national assessment of learning achievement in...

i

National Assessment of Learning

Achievement in Basic Education

in Nigeria

JUNIOR SECONDARY THREE

NALABE 2017

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Published by

Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC)

UBEC Building, 7, Gwani Street, Wuse Zone 4,

P.M.B. 5089, Post Code 900284, Abuja, Nigeria.

E-mail: [email protected]

Website: www.ubec.gov.ng

www.ubeconline.com

© Universal Basic Education Commission

ISBN: 978-978-50391-2-2

All Rights Reserved

Except for the purposes of research, review or critique, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in

a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording

or otherwise, without the express permission of Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC).

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.ubec.gov.ng/

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Preface

In September 1999, the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) launched Universal Basic

Education Programme (UBEP) to support state and local governments in the provision of

quality basic education in the country. This was followed by an Act establishing Universal

Basic Education Commission in 2004. The goal was to ensure access, equity and quality in

the provision of basic education. This was in line with the World declaration on “Education for All” in Jomtien 1990 and Dakar 2000, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) now

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The declarations focused on the provision of free

and compulsory education to all children.

In 2001, under the UBE Programme, the first edition of National Assessment on Learning

Achievement in Basic Education was conducted on primary four learners, teachers, parents

and Head-teachers. The findings from the study were used in furthering support to state and

local governments, particularly in the areas of teacher development, instructional materials

and infrastructure.

In 2003, the second edition of the study was carried out using Primary classes 4, 5, 6 and

Junior secondary classes 1 and 2. The study was a follow-up to the first one. However, the

scope of the second edition was increased to include primary 5, 6 and JSS 1 and 2. Findings

from this study were used in reviewing the entire strategy for support to state and local

governments in areas of inputs and processes. Arising from the result of the two studies, the

World Bank Supported Primary Education Project (PEP II) conducted an Action Research on

improving teaching and learning that provided recommendations for improving

teacher/learner achievement.

In 2006, the third edition of the study on National Assessment was conducted as a follow-up

to the earlier ones. This edition examined learners‟ achievement in primary 6 and junior secondary classes 1 and 2, so as to gauge the progress made in basic education delivery. The

result was used to make some changes in the strategies for teacher development and provision

of instructional materials to schools.

The fourth edition of the Assessment was conducted in 2011. It took five years to be

conducted as against the traditional triennial period. The study focused on primary classes 4,

5 and 6 and junior secondary 1. Thus far, it is the only study available for use by the

stakeholders interested in basic education in the country. The acronym, NAUBEP was also

changed to National Assessment of Learning Achievement in Basic Education (NALABE),

because of the new status the programme assumed following the promulgation of Universal

Basic Education Act 2004.

The Commission began preparation for the fifth-edition in the series in 2014. The preparation

had series of activities, which involved generation of test items using curriculum experts,

specialists in Educational Measurement and Evaluation, and classroom teachers who taught

the core subjects at primary and junior secondary levels, trial-testing, and final selection of

the test items for test administration. The test administration was eventually conducted in

November 2017 while data entry and analysis were effected in March 2018 and the report

finalised in May, 2018.

The National Assessment of Learning Achievement in Basic Education provides empirical

evidence on learning outcomes and their contexts. It is essential for determining strengths and

weaknesses of the subsystems as it offers useful recommendations for review of the existing

strategies for improvement and innovation.

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I wish to acknowledge the roles played by groups and individuals towards the realisation of

this study. Amongst them are members of the Technical Working Committee comprising of

Dr Sharon Oriero-Oviemuno (Deputy Executive Secretary-Technical), Alh. Dauda Alhasan

(Former Ag. Director, Special Programme), Dr T. T. Onosode (Ag. Director, Planning,

Research and Statistics), Mal. Wadatau Madawaki (Ag. Director, Academic Services); the

subject specialists: Ada Veronica Ogwuche, Aleshin Mayowa, Deborah Dajep, Aliyu Shaba

Imam, Ziporah Panguro, Vincent Egwuzoro and Nneka Okafor; the Report Writing Team;

Prof. Gidado Tahir (Chairman), Prof. C. O. Onocha (Vice Chairman), Prof. Tony Afemikhe,

Prof O. Oyedeji, Prof Abubakar Hamman-Tukur, Prof Ismaila Tsiga, Prof. Gbenga Adewale,

Dr I. E. Anyanwu, Dr C. C. Agomoh and Dr Ishaku Usman Gadzama; the Technical support

Team: Mal. Jibo Abdullahi (Former Director, Quality Assurance), Mr Sylvester Enyinnaya

(Ag. Director, Quality Assurance), Arit Akpan (Head, Assessment Unit), Julius Adedoja

(Desk officer) and Abdulrasheed Ayangbayi; and finally the Secretariat staff Tina

Emuekpere, Patrick Agu, John Umoru and Yohana Wobin.

It is my strong belief that this report will provide our key stakeholders: State and Local

Governments, Civil Society Organisations, Community Based Organisations the Academia,

International Development Partners, the Private sector, philanthropists and individuals the

opportunity to appreciate the progress or otherwise being made in the achievement of the

objectives of basic education in Nigeria. Finally, I wish to urge all the stakeholders to be

more dedicated towards the improvement of basic education delivery in the country through

action research, technology-driven process and innovations that will uplift the programme to

higher level. Education for all is the responsibility of all.

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Executive Summary

One of the major concerns in the provision of Basic Education in Nigeria has been quality

and Universal Basic Education (UBE) in Nigeria was established through an all-inclusive

right-based policy reform. The focus of UBE is to meet the Education For All (EFA),

Millennium Development Goals and the more contemporaneous Sustainable Development

Goals and targets. There has been an appreciable increase in government investment in Basic

Education lately with a corresponding increase in the same by the donor community.

However, this has not translated into any remarkable improvement in quality learning

outcomes in the nation‟s Basic Education sub-sector, this explains why NALABE was carried

out. This is the 4th

study and the objectives were to: assess level of achievement of learners in

primary 6 in the four core subjects of English Studies, Mathematics, Basic Science and

Technology and Social Studies; synthesise basic information on primary and junior

secondary schools in Nigeria, and use same to explain learners‟ achievement, access to schools as well as school-community relationships; and assess contextual variables that might

be used as explanatory variables for the levels of competency acquired in the various skill

areas.

The samplings were done in four stages: six Local Government Education Authorities

(LGEAs) were randomly selected from each of the 35 States while three each were randomly

selected from Bayelsa and FCT. Secondly, five primary schools were randomly sampled in

each of the 35 States and three from FCT and Bayelsa. At the third stage, a class was

randomly selected from the number of streams in the primary six. At the fourth stage, random

sampling was undertaken to select 20 learners where there were more than 20 learners in the

selected classes. In all, 216 LGEAs, 1,080 primary schools, 21,600 primary 6 learners, 3,240

primary 6 teachers and 12,960 parents of primary 6 learners were used. The following were

done in the test development: a review and update of the frameworks of curriculum content

domains for the subjects: English studies, Social Studies, Basic Science and Technology and

Mathematics; developing items and scoring guides in accordance with the specifications of

content and cognitive domains in the frameworks; conducting trials of the items on

equivalent samples and conducting item analysis; and selection of items. The test items were

administered on equivalent samples of the respective populations in five schools and in four

states. In all, 1,199 Multiple Choice Test responses and 50 constructed response scripts were

obtained. The development of four context questionnaires for pupils/learners, teachers, head-

teachers /principals and parents was similar to the Tests. Previous National Assessments

conducted by the Commission were anchored on Classical Test Theory (CTT) but Item

Response Theory (IRT) was used in analysing 2017 NALABE. The results are presented in

the next paragraphs.

Learners' Home and Support The first training ground for a child is the home. For a child to adjust very well in school

depends largely on the type of support the child receives from the home. The home and

neighbourhoods are complex social environments which intricately interact and impact

positively or otherwise on the growth, development and school achievement of learners.

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Therefore, home plays a vital role in the overall achievement of a child. This sub-section

illustrates the type of support learners receive from the home.

Majority (88.0 percent) of the learners lived with their parents; 73.5 percent of learners ate

breakfast at home while the rest had other means of taking theirs. Learners ate between 1-4

times per day. Ownership of textbooks facilitated independent home study and work on

learning tasks and assignments and directly impacted on academic performance, however,

about 50.0 percent of the learners owned English Studies and Mathematics textbooks. Only

8.70 percent of the learners spent up to three hours or more on homework per week. Learners

obtained assistance in accomplishing homework from several sources within and outside the

home. Other forms of home support included response to teachers‟ invitation for discussion or call by many parents, provision of learning resources, commuting the learners to school,

etc. A majority of them were positive that their parents liked them.

