Secondary School Certificate Examination Research Articles

Effect of Gender of the Head Teachers on the Academic Success of the School Students in Bangladesh

The present investigation was conducted to see the effect of gender of head teachers on the academic success of the school students in . A total of 60 head teachers (male = 37, female = 23) and 3776 students (boys = 2142, girls = 1634) were randomly selected from the schools in a divisional town in to serve as sample. Academic success records of the students in their Primary School Completion Examination and Secondary School Certificate Examination were collected from the results published by the ‘Rajshahi Education Board’. The results indicate that the gender of the school head teachers has significant effect on the academic success of the students. The result also revealed that the students in primary schools under the leadership of female head teachers performed significantly better than those led under male head teachers, whereas the students in secondary schools obtained significantly better grades in the examinations under the leadership of male head teachers than the students led by female head teachers.

Standardization of the Saudi Secondary School Certificate Examinations and Their Anticipated Impact on Foreign Language Education

Scholastic Achievement tests are standardized in form and content to fairly serve all the audience - who take them - under similar circumstances. Therefore, they are reliable tools for measuring the performance of the examinees. On the other hand, proficiency tests are intended to measure the overall abilities of the learners. So they cannot serve as yardstick to tell us about the degree of the attainment of the national educational objectives embedded in the textbooks. The Education authority is advised to recall the national certificate examinations which qualify learners for higher education, under fair national competition. The role of other proficiency tests should be integrative and complimentary to the major role of the Ministry of Education, who alone should have the right to interpret the usefulness and credibility of secondary school certificate, and how to use this national document in the assessment of students' performance at the personal, national or international level.

The effect of parental education attainment on school outcomes

This paper analyzes whether there exists a causal relationship between parental educational attainment and student outcomes or success. The research was carried out on 260 students, teachers and parents from six randomly selected secondary schools in three local government areas of Ogun state, Nigeria. The Junior Senior Secondary School Certificate Examinations (JSSCE) performance were used as variables for measuring school outcomes while less than bachelor‘s degree as well as bachelor‘s degree or its equivalent to PhD were used to measure parental educational attainment. Two null hypotheses were developed and Chi square statistics was used to analyse its findings. Parental education attainment was discovered to have a significant and fundamental effect on school outcomes.

Correlating continuous assessment scores to junior secondary school certificate examination final scores in Imo State

This study investigated the relationship between continuous assessment scores and junior secondary school certificate examination(JSCE) final scores in Imo State. A sample of four hundred students were purposively selected from thirty eight thousand students who took the 1997 JSCE in Imo State. The data used were collected from the cumulative records of students‟ scores in continuous assessment and JSCE grades and analyzed using Pearson product moment formula for research questions while all the hypothesis were tested using z-ratio at 0.05 level of significance. Three out of the four null hypothesis tested were rejected, while one was accepted. Finally, recommendations and suggestions were made for further research.Keywords: Correlation; continuous assessment; examination; performance

Relationship between the Teaching of Literature-in-English and the English Language in the Students’ Performance in the West African Senior Secondary School Certificate Examinations in Nigeria

Relationship between the Teaching of Literature-in-English and the English Language in the Students’ Performance in the West African Senior Secondary School Certificate Examinations in Nigeria

Classroom Climate and Students’ Academic Achievement in Social Studies in Cross River, Nigeria

This research project examined “Classroom climate and its relationship with students’ academic achievement in Social Studies”. Ex post facto design was adopted. The population of the study comprised 14,297 JSS III students and the sample was 1,200 JSS III students selected through stratified random technique from the three Educational Zones in State Secondary Education Board, Cross River State. The instrument used was a structured six-point Likert scale questionnaire, the reliability estimate of which ranged from 0.7 to 0.8 and achievement test adapted from Junior Secondary School Certificate Examination, Ministry of Education, Cross River State (2004) were used to collect information used in the study. The data collected were analysed using Pearson Product Moment Correlation and Multiple Regression. The hypothesis was tested at .05 level of significance and 1198 and F (9,1190) degree of freedom. Based on the findings, it was concludedthat all the independent variables mentioned in this study jointly contribute to the variance in students’ academic achievement in Social Studies. It was recommended that Social Studies teachers should be trained to improve their skills on an encouraging classroom climate for students’ confidence and initiative through seminars, conferences and in-service programmes.

Interpreting Skills of Senior Secondary School Students in Elective Biology in the Central Region of Ghana.

Investigation was made into students* proficiency at interpreting biological diagrams, an important component of senior secondary school certificate examination (SSSCE) in Biology Paper 2. In all 303 elective biology students, aged between 15 and 24years made up of 159 males and 144 females in urban and rural senior secondary schools were randomly selected for the study. A performance task was the instrument used to determine the interpreting skills of the students. Majority of the students seem not able to interpret biological diagrams. Sex, age and the type of school the students attended were found not to be related to their performance at interpreting biological diagrams. Nevertheless, a greater proportion of females than males exhibited the same level of performance in interpreting biological diagrams. The major implication of the results for science education is that a lot of data interpretation exercises should be included in the teaching of biology.

