State Based Transition and Mock Examinations As Predictors of Students’ Achievement in Senior Secondary School Examination in Kogi State
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STATE BASED TRANSITION AND MOCK EXAMINATIONS AS PREDICTORS OF STUDENTS’ ACHIEVEMENT IN SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL EXAMINATION IN KOGI STATE BY OBAJEMU, STEPHEN FOLORUNSO PG/M.Ed/12/63757 DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE EDUCATION FACULTY OF EDUCATION UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA. NOVEMBER, 2016 TITLE PAGE STATE BASED TRANSITION AND MOCK EXAMINATIONS AS PREDICTORS OF STUDENTS’ ACHIEVEMENT IN SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL EXAMINATION IN KOGI STATE BY OBAJEMU, STEPHEN FOLORUNSO PG/M.Ed/12/63757 DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE EDUCATION FACULTY OF EDUCATION UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA. SUPERVISOR PROF. S. A. EZEUDU NOVEMBER, 2016 i APPROVAL PAGE This thesis has been approved for the Department of Science Education, Faculty of Education, University of Nigeria, Nsukka. By ……………………………. ……………………………. Prof. S. A. Ezeudu Dr. (Mrs) Ebere Ibe Supervisor Internal Examiner ……………………………. ……………………………. External Examiner Prof. Z. C. Njoku Head of Department ……………………………. Prof. U. C. Umo Dean, Faculty of Education ii CERTIFICATION Obajemu, Stephen Folorunso, a postgraduate student in the Department of Science Education with Reg. No. PG/M.Ed/12/63757 has satisfactorily completed the requirements for the award of Masters Degree (M.Ed) in Measurement and Evaluation. The work embodied in this thesis is original and has not been submitted in part or whole for any other Diploma or Degree of this or any other University. ……………………………. ……………………………. Obajemu, Stephen Folorunso Prof. Ezeudu S. A Student Supervisor iii DEDICATION This work is dedicated to the Almighty God for His favour, grace, strength and the gift of life to be able to embark on a programme like this and to my beloved wife, Obajemu Rachael Fisayo, for her encouragement and support. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I express my profound gratitude to Almighty God in whose grace and mercy this work was possible. I equally appreciate the effort of my supervisor, Prof. S.A. Ezeudu, for his support, suggestions and reading through the manuscript of this work in the face of his tight schedule,.Sir, God bless you. Also worthy of special appreciation are the lecturers in the Department of Science Education, especially the Head of Department, Prof. Z. C. Njoku, Prof. B. G. Nworgu, Prof. D. N. Eze, Dr. B.C. Madu for their candid advice support and taking the pain to go through the instrument, Dr.J.J. Ezeugwu, Dr. U. J. Utibe, Mr. Uguanyi Christian for their timely support. I cannot, but appreciate my readers, Prof. A. A Nwosu, Dr. J.J. Agah and Dr. E. Ibe, for their time taken to critique this work and give to it a better look. May God bless you all. Worthy of special appreciation is my beloved wife, Mrs. Obajemu Rachael F, my loving father who never lived to see the outcome of this work despite all his contributions to the success of this programme. May his soul rest in perfect peace. The researcher equally thank some of his course mates, especially, Dike Felix, Osinachi Ochei, Benjamen, Ayozie Chiwendu, Okundu Chidinma, Ella Barnabas, Chibuzor and Thank God Dieze for their great support. Aleke Nkemdilim is equally appreciated for arranging this work to a befitting state. I appreciate you, I love you all. v TABLE OF CONTENTS TITLE PAGE I APPROVAL PAGE II CERTIFICATION III DEDICATION IV ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS V TABLE OF CONTENTS VI LIST OF TABLES IX LIST OF FIGURE X ABSTRACT XI CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTON - 1 Background of the Study 1 Statement of the problem 9 Purpose of the study 9 Significance of the study 10 Scope of the study 12 Research questions 12 Hypotheses 13 CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF LITERATURE 14 Conceptual Framework 15 Concept of Examination 15 Concept of Validity 17 Concept of Achivement in some school subjects 21 The concept and meaning of correlation and regression 28 vi Thoretical Framework 30 Classical Test Theory 31 Theory of regression 33 Review of Related Empirical Studies 36 Summary of Literature Review 48 CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHOD 50 Design of the Study 50 Area of the Study 50 Population of the Study 51 Sample and Sampling Technique 51 Instrument for Data Collection 52 Validation of Instrument 52 Reliability of Instrument 53 Method of Data Collection 53 Method of Data Analysis 53 CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS 54 Research Question 1 54 Hypothesis 1 56 Research Question 2 57 Hypothesis 2 58 Research Question 3 58 Hypothesis 3 59 Research Question 4 60 Hypothesis 4 61 vii Research Question 5 61 Hypothesis 5 62 Research Question 6 63 Hypothesis 6 64 Summary of the Results 64 CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION OF RESULT, RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUMMARY 66 Discussion of the Results 66 Conclusion 71 Educational Implication of the study 72 Limitations of the Study 74 Recommendations 74 Suggestion for further studies 75 Summary of the Study 76 REFERENCES 79 APPENDIX 