Teachers in Schools

Apart from homes, teachers are significant component of the learners‟ education. The Nigerian National Policy on Education appreciates the fact that no education system rises

above the quality of its teachers. It is therefore imperative that any national study on

assessment should understand the teacher within the context of the school. Therefore, this

subsection presents the teachers (including the head-teacher) in the school.

The head teacher, a primus inter pares occupies a unique position and plays an important

role in a school. About 83.4 percent of the teachers have 0-20 years teaching experience; 87.0

percent of the head-teachers and 78.2 percent of the teachers were married, 50.1 percent of

the head-teachers and 28.6 percent of teachers had degrees with teaching qualification.

Generally,84.0 percent of the head-teachers attended in-service training/workshops in the past

five years. These included conferences/seminars/workshops and cluster training (53.20

percent). The class attendance register was marked twice daily by 93.80 percent of the

teachers. Many of the teachers (57.40 percent) taught all subjects. Teachers prepared their

lesson notes and its frequency varied. Learners received between 1-30 lessons per week. The

average duration of lessons was between 21 and 40 minutes. The number of weeks spent on

teaching in a year was between 21 and 40 weeks. About a half of the teachers (49.30 percent)

gave learners homework/assignment in English Studies, Mathematics and Science daily.

Teachers (44.30 percent) spent between 1-10 hours per week correcting learners‟ homework, 7.30 percent spent more than 10 hours. The instructional materials used often by 80.30

percent of the teachers were published textbooks while 15.10 percent often used audio-visual

materials. Teachers applied different teaching methods in their work and used a variety of

techniques in assigning marks to the learners.

Teachers had average morale, high morale and low morale, respectively reason being self-

motivation. Generally, About 98.00 percent of the teachers liked teaching, 13.10 percent of

the head-teachers liked their role in modeling the future generation/building the nation and

10.50 percent enjoyed the daily knowledge/skills acquisition. The head-teachers did not like

their poor salary/delay in salary, poor working environment, lack of societal recognition,

attitude of some of the parents to the learners‟ discipline and lateness. About 98.00 percent of

the teachers liked teaching. The head-teachers liked the UBE Programme provision of

infrastructural facilities, provision of learning/instructional materials/educational support and

others but disliked non-provision of instructional materials/teaching aids for private schools

and no financial support for private schools.

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The School and the Community

The school does not exist in isolation, it is a sub-set of the community, therefore, the school

exerts some level of influence on the community and the community also plays a significant

role in making school achieve its objectives. This sub-section describes the school and the

community. The distance of home from school is important in the choice of schools for

learners. Since boarding facilities were not available in most primary schools, learners

commuted from home to school via various means like walking, use of bicycle, taxi/bus,

family car and motorcycle/tricycle. The average distance of the schools away from the homes

of a majority of the learners was < 1 kilometer (55.50 percent). About 70.00 percent of the

schools had well-demarcated compounds, secured from encroachment and large enough for

buildings, playgrounds and gardens. Apart from the compound in terms of its size, 47.20

percent of the school compounds were free from erosion problems, 36.10 percent bore

evidence of erosion problems and 9.90 percent of the school compounds had serious erosion

problems. Teaching and learning processes are facilitated by a learner-friendly environment.

The components of a learner-friendly environment considered were the availability of water,

toilets, recreational facilities, disposal facilities, etc. The main source of water supply in the

850 sampled schools was the borehole (31.60 percent). However, there was no established

source of water in 31.10 percent of the schools. Toilets were available in 60.80 percent of the

schools. Components of school security were fencing and types of fencing and engagement of

security personnel.

The community had many roles and responsibilities in supporting the school. These included

rendering assistance to their schools in various other ways like security (24.70 percent), land

(23.40 percent), money (12.40 percent), auxiliary teachers (10.40 percent), buildings (9.80

percent), and equipment (6.90 percent). The attitude of communities towards their schools

was positive in teaching and learning, school activities, solving problems relating to the

learners and their conduct, etc. One major avenue through which the communities rendered

assistance to their schools is the Parent-Teachers‟ Association (PTA), through the association, such school infrastructure and facilities like the library, classrooms, teachers‟ and learners‟ furniture, ICT services, football field, school garden/farm, weather station,

auditorium/hall and administrative block and were partly provided and maintained.

Attitude of Learners English Studies and Mathematics relatively were the subjects most liked by the learners.

Basic Science and Technology and Social Studies were the two subjects least liked by the

learners. About 90.70 percent of the learners liked their teachers. Some learners liked

schooling for some reasons.

Learners’ Achievement: English Studies Learners‟ achievements in four subjects (English Studies; Mathematics; Basic Science and Technology; and Social Studies) were used. The national, zonal and state achievement scores

showed there were no significant differences in performance between the levels of each

variable (gender, location and type of school) for both Tests in all the four subjects, although,

there were variations from states to states. For English Studies, learners were good in the

Multiple Choice Test whereas, they are fair in the Essay test. State performance on content

and cognitive domains shows that scores were higher in reading (59.59) than in grammar

(53.66). Learners performed higher in Comprehension (63.43) than in Knowledge (56.65)

and Higher Order (53.41). The performance in the multiple-choice Test was higher than that

of the essay in urban locations in North-Central, South-East, South-West and South-South.

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The relational analysis shows that the performance at low level of engagement in non-

learning activities was higher than that at moderate level which, in turn, was higher than high

level of engagement. Learners, whose parents did farming/fishing had performed higher than

other occupations. Learners whose parents were workers (private/public) performed best in

17 states. The performance of learners was in increasing order for mothers who were into

working (Public/Private) (57.70), farming/fishing (57.50), business/trading (57.00) and

„others‟ (55.40). The best performance at the national level was exhibited by learners who

went to school by family car and with taxi/bus and okada/bicycle/tricycle.

Learners’ Achievement: Mathematics

In Mathematics, the learners were good in the Multiple Choice Test whereas, they are fair in

the Essay Test. Learners‟ performance in Mathematics by the content domains, the national

mean scores were highest in Numbers and numeration (64.40), Algebraic process (59.11),

Basic operations (51.04) and least in Everyday Mathematics (34.48). By cognitive domains,

the national mean scores were Comprehension (60.47), Knowledge (59.54) and Higher Order

(54.31).

The relational analysis shows that the national mean scores on assistance with homework

were moderate level (59.70), low level (59.60) and high level (58.30); on the availability of

facilities, were low level (58.40), moderate level (59.50) and high level (60.50). On moderate

engagement in non-learning activities were high (60.00), low level (59.50) and high level

(58.10). Learners whose fathers were into business/trading had the best performance (60.90),

followed by „others‟ (60.50), farming/fishing (59.00), and workers (public/private) (59.00).

Learners whose mothers did farming/fishing scored 59.60, followed by business/trading

(58.80), etc. Learners who travelled > 3 kilometers had a high mean performance, 1 to 2

kilometers had least performance while the best-performing learners travelled between 2-3

kilometers to school daily. Learners with textbooks (60.50) scored higher than those without

textbooks (57.70).

Learners’ Achievement: Basic Science and Technology In Basic Science and Technology, the learners were fair in both Multiple Choice and Essay

Tests. By content domains, the learners‟ scores were: You and Environment (54.42); Science

and Development (51.34 percent); Living and Non-Living Things (40.86 percent); and You

and Energy (42.45). Learners‟ scores in the cognitive domains were Higher order (54.62 percent), Knowledge (51.48 percent) and Comprehension (42.20). Learners‟ performances were decomposed by (gender, location and type of school) for both Tests.

The relational analysis shows that the national mean for the three levels of assistance, low

level of assistance (48.00), moderate level of assistance (47.70) and high level of assistance

(47.3), tend to give a pattern that increase in level of assistance resulted in decreased

performance. On the availability of facilities, were (48.00), moderate level (47.70) and high

level (47.3). On moderate engagement in non-learning activities means for the three levels of

engagement were high level (47.90), low level (47.80) and moderate level (47.50).

Learners whose fathers were into others had the best performance (48.00), followed by

„others‟ business/trading (48.00), farming/fishing (47.70), and workers (public/private)

(47.30). business/trading had the best performance (62.60) followed by children of mothers

whose occupations were classified as „others‟ (62.20), the children of mothers who worked (public/private) and were into farming/fishing had the least performance (61.90). The

national means of the performance of learners based on distance covered were as follows: <

1 kilometer (47.70), 1 to 2 kilometers (49.90) which had the best performance, >2 to 3

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kilometers (49.60), > 3 kilometers (47.80). With textbooks (60.50) scored higher than those

without textbooks (57.70).