The Effect of Students' Achievement Motivation on their Cognitive Performance Behaviour

This has been an attempt to investigate the effect of achievement motivation on students cognitive activities. In the study, 200 SS II students were selected by stratified random sampling as participants. Achievement Motivation Scale, a 30-item multiple choice questions in chemistry (compiled from past General Certificate Education of Certificate Examination and Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination and a 25-item Attitude Scale for Chemistry were the instruments used to collect data. All the three instruments were validated through pilot study. Three Research Hypotheses were stated to guide the research. Pearson product Moment Corrleation Statistics was used to analyze data. It was found that both the Achievement Motivation Scale scores, the attitude scale scores and student perception of the teaching method scores show significant correlation to students academic achievement in chemistry. Theories of Achievement Motivation and behaviour modification were used to explain the findings from the study. Based on the findings, recommendation were made. Keywords : Achievement Motivation; cognitive performance. International Journal of Educational Research Vol. 3 (1) 2007 pp. 105-113

The effect of alternative assessment on the attitudes and achievement in mathematics of female pre-service teachers in Ghana

This paper examines the effect of exposing one of two groups of preservice female teachers to alternate forms of assessment. Both groups were first year students in a teacher training college and received 8 weeks of normal instruction in mathematics content and traditional assessment by the same teacher. The students were interviewed on their attitudes towards mathematics before and after instruction. In addition, the students took two pretests and corresponding posttests. The external achievement tests were similar to the 1997 Mathematics Paper of the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (SSSCE) and the internal achievement tests were based on the content of instruction. The results of the study showed significant improvement in both the internal and external achievement of the experimental group, but only significant improvement in the internal achievement of the control group. Also, the experimental group achieved higher gains on both achievement tests than the control group. Students in the experimental group exhibited greater positive attitudinal changes and expressed the benefits they derived from the alternative assessment activities in their journals and portfolios. Suggestions for intervention programmes to improve female pre-service teachers' attitudes, achievement and participation in mathematics are discussed. African Journal of Educational Studies in Mathematics and Sciences Vol. 1, 2001: 21-30

Relationship between admission grades and performances of students in the first professional examination in a new medical school

In order to determine the relationship between the quality of Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (SSCE) results, Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board organised Universities Matriculation Examination (JAMB-UME) scores, and student's academic performance at Lagos state University College of Medicine (LASUCOM), Nigeria, records of students admitted into the Medical School in 1998/99 were studied. Data transformations were completed and subsequently standardized. Standard descriptive statistics and correlation coefficient were used to determine the correlation between the variables. The results showed that there was no significant correlation between the SSCE and the JAMB scores. In addition, correlation between JAMB and the student performance at 100 level and pre -clinical sciences also proved to be non significant. These results indicate that SSCE is a better predicator of students' performance at pre -clinical sciences examination than JAMB Scores. African Journal of Biomedical Research Vol. 8(1) 2005: 51-57

The relationship between students' BECE and SSSCE grades in mathematics

The purpose of the study was to find out whether there was a relationship between students' performances in mathematics in the Basic Education Certificate Examinations (BECE) and Senior Secondary School Certificate Examinations (SSSCE) in the Cape Coast Municipality. A sample of 400 students from two randomly selected schools was used. These 400 students were made up of two groups of 100 each from one school who took their BECE in 1996 and 1997 and another two groups of 100 each who also took their BECE in 1997 and 1998. The BECE performances of the 1996 and 1997 were compared with their respective SSSCE performances in 1999 and 2000. Similarly, the BECE performances of the 1997 and 1998 groups were compared with their respective SSSCE performances in 2000 and 2001. The SPSS software was used to analyze the results. The results show that there were no significant correlations between the BECE Mathematics performances and that of the SSSCE. All the hypotheses were tested at five percent level of significance. Mathematics Connection Vol. 5 2005: 39-48

Assessment of science practical skills in Omani 12th‐grade students

A study of science practical skills in Omani 12th‐grade students was carried out using two test modes: paper and pencil and circus. A random selection of science‐stream students was made in schools across Oman. From the national population of 1606 science‐stream students, an 11% sample took part in the circus mode and a 23#lb5% sample in the paper‐and‐pencil test. Three questions were addressed, one concerning science practical skill performance and gender, another on performance in the Omani Secondary School Certificate examinations, while a third question probed the influence of school environment on practical skill performance. Girls outperformed boys in the observation skill in both test modes while boys showed a superior performance in measurement skills. No substantive relationships were found between the practical skill tests and written science examinations. It was found that school factors have a more important influence on practical skill performance than does gender.

In Support of a Sociological Explanation of Sex Differences in Science and Mathematics Achievement: evidence from a Kuwaiti study of secondary school certificate examinations

Abstract This study of 4578 Kuwaiti students explores the relationships between gender and achievement in chemistry, physics, biology, geology and mathematics, as measured by the Secondary School Certificate Examination at the end of the academic year 1982‐83. Girls attained significantly superior results compared with boys in all science subjects. The opposite trend occurred with mathematics. With regards to nationality it was found that non‐Kuwaiti students achieved significantly superior mean scores than Kuwaiti students in all subjects. Boys in rural schools achieved significantly better mean scores than those in urban schools in biology, chemistry and physics but not in either geology or mathematics. In contrast, girls in urban schools attained superior mean scores to those in rural schools in all subjects. Sociological factors are put forward to explain these trends which contradict the research findings of similar studies undertaken in Western Countries.