86 A: Names of the public secondary schools in Mopamuro LGA 86 B: Names of the public secondary schools in Kabba/Bunnu LGA 87 C: Students’ grade chart (SGC) 88 D: Output of data analysis 89 viii LIST OF TABLES Tables 1. Correlation matrix of the independent and dependent variables 54 2. Multiple regression analysis of predictor variables with the criterion variable SSCE 55 3. ANOVA of relationship between Maths TRANS, MOCK and SSCE Maths 56 4. ANOVA of relationship between English Language TRANS, MOCK and SSCE English Language 58 5. ANOVA of relationship between Physics TRANS, MOCK and SSCE Physics 59 6. ANOVA of relationship between Chemistry TRANS, MOCK and SSCE Chemistry 61 7. ANOVA of relationship between Biology TRANS, MOCK and SSCE Biology 62 8. ANOVA of relationship between TRANS, MOCK and SSCE 64 ix LIST OF FIGURE Figure 1: Schematic diagram of the relationship between the variables 30 x ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which Transition and Mock examinations predict the student achievement in SSCE. The design of the study was correlational survey research design carried out in Kabba/Bunu and Mopamuro local government areas in the western senatorial district of Kogi state. The population comprised of 9,677 secondary II students who sat for Transition examination in 2013/2014 academic session and wrote Mock examination in first term SS III. A sample of 520 students from the two local government areas was drawn using proportionate stratified sampling technique. The instrument used for the data collection was students’ grade chart (SGC). It was a standardized pro-forma. It was designed in such a way that the students’ grades could be obtained in STANINE form, that is, A1, B2, B3, C4, C5, C6, D7, E8 and F9 and assigned 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 respectively.. The questions were answered using descriptive statistics and the hypotheses were tested at .05 level of significance using Regression Analysis of variance (ANOVA). Major findings of the study showed that; (1) Transition and Mock Examinations in Mathematics are good predictors of SSCE Mathematics. Transition and Mock scores accounted for 58% of the variance of students’ achievement in SSCE Mathematics. (2)There was a good prediction of SSCE English Language by Transition and Mock Examinations. Transition and Mock Examinations in English Language predicted 42% of the total variance of the students’ achievement in SSCE English Language. (3) Transition and Mock Examinations in Physics are good predictors of SSCE Physics. Transition and Mock scores accounted for 38% of the variance of students’ achievement in SSCE Physics. (4) The prediction of Transition and Mock Examinations in Chemistry was good. 50% of the total variance of students’ achievement in Transition and Mock Chemistry accounted for students’ achievement in SSCE Chemistry. (5) Transition and Mock Examinations in Biology are good predictors of SSCE Biology. Transition and Mock scores accounted for 37% of the variance of students’ achievement in SSCE Biology. (6) The combination of Transition and Mock Examinations scores jointly accounted for 72% of the variance of students’ achievement in SSCE. Based on these findings, it was recommended among others that Kogi state ministry of Education should ensure that the selection of students for SSCE is maintained while the Transition Examination is sustained and the repackaged Mock Examination is improved upon for better performance in these external examinations. xi CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION Background of the Study There are examination bodies that are charged with the responsibility of conducting standardized examinations in Nigeria for certification of senior secondary schools. The bodies are, West African Examinations Council (WAEC), the National Examinations Council (NECO), National Business and Technical Board (NABTEB) and so on. According to the report made available by WAEC (2015), the University of Cambridge Local Examination Syndicate, University of London School Examinations Matriculation Council and West African Department of Education met in 1948 concerning Education in West Africa. Dr. George Barker Jeffery was appointed in the meeting to visit some West African States to see the general education level. The report given by Jeffery (1950) supported the proposal of a West African Examinations Council and making detailed recommendation and duties of the council. The report was adopted without reservation by the four West African governments (Nigeria, Gambia, Ghana and Sierra Leone) and an ordinance (WAEC ordinance No 40) establishing the council as a corporate body was drafted by the West African Inter-Territorial secretariat in consultation with the governments. Nigerian government provided accommodation for the body in 1953. To this effect, a block at the Technical Institute, Yaba was given to WAEC. The four countries that are members are – Nigeria, Gambia, Ghana and Sierra-Leone. The following are the categories of Examinations conducted by the body; 1) National Examinations – These are restricted to the specific member countries for which they are developed and reflect their local policies, needs and aspirations. 1 2 2) International Examinations – These are developed for candidates in all the member countries.