Performance was highest with one or two meals a day (47.80) and thereafter diminished for 3

meals (47.20) and then four meals per day (46.60). Performance of learners without textbooks

(47.90) was higher than that for learners with textbooks (47.40) though the difference was not

significant. Performance of learners who liked their teachers (49.70) was higher than that of

learners who did not like their teachers (48.4). Performance of learners who did not like

school was 48.80 and that for those who liked school was 49.70.

Learners’ Achievement: Social Studies In Social Studies, It can then be concluded that the learners were good in the Multiple Choice

and Essay Tests. The national achievement scores shows there were no significant differences

in performance between the levels of each variable (gender, location and type of school) for

both Tests The national means for the different themes were Family (69.23), Culture (65.51),

National Economy (50.31), Infrastructural Facilities/Services (66.89), Health Issues (67.02),

People and their Environment (60.02) and Social Issues and Problems (62.45). The national

means for the cognitive domains were Knowledge (62.75), Comprehension (61.80) and

finally Higher Order (61.77). The national mean scores for the multiple-choice Test was

49.98 and that for the essay Test was 49.35. Thus, the performance level of learners in the

multiple-choice Test was higher than their performance in the essay Test.

The means for levels of assistance with homework were high level (62.50), low level (62.20)

and moderate level (62.00); availability of learning facilities were low level (62.40), moderate

level (62.30) and high level (61.60); levels of engagement in after-school non-learning

engagement were low level (62.1), moderate level (62.00) and high level (62.00). The national

means for the fathers‟ occupations were business/trading (62.50), worker (public/private) (62.10) and farming/fishing (62.00) while the mothers‟ occupations were business/trading (62.60), „others‟ (62.20), worker (public/private) (61.90) and farming/fishing (61.90). The means for the modes of transportation to school were taxis/buses (46.90), family cars (45.50),

Okada/Bicycle/Tricycle (43.90), walking (45.50) while their distances were < 1 kilometer

(62.20), 1-2 kilometers (56.20), >2-3 kilometers (63.70) and > 3 kilometers (60.90); numbers

of meals were once (62.00), twice (62.80), thrice (62.50) and four times (62.40). The mean

score for learners without textbooks (62.60) was higher than that for learners with textbooks

(61.90). The mean for learners who liked their teachers (46.20) was higher than that of

learners who did not like their teachers (45.50). The mean of learners who did not like

schooling was 45.90 and that for those who liked schooling was 45.50.

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Contents

Preface iii

Executive Summary v

List of Figures xii

List of Tables xvii

List of Acronyms and Abbreviations xix

Section One: Background and Methodology 1

1. Background of the Study 1

Introduction 1

National Assessment 1

The 2017 National Assessment of Basic Education (NALABE) 2

2. Methods and Procedures 4

Project Design 4

Sample Design 4

Data Administration Plan 7

Data Analysis Procedures 9

3. Learners’ Home and Support 12

Introduction 12

Profile of Respondents 12

Home Background 12

Engagement in Co-curricular Activities 18

Observations and Challenges 20

4. Teachers in Schools 21

Introduction 21

Profile of Teachers 21

Staff Situation in Schools 22

Professional Development 24

School Discipline and Climate 25

Decision Making 25

Job Satisfaction and Morale 28

Teaching and Evaluation Practices 30

Teacher Needs 31

Learners‟ Problems Reporting 34


5. The School and the Community 36

Introduction 36

The School in Perspective 36

Parents Relationship with the School 37

Parental Support of the School 39

School Fence and Security Provision 41

School Community Relations 42

The School Compound and Buildings 43

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Learners‟ Enrolment, Dropout and Repeaters 44

Classroom Spaces and Open Classrooms 45

Facilities in Schools 46

The Child Friendly School Environment 49

Types of Instructional Materials 51


6. Attitude towards Parents 56

Attitude towards Teachers 57

Attitude towards School Subjects 58

Attitude to Schooling 60

Observations and Conclusions 61

Section Two: Learners’ Achievement 62 7. Achievement in English Studies 63

Introduction 63

Achievement at National Level 63

Achievement at Geo-Political Zones 67

Achievement at State Level 69

Relational Analysis 82


8. Achievement in Mathematics 96

Introduction 96

Learners‟ Achievement at National Level 96


Achievement in Mathematics at State Level 102



9. Achievement in Basic Science and Technology 125

Introduction 125






10. Achievement in Social Studies 155

Introduction 155





11. Major Findings Implications and Recommendations 184

Results 184

Implications for Policy and Practice 193

Recommendations 196

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List of Figures

Figure 3.1 Distribution of Children in the Learners‟

Immediate/Nuclear Families 13

Figure 3.2: Number of Meals per Day 13

Figure 3.3: Provision of Breakfast 14

Figure 3.4: Provision of Meals for Learners 14

Figure 3.5: Provision of School Uniform 15

Figure 3.6: Percent of Learners who Possess Textbooks 15

Figure 3.7: Percent of Time Spent on Homework 16

Figure 3.8: Percentage of Time Spent on Homework 16

Figure 3.9: Percent of Educational Facilities in the Home 17

Figure 3.10: Percent of Distance of Home from School 17

Figure 3.11: Percent of Mode of Transportation to School 18

Figure 3.12: Percent of Participation in Extracurricular Activities 19

Figure 4.1: Highest Educational Qualification of Teachers 22

Figure 4.2: Type of Training Attended in the Past Five Years by Principals 24

Figure 4.3: Workshop/Training Attended by Teachers in the Past Five Years 25

Figure 4.4: Training Courses Attended in the Past 3 Years by Teachers 25

Figure 4.5: Type of Disciplinary Cases 26

Figure 4.6: Things Principals like about their Job 29

Figure 4.6: Things Principals do not like about their Job 29

Figure 4.7: Use of Instructional Materials by Subject Teachers 30

Figure 4.8: Use of Evaluation Instruments by Subject Teachers 30

Figure 4.9: Help Needed by Teachers in Management Practices 33

Figure 4.10: Help Needed by Teachers in Co-curricular Activities 34

Figure 4.11: Help Needed by Teachers in Instructional Materials and

Evaluation Practices 34

Figure 4.12: Problems Encountered as Classroom Teacher 35

Figure 4.13: Problems Teachers Encounter with Students 35

Figure 5.1: Shift System Run in School 37

Figure 5.2: Frequency of PTA Meetings 38

Figure 5.3: Invitation of Parents to Discuss Learners‟ Progress 38

Figure 5.4: Subject Teachers Visit to Parents 39

Figure 5.5: Level of Assistance Rendered by Parents to School 39

Figure 5.6: Chart of Levies and Fees Payment by Parents 40

Figure 5.7: Relationship between the School and the Community 40

Figure 5.8: Type of Fence 41

Figure 5.9: Type of Security Engaged by School 41

Figure 5.10: Types of Assistance Rendered to School 42

Figure 5.11: Community Attitude towards Aspect of Schooling 43

Figure 5.12: Repeaters and Dropout Rates across States 44

Figure 5.13: Reasons for Learners‟ Dropping Out of School 45

Figure 5.14: Distribution of Classroom Spaces and Open Spaces by States 46

Figure 5.15: Condition of some Facilities in Schools 47

Figure 5.16: Distribution of Facilities 48

Figure 5.17: Available Curriculum Materials in Schools 50

Figure 5.18: Quality of the Curriculum Materials 51

Figure 5.19: Adequacy of the Curriculum Materials 53

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Figure 5.20: Sources of Water Supply 53

