Class size and academic achievement of secondary school in Ekiti State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study looked at the class size as it relates to academic performance of students in Ekiti state of Nigeria between 1990 and 1997. The study population was the results of the West African School Certificate Examinations (WASCE) conducted between 1990 and 1997 in 50 secondary schools in both rural and urban areas of the state. One validated instrument Students' Class Size Questionnaire (SCSQ) was used for data collection. One hypothesis was formulated and answered. Data were analysed using mean and t-test. The result showed that there was no significant difference in the academic achievement of students in small and large classes from urban schools (t = 1.49; p < 0.05); there is no significant difference between performance of students from rural large and rural small classes (t = 0.58; p < 0.05). It was recommended that policy makers and government should ensure that more classrooms are built and number of students in a class should not be more than 30. The Parent Teacher Association (PTA), philanthropist and other charitable organizations are also implored to compliment the effort of the government to boost the performance of students in SSCE by building more class rooms and buildings.