ASSESSMENT OF PERFORMANCE LEVELS OF PRIVATE SCHOOL STUDENTS IN ECONOMICS IN THE SENIOR SCHOOL CERTIFICATE EXAMINATION (SSCE) IN EBONYI STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

The study assessed the performance levels of private school students in economics in the senior school certificate examination (SSCE) in Ebonyi State, Nigeria from 2016 to 2021 in ex post facto/causal design. Multi-stage sampling techniques were used in selecting the 12 schools that participated in senior secondary school economics examination. Data were collected with the aid of a checklist of students' results from the selected schools. Descriptive statistics were used in data analysis while T-test was used for hypotheses testing. Results showed that the performance of students in Economics in private urban secondary schools was better than their performance in private rural secondary schools. Greater percentage (70%) had credit pass in urban schools while 41% had credit pass in private rural schools. Majority (53%) of the male students had credit pass in Economics while 41% of female students obtained credit pass in Economics. Results of hypotheses tested showed that there is a significant difference in the mean performance of students in Economics in private urban and rural secondary schools and a significant difference also existed in the mean performance of male and female students in Economics SSCE in private secondary. It was concluded that students in urban private schools performed better in senior school certificate Economics examination relative to their counterparts in rural areas of Ebonyi State, with the male students scoring more credits than the female students. It is recommended that the students should be actively involved in the learning process for better performance in external examination