Figure 5.21: Available Useable Games/Sports Facilities 53

Figure 5.22: Availability of Refuse Disposal Facilities in School 54

Figure 5.23: Usability of Refuse Disposal Facilities in School 54

Figure 5.24: Availability of Usable Recreational Facilities in Schools 55

Figure 6.1: Reasons Parents like Children 56

Figure 6.2: Reasons Parents do not like the Learners 57

Figure 6.3: Reasons Why the Learners like their Teachers 57

Figure 6.4: The Reasons Why the Learners do not like Their Teachers 58

Figure 6.4: The Reasons Why the Learners do not like Their Teachers 58

Figure 6.5: Reasons the Learners like the Two Subjects best 59

Figure 6.6: Two Subjects the Learners do not like 59

Figure 6.7: The Reasons Why the Learners do not like the Two Subjects 60

Figure 6.8: Reasons Why the Learners like Schooling 60

Figure 6.9: Reasons Why Learners do not like Schooling 61

Figure 7.1: Mean Score on Essay and Multiple Choice Tests 63

Figure 7.2: Transformed Score Ranges 64

Figure 7.3: Percentile Score in Multiple Choice and Essay Tests 64

Figure 7.4: Distribution of Mean Scores in Multiple-Choice and

Essay by Gender 65

Figure 7.5: Achievement of the urban and the rural schools in multiple

choice and essay tests 65

Figure 7.6: Achievement of the Learners in the Five Themes

in English Studies 66

Figure 7.7: Achievement of the Learners in the Cognitive Objectives 66

Figure 7.8: Achievement across Geo-Political Zones on Essay and

Multiple Choice Test 67

Figure 7.9: Achievement in Multiple Choice by School Location 68

Figure 7.10: Achievement in Essay Test by School Location 69

Figure 7.11: Mean Score in English Language in Essay and

Multiple Choice tests 70

Figure 7.12: Mean Scores of the Learners on the Theme Speech 74

Figure 7.13: Mean Scores of the Learners on the Theme Reading 75

Figure 7.14: Mean Scores of Learners in Grammatical Accuracy 76

Figure 7.15: Mean Scores of Learners on the Theme Writing 77

Figure 7.16: Mean Scores of Learners on the Theme Literature 78

Figure 7.17: Means Scores of Learners on Knowledge Objectives 79

Figure 7.18: Mean Scores of Learners on Comprehension Objectives 80

Figure 7.19: Means Scores of Learners on Higher Order Objectives 81

Figure 7.20: Assistance with Homework as Related to

Achievement in English Studies 83

Figure 7.21: Available Facilities as Related to Achievement

in English Studies 84

Figure 7.22: Non-Learning Engagement as Related to Achievement in

English Studies 85

Figure 7.23b: Occupation of Fathers as Related to Achievement in

English Studies 86

Figure 7.24: Occupation of Mothers as Related to Achievement in

English Studies 87

Figure 7.25: Liking Teacher as Related to Achievement in English Studies 88

xiv

Figure 7.26: Number of Meals per Day as Related to Achievement 92

Figure 7.27: Possession of Textbooks as Related to Achievement 93

Figure 7.28: Liking School as Related to Achievement 94

Figure 8.1: National Mean on Multiple Choice and Essay Tests

in Mathematics 96

Figure 8.2: Distribution of Transformed Score Ranges in Mathematics

Essay and Multiple Choice Tests 97

Figure 8.3 Percentile Scores in Multiple Choice and Essay Tests

for Mathematics 97

Figure 8.4: Mathematics Achievement by Gender 98

Figure 8.5: Mathematics Achievement by School Location 98

Figure 8.6: Achievement in the Content Domain 99

Figure 8.7: Achievement in Cognitive Domain 99

Figure 8.8: Achievement in Essay and Multiple Choice Tests based on

Geo-Political Zones 100

Figure 8.9: Mean Score of Learners in Mathematics Essay and

Multiple Choice Tests 102

Figure 8.10: Achievement in Mathematics on the Theme Number

and Numeration 106

Figure 8.11: Achievement in Mathematics on the Theme Basic Operation

across the States 107

Figure 8.12: Achievement in Mathematics on the Theme Algebraic Process

across the State 108

Figure 8.13: Achievement in the Knowledge Objectives of the

Multiple Choice Test in Mathematics across the States 109

Figure 8.14: Achievement in the Comprehension Objectives of the


Figure 8.15: Achievement in the Higher-Order Objectives in the


Figure 8.16: Availability of Learning Facilities as Related to Achievement

in Mathematics 114

Figure 8.17: Out of School Learning Engagement as Related to Achievement

in Mathematics 115

Figure 8.18: Occupation of Fathers as Related to Achievement in Mathematics

Mothers‟ Occupation as Related to Achievement in Mathematics 116

Figure 8.19: Occupation of Mothers as Related to Achievement in Mathematics 117

Figure 8.20: Normal Means of Going to School as Related to Achievement

in Mathematics 118

Figure 8.21: Distance to School as Related to Achievement in Mathematics 119

Figure 8.22: Number of Meals per Day as Related to Achievement

in Mathematics 120

Figure 8.24: Possession of Textbook as Related to Achievement in Mathematics 121

Figure 8.25: Liking Teacher and Achievement in Mathematics 122

Figure 8.26: Liking School as Related to Achievement in Mathematics 123

Figure 9.1: Distribution of Mean Scores for Essay and Multiple Choice 125

Figure 9.2: Distribution of Transformed Score Ranges in Essay and


Figure 9.3: Percentile Scores in Multiple Choice and Essay Tests in JS 3

Basic Science and Technology 126

Figure 9.4: Achievement in Essay and Multiple Choice Tests by Gender 127

xv

Figure 9.5: Achievement in Essay and Multiple Choice Tests by Location 127

Figure 9.6: Achievement in Content Domains 128


Figure 9.8: Achievement across Geo-Political Zones 129

Figure 9.9: Mean Score in Basic Science and Technology Essay and


Figure 9.10: Achievement on the Theme „You and Your Environment‟ 135

Figure 9.11: Achievement on the Theme‟ Living and Non-Living Things‟ 136

Figure 9.12: Achievement on the Theme „Science and Development‟ 137

Figure 9.13: Achievement on the Theme „You and Your Energy‟ 138

Figure 9.14: Achievement on Knowledge Objectives 139

Figure 9.15: Achievement on Comprehension Objective 140

Figure 9.16: Achievement on Higher Order Objectives 141

Figure 9.17: Level of Assistance in Homework as it Related to Achievement

in Basic Science and Technology 142

Figure 9.18: Home Work Assistance as Related to Achievement in


Figure 9.19: Availability of Learning Facilities as Related to Achievement in


Fig 9:20. Levels of Non-Learning Engagement and Achievement in


Figure 9.21: Occupation of Fathers as Related to Achievement in


Figure 9.22: Occupation of Mothers as Related to Achievement in


Figure 9.23: Means of Going to School as Related to Achievement in


Figure 9.24: Distance between the Home and School as Related

to Achievement 149

Figure 9:25: Number of Daily Meals as Related to Achievement in


Figure 9:26: Possession of Textbooks on Basic Science and Technology as

Related to Achievement 151

Figure 9.27: Liking Teachers as Related to Achievement in


Figure 9:28: Liking Schooling and Achievement in Basic Science

and Technology 153

Figure 10.1 Distribution of Score for Multiple Choice and Essay Tests 155

Figure 10.2: Examinees Ranges of Scaled Score in Essay and


Figure 10.3: Percentile Scores in Multiple Choice and Essay Tests for

JS3 Social Studies 156

Figure 10.4: Achievement in Essay and Multiple Choice by Gender 157

Figure 10.5: Achievement in Essay and Multiple Choice by School Location 157


Figure 10.7: Learners‟ Achievement across Geo-Political Zones 159

Figure 10.8: Mean Score in Social Studies Essay and Multiple Choice Tests 161

Figure 10.9: Distribution of Mean Scores in Multiple Choice based on Gender 162

Figure 10.10: Achievement on the Theme People and the Environment 165

Figure 10.11: Achievement on the Theme Culture 166

xvi

Figure 10.12: Achievement on the Theme Social Issues and Problems 167

Figure 10.13: Achievement on the Theme Science, Technology and Society 168

Figure 10.14: Achievement on the Theme Communication 169

Figure 10.15: Achievement on the Theme Family I and Family II 170

Figure 10.16: Achievement on the Theme School Community 171

Figure 10.17: Achievement on the Theme Storage 172

Figure 10.18: Achievement on the Theme National Economy 173

Figure 10.19: Homework Assistance as Related to Achievement

in Social Studies 175

Figure 10.20: Availability of Facilities as Related to Achievement in

JS 3 Social Studies 176

Figure 10.21: Non-Learning Engagement as Related to Achievement in

JS 3 Social Studies 177

Figure 10.22: Occupation of Fathers as Related to Achievement

in Social Studies 178

Figure 10.23: Occupation of Mothers of Learners as Related to

Achievement across States 179

Figure 10.24: Number of Meals per Day as Related to Achievement at the

National Level 181

Figure 10.25: Number of Meals per Day as Related to Achievement for

Learners across States 182

Figure 10. 26: Availability of Recommended Textbooks as Related

to Achievement 183

xvii

List of Tables

Table 2.1 Test Characteristics 6

Table 4.1: Qualification of Teachers (Excluding Religious Instructors) 23

Table 4.2: Freedom in Decision Making about School Activities by Principals 27

Table 4.3: Freedom of Teachers in Decision Making 28

Table 4.5: Use of Evaluation Techniques for Diagnosing Learners‟

Weakness by Teachers 31

Table 4.6: Help Needed by Teachers in Instructional Activities 32

Table 5.1: Description of School Compound 43

Table 5.2: Number of Toilets for Learners 49

Table 5.3: Toilets for Teachers 49

Table 5.4: Types of Instructional Materials Available in Schools 52

Table 7.1: Distribution of Means and Standard Error of English Studies

Multiple Choice and Essay Tests for Zones by Gender 67

