A Study of Secondary School Students’ Academic Performance at the Senior School Certificate Examinations and Implications for Educational Planning and Policy in Nigeria

Abstract

This study assessed and investigated the academic performance of secondary school students in two principal subjects (English Language and Mathematics) at the Senior School Certificate Examinations (SSCE) in ten secondary schools typical of urban and rural locations in five randomised Local Government Areas of Oyo State, Nigeria between 2005 and 2007. The study employed a descriptive survey research design. An instrument titled: Students' Academic Performance in English Language and Mathematics Questionnaire (SAPEMQ) was used to collect relevant data for the study. The ten secondary schools involved were selected based on simple random Copyright© IAARR 2011: www.afrrevjo.com 315 Indexed African Journals Online: www.ajol.info sampling technique and the statistical tools employed to analyse the data collected were percentages, means scores and multiple regression (backward procedure). Four research questions and one null hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. The result among other things revealed that, there was a marked difference in the performance of students in urban and rural schools at the SSCE with impressive means scores obtained in urban schools (Urban = 69.8, 54.4 and 60.2 in 2005, 2006 and 2007 respectively; Rural = 36.4, 24.9 and 23.8 in 2005, 2006 and 2007 respectively). The implications of the findings for educational planning and policy in Nigeria were discussed.