Mathematics is a tool for achieving educational and economic goals and aims in a nation or society. Thus, being good in mathematics will pave the way to excel in other subjects. Algebra has always been one of the main subjects in mathematics all over the world. This is probably due to the fact that algebra is the door to the extension of complex arithmetic calculations. This study therefore examined proficiency in algebraic equation as predictors of secondary school students’ performance in mathematics in Benin Metropolis. To achieve this, four research questions were raised. The design of this study was survey. The population of the study consisted of all the public junior secondary schools in Benin Metropolis, Edo State. One thousand one hundred and forty (1,140) students from 38 junior secondary schools serve as the sample for the study. The instrument for the data collection was an achievement test constructed by the researcher, which was drawn from past Basic Education Certificate Examination conducted by the National Examination Council for the 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021 academic sessions. The validity of the instrument was presumed to have been carried out by the National Examination Council, being an examination body saddled with the responsibility of conducting examinations in Nigeria. The reliability of the instrument was ascertained using the Kuder-Richardson Formula 20 and it gave the reliability indices of 0.90 and 0.93 respectively. The data collected were analyzed using mean and standard deviation, two-way Analysis of Variance, and Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient (r). The finding that emerged from the study revealed that the level of students’ proficiency in solving algebraic equations and mathematics was low. A significant relationship existed between proficiency in solving algebraic equations and students’ performance in mathematics, and sex was not a determining factor in students’ proficiency in algebraic equations and performance. It was recommended among others that teachers should ensure that students are well taught using various methods that will promote their comprehension of mathematical concepts.

Out-of-Field Teaching in Ghanaian Basic Schools: A Matrix of Basic School Teachers' Experiences in Ekumfi District

Globally, the problem of out-of-field teaching persists despite the frantic efforts of policymakers to ensure that qualified teachers are placed in classrooms to teach subjects and grade levels for which they were trained. Though statistics on the phenomenon remain scanty in Ghana, available evidence indicates that it accounts for the poor performance of students in the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), especially in rural areas. This study, therefore, explored the experiences of out-of-field teachers in the basic schools in the Ekumfi District. Using the multiple case-study designs, nine teachers were sampled for the study. Both interview guide and observation schedules were used for data collection, where data collected from the respondents were analyzed thematically. The study revealed that teachers found themselves teaching out-of-field due to policy directives at the school level but not of their own volition. Therefore, most of them have not adjusted well to the demands of the classroom. They, therefore, struggle to prepare appropriate lesson notes, conduct assessments, and effectively manage their classrooms. The study concludes that students' performance in the rural parts of Ghana is likely to continue to decrease if policies that may limit its influence in the classroom are not pursued. Therefore, the study recommends that the Ministry of Education and its subsidiary agencies, such as the Ghana Education Service, develop a policy framework to guide the recruitment and deployment of teachers.

Psychometric Analysis of 2018-2020 Basic Education Certificate Examination Mathematics Objective Test Items

The study analyzed the psychometric properties of Mathematics Objective test items in Basic Education certificate examination from 2018 to 2020 academic sessions in Rivers State. Three research questions guided the study; Evaluation and descriptive survey designs were employed for the study. In determining the psychometric properties of the test items, a sample of 1500 JSS3 marked students’ scripts were randomly drawn from six Local Governments Areas using the multistage sample approach of purposive and proportionate techniques, out of the population of 19056 JSS3 marked students’ scripts in the 105 public secondary schools in the six Local Government Areas in Rivers State. Past mathematics objective test items question papers and JSS1 to JSS3 curriculum and syllabus were used as the instrument for data collection, R. Software was used to calculate the reliability, difficulty indices, discrimination indices and distracter indices, while percentage, frequency and scheme of work were used to ascertain the content validity. The findings indicated that the objective test items content area were not in adequate proportion, the co-efficient of internal consistency was high, Basic Education Certificate Examination 2018 had the highest reliability coefficient. All the test items passed the psychometric properties criteria. It was recommended among others, options that options that distracted those in the high ability needs to be reviewed for effectiveness in attracting the low ability students, for example item 60 was a bad distracter as it had a negative value. This would improve students’ academic performance in Mathematics in Basic Education Certificate Examination in Rivers State.