Table 7.2: Multiple Choice and Essay Tests Score in English Studies by Gender 71

Table 7.3: Multiple Choice and Essay Test Score of Learners in

English Studies by Location 72

Table 7.4: Achievement as Related to Means of Transportation to School 89

Table 7.5: Distance from Home to School as Related to Achievement in

English Studies 90

Table 8.1: Distribution of Means and Standard Error of Mathematics

Achievement in Multiple Choice and Essay Tests for Zones by Gender 101

Table 8.2: Distribution of Means and Standard Error of Mathematics

Achievement in Multiple Choice and Essay Tests for Zones by Location 101

Table 8.3: Distribution of Mean Scores in Multiple Choice and Essay

Tests based on Gender across States 103

Table 8.4: Multiple Choice and Essay Test Mean Score of JSS 3 Learners in

Mathematics by School Location 104

Table 8.5: Assistance with Homework as Related to Achievement

in Mathematics 112

Table 9.1: Distribution of Means and Standard Error of Achievement in

Multiple Choice and Essay Tests for Zones by Gender 129


Multiple Choice and Essay Tests for Zones by Location 130

Table 9.3: Distribution of Mean Scores on Essay and Multiple Choice

Tests based on Gender across States 132

Table 9.4: Distribution of Mean Scores on Multiple Choice and Essay Tests

Based on School Location across States 133


Multiple Choice and Essay Tests for Geopolitical Zones by Gender 159

Table 10.2: Distribution of Mean and Standard Error of Achievement in

Multiple Choice and Essay Tests for Geo-Political Zones by Location 160

xviii

Table 10.3: Distribution of Mean Scores in Multiple Choice and

Essay Tests Based on Location 163

Table 10. 4: Mode of Transportation as Related to Achievement 180

xix

List of Acronyms and Abbreviations

ACE - Associate Certificate in Education

CCT - Classical Test Theory

DFID - Department for International Development

EFA - Education for All

F - Frequency

FCT - Federal Capital Territory

FGN - Federal Government of Nigeria

FME - Federal Ministry of Education

FSLC - First School Leaving Certificate

GCE - General Certificate of Education

ICT - Information and Communication Technology

IRT - Item Response Theory

IRTPRO - Item Response Theory for Patient-Reported Outcomes

ISCED - International Standard Classification of Education

JAMB - Joint Admission and Matriculation Board

JSS - Junior Secondary School

LGEA - Local Government Education Authority

MDGs - Millennium Development Goals

NALABE - National Assessment of Learning Achievement in Basic Education

NAUBEP - National Assessment of Universal Basic Education Programme

NC - North-Central

NCCE - National Commission for Colleges of Education

NCE - Nigeria Certificate in Education

NE - North-East

NECO - National Examinations Council

NERDC - Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council

NTI - National Teachers Institute

NW - North-West

NYSC - National Youth Service Corp

PEP - Primary Education Project

PGDE - Post Graduate Diploma in Education

PISA - Programme for International Student Assessment

PTA - Parent–Teachers Associations

SBMC - School Based Management Committee

SDGs - Sustainable Development Goals

SE - South-East

SPSS - Statistical Package for Social Sciences

SS - South-South

SSCE - Secondary School Certificate Examination

SUBEBs - State Universal Basic Education Boards

SW - South-West

TIMSS - Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study

xx

UBE - Universal Basic Education

UBEC - Universal Basic Education Commission

UBEP - Universal Basic Education Programme

UNESCO - United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

UNICEF - United Nations Children Education Fund

WAEC - West African Examination Council

1

Section one: Background and Methodology

Chapter One

Background of the Study

1.1 Introduction Quality has been a major concern in the provision of Basic Education in Nigeria as far back

as the colonial period. However, it is one educational challenge that continues to elude

developing countries ostensibly because of the complexity that is involved in ensuring that it

is achieved. Universal Basic Education in Nigeria is an all-inclusive right-based policy

reform which has had to contend with meeting the Education For All (EFA), Millennium

Development Goals and the more contemporaneous Sustainable Development Goals and

targets. It has been acknowledged that the access targets of the first two global initiatives

have been almost half-way realised in Nigeria, although a lot more challenges remain elusive.

Furthermore it is on record that there has been appreciable increase in government investment

in Basic Education lately with a corresponding increase in the same by the donor community.

However, this has not translated into any remarkable improvement in quality learning

outcomes in the nation‟s Basic Education sub-sector.

Since the last National Assessment in 2011, a number of policy changes and fairly robust

financial investment have been witnessed in this sub-sector. It is only expedient therefore to

embark on yet another exercise with the view to appreciating the extent to which these

interventions have impacted on the learning outcome. In other words, do the Ministerial and

Commission‟s UBE related policies and increased funding have any positive impact on the

classroom activities with consequential effect on improved quality of learning outcomes on a

more sustainable basis?

1.2 National Assessment Conceptually, National Assessment is a procedure that is used to assess students‟ learning at

the system level. It is variously referred to as learning assessment, system assessment,

assessment of learning outcomes, or national /international assessment. It is applied to a

survey of schools and students that is designed to provide evidence about learners‟ achievements in identified curriculum areas, such as reading/literacy, mathematics/numeracy,

science and other skills, for a clearly defined part of the education system.

Assessment entails measurement of learning, analysis to diagnose problems, and use of the

findings to guide remedial action. An effective national assessment policy demands real

political commitment to action based on results, such as reallocation of resources, curriculum

reform and/or reorientation of teaching. The overriding goal is to learn more about factors

that influence learners‟ attitude and achievement which may be manipulated to bring about improvement in attitudes and achievement, or efficiencies in the education system. Large-

scale assessments by themselves cannot result in quality improvement, unless the system is

ready to reflect on the findings and use them for improving the quality of teaching and

learning.

2

The typical outcome of most national surveys of educational progress are: i) a detailed

description of the knowledge and skills possessed by learners of a particular age or grade

level in a given domain, and ii) a further description of contextual variables believed to be

related to the former, and within each group of measures. The outcome as well as further

analysis of the data collected facilitates comparison of achievements with local standards,

monitoring of progress over time, comparison between various population groups and

delineation of possible correlates of achievement.

1.3 . The 2017 National Assessment of Basic Education (NALABE)

1.3.1 Rationale

From its inception in 2001, when NALABE was conducted by the Universal Basic Education

Commission, it has officially been a triennial large-scale survey, which attempts to evaluate

the Basic Education sub-system in Nigeria. The Commission had previously conducted four

studies, in 2001, 2003, 2006 and 2011. Although in the ensuing years the triennial cycle was

disrupted partly because of paucity of funds and frequent changes in the Commission‟s large-

scale leadership. Nonetheless the urge for conducting a large scale system assessment has

never veered.

Unlike the previous Basic Education assessments, the 2017 exercise assessed learners in the

two senior classes of the two levels of the programme in all the four core subjects. Thus the

2017 NALABE assessed 43,200 learners in primary classes five and six; 17,280 learners in

junior secondary school classes two and three; in Mathematics, English Studies, Basic

Science and Technology and Social Studies. Additionally, 38,880 parents; 3,888 and 1,512

headteachers respectively in primary and junior secondary schools participated in the

exercise. However, like the previous assessments, the 2017 NALABE also assessed the

impact of the characteristics of learners and their parents, teachers and headteachers on Basic

Education development, in addition to providing a framework for systemic “health check” for policy implementation and school improvement.

1.3.2 Objectives

The aim of the NALABE 2017 is to assess the level of achievement of primary and junior

secondary school learners in Nigeria in four core subjects, English Studies, Mathematics,

Basic Science and Technology and Social Studies with a view to identifying gaps and

diagnose aspects of policy and practice that need improvement. Specifically the objectives of

the study are to:

i) assess level of achievement of learners in primary classes 5 and 6 and JSS classes 2

and 3 in the four core subjects of English Studies, Mathematics, Basic Science and

Technology and Social Studies; and

ii.) assess contextual variables that might be used as explanatory variables for the levels of

achievement attained acquired in the various areas of the core subjects.

3

1.3.3 Focus

The 2017 NALABE focused on both the aggregate achievement of learners and item-level

data at each of the class levels. Data on aggregate achievement were provided on state and

national levels, whereas data on item-level achievement were provided on a national level

only. State level aggregate achievement data provided reference data (norms) which each

state could use for planning purposes and monitoring achievement of learners in future

assessments.

The 2017 assessment, like others before it, also focused on non-cognitive characteristics of

learners, teachers, head teachers and parents, as well as the influence of some explanatory

variables on the learners‟ aggregate achievement (relational analyses).

1.3.4 Scope

This study covered the last two classes of primary and junior secondary levels of Basic

Education in Nigeria. Learners were assessed on the aforementioned four content of subject

areas. Furthermore, non-cognitive measures were also obtained using the questionnaires for

the learners, teachers, head teachers and parents at both levels of Basic Education in the

country.

4

Chapter Two

Methods and Procedures

2.1: Project Design This chapter provides technical details on methods and standard procedures undertaken to

ensure that results of the survey are reliable, comparable across States and reflect differences

in the achievement of learners measured within schools and across States.

NALABE 2017, as in previous studies and some international large scale assessments used a

variety of instruments to obtain measures of what learners know and can do in the

classrooms, after interactions with teachers and instructional materials. Large-scale

assessments are usually of the survey type research involving large and representative

samples that are not subjected to experimental manipulations but focusing on after the fact

observations and collection of measurements.

2.2: Sample Design

2.2.1 Populations Investigated

The target population used in the SURVEY was described as level 1 in accordance with

UNESCO‟s International Standard Classification of Education, ISCED 2011(ISCED, 2012)

which describes the full range of schools from pre-primary (level 0) to doctoral level (level

8). Level 1 corresponds to the first stage of basic education in the Nigerian system “which coincides with the transition point in an educational system where systematic teaching and

learning in reading, writing and mathematics begin” (UNESCO, 2012, p.30). Specifically, the target population: Junior Secondary two i.e. all students enrolled in this class that represent 9

years of schooling counting from the first year of ISCED level 1;

All learners in this target population were exposed to the same National Curriculum and

instructional experiences, and were therefore eligible to participate in the survey. Box 1

provides National Education Statistics for the Primary subsystem. Also in Box 1, the statistics

of the population assessed are segregated from the national data.

Box 1: National Education Statistics.

Number of Junior Secondary schools: 12,570

Student Enrollment: 5,330,606

Male: 2,781,334 (52 percent)

Female: 2,549,272 (48 percent)

Teachers: 20,294

Males: 10,838 (53 percent)

Females: 9,456 (47 percent)

Sub- Populations

Junior School Three: 1,538,868

Males: 871,862 (56.7 percent)

Females: 667,006 (43.3 percent)

2.2.2 Sampling Procedures for Representativeness

A four stage sampling design was employed in the selection of school, classrooms and

learners. The sampling frame of each population provided basis for selection. The

Commission has a robust quality assurance structure with offices in the 36 states and the

FCT. The states offices updated the sampling frame for each population prior to sampling.

5

In the first stage, six Local Government Education Authorities (LGEAs) were randomly

selected from each of 35 states while Bayelsa and the FCT had three each. The LGEAs were

stratified into urban and rural locations. In each of the 35 states, selection ensured equal

participation of urban and rural schools whereas participation in FCT and Bayelsa was in the

ratio 2:1 in favour of urban location. Stratification was to ensure the inclusion of all segments

of the populations. The decision to sample 50 percent of LGEAs in Bayelsa and the FCT was

one of numbers, since the two States have eight and six LGEAs respectively.

The second stage of sampling focused on the selection of schools. Two JS schools with at

least 20 learners in a class (this is to be sure there were no school with less than 20 learners in

JS 2 especially in the rural schools) were randomly sampled in each of the 35 States and one

each from FCT and Bayelsa. Therefore, from each of the 216 LGEAs, two schools (one urban

and one rural) were randomly selected.

At the third stage, that is, school level sampling, a class was randomly selected from the

number of streams in the primary six. At the fourth stage, random sampling was undertaken

to select 15 learners where there were more than 15 learners in the selected classes.

Box 2: Sampled Statistics from the Population of LGAs, Schools, Classes and Learners

LGEAs: 216

Junior Schools: 432

JS 3 Classrooms: 432

Students: 8,640

Parents: 6,480 (15 per class)

2.2.2.1 Sample Size Determination

Sample size determination and representativeness are central to the effective generalisation

and comparability of results across the populations surveyed in the country of study and out-

countries. After much deliberation by Technical team, the following standards were agreed

upon:

Box 3: Sampling Size Statistics

Margin error of estimate set at 0.031

Confidence interval = 95 percent

Standard Deviation for Primary = 2.289

Calculations

ME = t S/√n

Where

ME = Margin Error

t = t distribution score

n = sample size

Junior Secondary class sample

0.031 = 1.96 x 1.41/√n

0.031√n = (1.96 x 1.41) √n = (1.96 x 1.41)/0.031

= 7953.874

Sample per State = 7953.874/36

= 220.941 = 240 (Approx.)

Samples in each of Bayelsa and FCT = 120

Sample in each of the remaining 35 State = 240

Responses on Mathematics were used because it is a high stake subject where large variance

is always observed.

The team decided to increase sample size in each of the 35 states to 240 from the estimated

220.94 which consequently increased national sample to 8,640. Therefore statistically

representative sample was 8,640 for junior secondary schools populations.

6

Ensuring how a sample represents the population where it is drawn remains a challenge in

carrying out assessment surveys; NALABE 2017 adapted TIMSS 2015 sampling approach to

select participants to ensure the credibility of the results and findings. To obtain estimates of

learners‟ proficiency in Basic Science and Technology, English Language, Mathematics and

Social Studies, simple random sampling technique was used to sample learners from 36 states

and Federal Capital Territory. The samples were drawn from Primaries five and six and also

Junior Secondary two and three. To deal with envisaged uncertainty in the reported statistics,

such as the means and percentages computed to estimate population parameters, sampling

errors were also estimated. Each statistics, especially the mean in the NALABE Reports is

accompanied by an estimate of its standard error. For statistics, reporting learner‟s

achievement, which are based on plausible values, standard errors play important roles. An

approach that reflects the uncertainty due to generalising from learners samples to the entire

populations, referred to as sampling variance was used in this survey. The second approach

that reflects uncertainty due to inferring learners‟ achievement on the entire assessment from achievement on the subset of items, known as imputation variance was not adapted because

its methodology made provisions for every pupil/learner to take the entire Test on every

subjects.

For parameter estimates of variables that are not plausible values, standard errors are based

entirely on sampling variance. For estimating sampling variance, NALABE 2017 made

extensive use of probability sampling to derive achievement results from national samples of

learners across States. The rationale behind this was that many such samples are possible but

only one sample is drawn, some uncertainty about how well the sample represents the

population is to be expected. The uncertainty caused by sampling learners from a target

population, known as sampling variance had been taken care of in reporting through

estimation of standard errors. From the sampled results, the maximum average standard error

estimated across the four classes is 0.74, an indication of how close each sample is, in

representing its own population. It also authenticates the validity of the intended results.

2.2.3 Instruments Development

Achievement Tests Items:

1. A review and updating the frameworks of curriculum content domains for the subjects:

English studies, Social Studies, Basic Science and Technology and Mathematics.

2. A review of item bank from past assessment cycles.

3. Developing items and scoring guides in accordance with the specifications of content and

cognitive domains in the frameworks.

4. Conducting trials of the items on equivalent samples and conducting item analysis.

5. Selecting items from step 4 and a pool of existing items in the item bank.

These processes started in June 2014 and involved Assessment Unit staff in the Commission,

experienced measurement experts and subject specialists from the Universities, which were

concluded in April 2017. Steps 1 and 2 are fairly straightforward since there are no changes

in the National curricula for the subjects Tested. Also the item bank was secured for current

use.

2.3.2 Developing Items and Scoring Guides

The Item writing experts for the four subjects had three workshops during which extensive

examination of the content of previous Tests, weight assigned to topics and cognitive

domains, percentage of weight assigned to topics, themes and domains for both Multiple

Choice Tests and constructed response items. In addition, the Item Writing Guidelines

provided “streetwise” information for writing items and scoring in order to obtain good

7

measurements from the field. As has been the practice twice the number of items required in

each Test for the main assessment were developed for the trial Testing version for each

subject and their corresponding populations. Consequently, 1,280 items for the Multiple

Choice Tests items and 256 items for the constructed response component were selected from

the pool. The item writing tasks generated a minimum of 250 items for each subject and

target populations. However, it is noteworthy that Tables of specifications developed for each

Test are presented in Appendices 2.1 to 2.9.