Evaluation of Differential Item Functioning of Basic education certificate examination (BECE) Mathematics Items in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

Evaluation of Differential Item Functioning of Basic education certificate examination (BECE) Mathematics Items in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

EFFECT OF TIME MANAGEMENT ON THE PERFORMANCE OF PRIMARY PUPILS IN THE JOMORO MUNICIPALITY

In any school context, time is a scarce resource that affects a diverse variety of education stakeholders, including students, principals, teachers, supervisors, and parents. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of time management on students academic performance at the Basic Education Certificate Examination in Jomoro Municipality, Ghana. The researchers used a stratified and simple random sample technique to pick 140 primary school instructors and 140 children for the study, as well as 12 head teachers who were chosen using a purposive sampling technique. The research was carried out in a descriptive manner, which was the goal of the study. To collect and analyze the data, a questionnaire, an interview schedule, and an observation guide were all used. Piloting of the study instruments was carried out in the neighboring Ellembele Municipality in order to fine-tune them. During a preliminary test, the questionnaire was validated with the help of supervisors and colleagues who provided expert advice. The Split-half technique was used to determine instrument dependability, which was found to be 0.87 for teachers and 0.75 for students using the results of the study. The qualitative data and findings that were provided in verbatim and narrative form were subjected to content analysis for evaluation. In SPSS, descriptive statistics such as frequencies, percentages, and means were used to explore quantitative data, with the results displayed in tables. A statistically significant association between time management and students academic achievement on the BECE was discovered, as indicated by a p-value of 0.001 for the study. To manage time in schools effectively, the report recommends that the School Board of Management and other education stakeholders make use of contemporary technologies. A similar study at other institutional levels of learning, according to the findings, should be done in order to compare and contrast the findings of this study with those of previous studies. KEYWORDS: Basic Education Certificate Examination; Primary pupils; Academic performance; Time management

Washback Effect of High-Stakes English Language Tests on the Learning Behaviours of Ghanaian ESL Learners

The term washback or backwash is used in Applied Linguistics to refer to the impact of second/foreign language testing on learning behaviours, teaching practices, and curriculum design. The Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) and the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) English language tests administered by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) are high-stakes tests which have very important consequences for the junior and senior high school leavers. The English language syllabus for both junior high school and senior high school levels has listening , reading , writing , and speaking components. Unfortunately, the BECE and WASSCE English language tests do not assess students on all the language skills. Although the WASSCE English language test has oral English component (which was introduced in 1999), it assesses candidates on listening comprehension only. Since teachers and students are likely to concentrate on what is going to be assessed, there may be negative washback effect on teaching and learning of English language in junior and senior high schools in Ghana. This paper reports on the washback effect of high-stakes English language tests on the learning behaviours of Ghanaian ESL learners. A total of 344 students from 3 junior high and 5 senior high schools were purposively sampled for the study. Qualitative and quantitative analysis of data revealed that the BECE/WASSCE influenced how students learnt English, and that they wanted their teachers to concentrate on language areas that would only make them perform well in the high-stakes tests. This confirms the Alderson and Wall’s washback hypotheses that a test will influence what and how learners learn. DOI: 10.7176/JEP/12-30-10 Publication date: October 31 st 2021

Predictive Validity of Students’ Achievement Scores in Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) on Achievement in Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) Conducted by NECO in Mathematics

This study, investigated Predictive Validity of Students’ Achievement Scores in Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) on Achievement in Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) conducted by NECO in Mathematics. Three research questions and three null hypotheses guided the study. The sample of the study comprised 3910 candidates sampled from 7 randomly drawn unity schools within Ebonyi and Abia states of Nigeria for the period under study (2014 – 2019). The official BECE scores and SSCE scores in mathematics of the students domiciled in NECO headquarters Minna, Niger state, Nigeria served as data for the study. Data collected were analyzed using Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation to answer the research questions and Multiple Regression statistics to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The analysis of the data revealed that BECE scores have a strong validity with the students’ achievement in SSCE mathematics examination. Furthermore, there was a statistically significant relationship between the students BECE scores and their achievement in SSCE mathematics examination. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended among others that the BECE preparation of the students should be given serious attention because of its proven predictive value on achievement at the SSCE level. Keywords: Mathematics, Predictive Validity, and Academic Achievement DOI: 10.7176/JEP/12-21-03 Publication date: July 31 st 2021