2.3.2.1 Pilot Trial of the Items

Field Test items, 80 for each subject and population were administered on equivalent samples

of the respective populations in five schools and in four states. In all, 976 Multiple Choice

Test responses and 50 constructed response scripts were obtained for each Test and target

population.

Table 2.1 Test Characteristics

Number of

test forms

Number

of items

KR 20

1 English Studies 5 255 From 0.736 to 0.856

2 Mathematics 4 204 From 0.574 to 0.753

3 Basic Science and

Technology 5

257

From 0.653 to 0.776

4 Social Studies 5 260 From 0.717 to 0.793

The scripts for constructed response items were used for intensive training of practising

subject teachers for marking responsibilities by the subject specialists. Indeed, majority of the

teachers have varied years of experience in marking responsibility with the West African

Examination Council (WAEC) and the National Examinations Council (NECO). Several

trials and moderations achieved a minimum inter marker reliability of 88.

The field Test results were used by the Technical team to examine the item statistics. Several

items which had weak measurement properties were eliminated. For some subjects and

corresponding populations surviving items were less than 40 and as such the Technical team

revisited the reserved pool of items to select items and compose a Test booklet for each

subject. Again, such versions were filtered through the field Testing and item analysis

processes. On the whole, 16 text booklets were developed for the four subjects and four target

populations.

Development of Context Questionnaires

The development of four context questionnaires for pupils/learners, teachers, head-teachers

/principals and parents was similar to the Tests. Reliability estimates ranged from 0.78 – 0.89.

2.4: Data Administration Plan The plan had three inclusive components:

1. The Technical Committee for the project meticulously selected 1,512 Test administrators

from the Commission, State Education Boards, Local Government Education Authorities

and the National Youth Service Corps

2. A comprehensive Test Administration Manual was developed, on which Test

administrators received intensive training in the mechanics of collecting data from the

participants. Several trial sessions were held to ensure high quality data collection

8

3. Each Test administrator was assigned to a school with the responsibility of administering

16 Test booklets and questionnaires for learners, teachers, head teachers/principals and

parents in five working days. The instruments were administered in four days while the

fifth day was provided for collation and follow up on outstanding response sheets and

instruments.

2.4.1 Quality Assurance

The following actions and processes were undertaken to ensure technical objectivity and

reliability of the measurements obtained from the data collection, data management and

analysis:

2.4.1.1 Data Administration

Participation rates were determined prior to the field work as follows:

i. a minimum participation rate of 85percent of the originally sampled schools,

ii. a minimum class participation rate of 95percent from the originally sampled schools,

iii. a minimum learners‟ participation rate of 85percent from sampled schools or,

iv. Minimum combined schools, classrooms and learners‟ participation rate of 75percent

based on originally sampled schools.

2.4.1.2 Data Administration Monitoring

Teams of experts from the academia, development partners and civil societies were engaged

in the quality monitoring processes. Each sampled school had unscheduled visits from the

monitoring teams and local education officers.

The extensive and robust Test administration and monitoring procedures were designed to

ensure consistency across States and schools such that differences in achievement will not be

attributable to factors unrelated to achievement. Furthermore, precision in data collection and

submission from field staff were effectively managed to minimise both systematic and

random error sources. Specifically, Test administrators and monitors ensured similar Testing

environments. Increased precision improves the quality of results and the confidence placed

on the statistical analyses. Indeed, consistent administration procedures and precision of data

from a representative sample strengthened the power to generalise that the results accurately

reflect achievement levels of learners in the four target populations.

2.4.1.3 Data Management

The responsibility of data collation, sorting and entry was assigned to staff of the ICT unit of

the Commission. Although some key staff of the Unit have 12-15 years experience in data

entry processes, a data management and analysis agency was contracted to work with the in-

house team to ensure parsimony of the database for objective analysis. Data entry plans of the

Commission and data analysis plan from the outside agency were harmonised and used to

scrutinize the data. The sessions resolved issues of missing files, inappropriate entry codes

and “out of the world” entries, thereby ensuring that only clean files were used for analysis.

Furthermore, the Commission‟s Technical team spent two working days monitoring the data analysis procedures of the contract agency. As expected in large scale data management,

several issues were observed and resolved. In few cases, the ICT Unit had to undertake a

review of field data for some schools.

The last phase of data management standards and Quality Assurance had in attendance

Technical staff of the Commission, data management and analysis agency and the team

9

contracted to write the Reports. At the two day workshop, fresh issues were thrown up and

resolved to the satisfaction of all parties.

Computation of Achieved Sample

S/N Criteria (PISA, OECD Standards 2015) Proposed Achieved

percent

Achieved

1 A minimum participation rate of 85percent of

the originally sampled school 432 428 99.07

2 A minimum class participation rate of

95percent from the originally sampled schools 432 428 99.07

3 A minimum students‟ participation rate of 85percent from sampled schools

8640 7512 86.94

The data above shows that the study sample satisfied the minimum acceptable criteria

established prior to data administration as well as underscore data integrity.

2.5 Data Analysis Procedures

2.5.1 Conversion of Data to Analysis Software

The basic software used for data capturing were Microsoft access and Microsoft Excel.

Options were coded in words. Open ended items included in the four questionnaires-

Teacher, Learner, Parent and Head teacher/Principal were systematically captured by

obtaining universe of options for the items. Numerical codes were used to replace the options

coded in words. Misspell of some of the options at the level of data coding constituted a

challenge, but this was overcome at data cleaning level. The data were imported to Statistical

Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software where final data editing and cleaning was done.

Responses on Cognitive Tests (Basic Science and Technology, English, Mathematics and

Social Studies) were scored and coded dichotomously as well on Microsoft Excel before

importing to SPSS for further analysis.

2.5.2 Classical Test Theory versus Item Response Theory

Previous National Assessments conducted by the Commission were anchored on Classical

Test Theory (CTT). With the engagement of measurement experts for data analysis and

reporting, major limitations of the old procedures were highlighted. CTT is approximately

100 years old, and still remains commonly used because it is simple enough that it can be

used by researchers without formal training in psychometrics. Most statistics are limited to

means, proportions, and correlations. However, it lacks the sophistication to deal with a

number of very important measurement problems.

Here are just a few comparisons between Classical Test Theory (CTT) and Item Response

Theory (IRT) to justify the adoption of IRT for NALABE 2017.

Sample dependency: Classical statistics are all sample dependent, and unusable on a

different sample; results from IRT are sample-independent within a linear transformation

(that is, two samples of different ability levels can be easily converted onto the same

scale).

10

Test dependency: Classical statistics are tied to a specific Test form, and do not deal well

with sparse matrices introduced by multiple forms, linear on the fly Testing, or adaptive

Testing which are the strengths of IRT.

Weak linking/equating/Scaling: CTT has a number of methods for linking multiple forms,

but they are weak compared to IRT.

Measuring the range of learners: Classical Tests are built for the average learner, and do

not measure high or low learners very well; conversely, statistics for very difficult or easy

items are suspect. IRT offers opportunity to extremely high and low ability Testees to

exhibit their proficiency.

Lack of accounting for guessing: CTT does not account for guessing on Multiple Choice

examinations whereas IRT does.

Scoring: Scoring in classical Test theory does not take into account item difficulty. Each

item is assumed to have equal difficulty whereas it is not so. IRT allows for estimating

the difficulty of each item and build the same into individual score.

Anchor Items: CTT is sample dependent, hence linking scores using anchor items is not

practicable but using Anchor items under IRT to allow for future prediction is feasible.

2.5.2.1 Adoption of Item Response Theory (IRT)

Item Response Theory (IRT) provides a score scale that is more useful for many purposes

(e.g., for the construction of developmental scales or for the calibration of Tests comprising

different types of items or exercises). Its usage also extends to sum score, percentage correct,

or percentile scales. IRT family provides models for which the summed score is a sufficient

statistics for the characterisation of the latent variable (𝛉) (Masters & Wright, 1984; Rasch,

1960). In IRT models each response pattern is usually associated with a unique estimate of 𝛉.

These estimates of 𝛉 can be used as scaled response pattern scores; with the advantage of

extracting all information available in the item responses, especially if the model is

appropriate for the data. In addition, the IRT model produces estimates of the probability that

each response pattern will be observed in a sample from a specified population. In applied

measurement contexts, however, it is often desirable to consider the implications of IRT

analysis for summed scores, rather than response patterns. For example, in a large-scale

Testing program it may be desirable to tabulate the IRT scaled scores associated with each

summed score on operational forms, using item parameter estimates obtained from item data.

Measurement experts evaluated a good number of IRT software to estimate item parameters

and the scoring for each Testee. Two IRT software were adopted: NOHAM to establish the

dimensionality of each Test and IRTPRO 3for estimations and scoring. The efficacy of IRT

over the normal Classical approach became obvious from the sample analysis.

For the two models, the same approach-percentile approach was used for the classifications

into Low (0 to 25th

), moderate (Above 25th

to 75th

) and High (Above 75th

to 100th

). There

were 305 scores Classical Test Theory (CTT) categorised as low but IRT classified them as

moderate. Also 393 was classified as moderate by CTT but High by IRT. IRT therefore

generates true scores than CTT.

The implication of this is that Item Response Theory method of scoring produced different

Test scores for learners‟ who have the same raw scores under the classical Test theory method. The differences observed in the Test scores of the learners under the Item response

theory method of scoring emanates from the disparity in the discrimination and difficulty

indices. Item statistics are always taken into consideration in the process of estimating

learners‟ Test scores under Item Response Theory scoring method.

11

2.5.2.2 Predicting Future Achievement Using IRT

NALABE 2017 has introduced a new dimension to assessment in Nigeria. Anchor items were

built into cognitive Tests for the four populations sampled across the four core subjects

(Basic Science and Technology, English, Mathematics and Social studies). Iyala (2009)

proposed two variants of the anchor-item nonequivalent groups design. This will allow for

comparing achievements for different years and also provides opportunity for future

prediction of achievement. The first variant, internal common items, includes the

achievement on the common items part of the observed score. In the second variant, external

common items, the individuals‟ achievement on the common items is not considered part of their observed scores. It is believed that when administering, the external common items,

achievement can be influenced by fatigue, motivation, learning, practice and so on due to the

fact that their administration always come outside that time for actual form of the Test.

Considering the appropriateness of internal common items in linking and predicting scores,

NALABE 2017 adopted internal approach. This will serve as a strong foundation for the next

NALABE survey and also enhance achievement comparison, progress tracking and future

achievement prediction.

2.5.3 Descriptive Statistics

Descriptive statistics were used to describe the basic features of the data in this study. They

provide simple summaries about the sample and the measures. Together with simple graphics

analysis, they form the basis of virtually every quantitative analysis of data. The Basic

components of descriptive statistics used in this study were: Mean, Standard error of mean

percentages and graphs.

2.5.3.1 Mean and standard error of mean

The "mean" is the "average” where you add up all the numbers and then divide by the

number of numbers. A standard error is the standard deviation of the sampling distribution of

a statistic. Standard error is a statistical term that measures the accuracy with which a sample

represents a population. In statistics, if a sample mean deviates from the actual mean of a

population; this deviation is the standard error. With the systematic approach adopted, the

estimated mean for each of the State is likely to be close to the population mean on each of

the subjects investigated- Basic Science and Technology, English, Mathematics and Social

Studies. Standard errors of mean are expected to be minimal, as confirmation for sample

means being true representatives of population means.

12

Chapter Three

Learners’ Home and Support

Introduction The home is the primary agency of education. It is an informal but active agency that

prepares the learners for school and exerts great influences on their social development. The

home and neighborhoods are complex social environments which intricately interact and

impact positively or otherwise on the growth, development and school achievement of

learners. The learner inherits the genetic makeup of parents (nature) while the various

environments (nurture) have tremendous influences on inherited traits. The best genetic

inheritance can only be useful if well nurtured; this can happen in sustainable environments

where there is demonstrable parental love and care, stable family life, social and educational

support, sense of encouragement, safety and security, while a weak home environmental

support throws up a poorly prepared and demotivated learner.

3.1: Profile of Respondents

In this section, responses were pooled from information provided by the learners and teachers

as related to the home and support provided to the learners. The achieved sample for the

learners was 7,464 and comprised 51.7 percent males and 47.2 percent females. The sample

for parent was 5,332 and comprised 64.40 percent males and 34.10 percent females. The level

of education of learners‟ parent indicates that 24.80 percent had SSCE/GCE, 11.10 percent

had First School Leaving Certificate (FSLC); there were parents with other qualifications.

Their fathers belong to various occupations group such as working in public and private

sectors (29.7 0 percent), farming/fishing (22.90 percent) and business and trading (20.50

percent) being the dominant ones. On the other hand, the mothers‟ occupation shows a slightly different distribution, with 41.00 percent of them in business/trading, 13.50 percent in

public/private sector work and 12.60 percent into farming/fishing.

3.2: Home Background

The home of the learner is important in bringing up the child. It is equally important in

providing support for the learner in assisting the schools to realise its objectives. The home

environment is composed of the totality of its members including parents themselves, number

of siblings and type of residence. For example, the size of the family affects the quality of life

of the child, as well as his/her care and support.

Majority of the learners (86.10 percent) live with their parent and 9.10 percent with their

guardians. Figure 3.1 indicates the number of children in the family. From the figure, it is

observed that 29.6 percent, 37.30, 21.40 and 11.70 of the parents had 1-3 children, 4-6, 7-10

and more than 10 children, respectively.

13

Figure 3.1 Distribution of Children in the Learners’ Immediate/Nuclear Families

At least 92 percent of the learners had up to three siblings (brothers and sisters) participating

in each of primary, secondary or tertiary levels of education. Percentage of learners with

more than three siblings (brothers and sisters) at each of the levels varied between 0 and 6.3

percent.

The provision of meals apart from furnishing the body with requisite nutrients for growth also

provides energy needed for activities which are a part of the school programme. Learners

need food to function well in school; as it is normally said, a hungry man is an angry man.

Underfed learners may not concentrate very well in school and that can defeat the purpose of

coming to school. Among the learners in this study as presented in Figure 3.2, a high number

of learners (69.3 percent) have three meals a day, while 18.2 percent, 5.7 percent, 5.8 percent

have meals twice, four times and once a day respectively.

Figure 3.2: Number of Meals per Day

Even though the learners have indicated how many times they eat in a day, provision of

breakfast may be more relevant to the learners. This is because if learners come to school

without taking breakfast, they could become easily irritated and there may be a source of

misdemeanour in school. Figure 3.3 shows that 70.2 percent of the learners ate breakfast at

one - three Four - six Seven - ten Above 10

29.6

37.3

21.4

11.7 Pe

rce

nt

Number of Children

14

home, 8.3 percent take their breakfast to school, 13.1 percent received pocket money for

breakfast while 1.2 percent ate meals provided by the schools.

Figure 3.3: Provision of Breakfast

Closely related to availability of meals to the learners is the provision for their sundry needs

at school as can be seen in Figure 3.4; 21.7 percent received pocket money frequently (every

school day), 55 percent received sometimes two to three times a week, while 21.3 percent

rarely or never received pocket money.

Figure 3.4: Provision of Meals for Learners

Provision of school uniforms is another area parents support their children. Figure 3.5 shows

that 42.2 percent of them had a pair of school uniform, 41.9 percent had two pairs whereas

about 5.5 percent did not have any. By implication therefore, the category of learners without

school uniform had to wear other clothes to school, which can have adverse socio-

psychological effect on such a learner.

0 20 40 60 80

No response

The school gives me breakfast/one meal a

day

I go home to eat my breakfast during

break

I take my breakfast to school

I am given money for breakfast

I eat at home before going to school

3.6

1.2

3.6

8.3

13.1

70.2

Percent

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Rarely/Never Sometimes Frequently No response

21.3

55

21.7

2

Pe

rce

nt

Provision of meals

15

Figure 3.5: Provision of School Uniform

Although the school uniform gives learners an identity and a sense of purpose, it may not

have a direct impact on learning in school. An important material very much needed by the

learners is the availability of the textbook as these are used for teaching by the teacher, for

revision and reference by the learners. Figure 3.6 indicates that 52.40 percent of the learners

possessed English Studies textbooks and 45.30 percent had Mathematics textbooks. Also,

33.75 percent and 27.37 percent of learners possess textbooks for Social Studies and Basic

Science and Technology respectively. The largest number of learners did not possess

textbooks for Basic Science and Technology (61.85) and Social Studies (57.74). More

learners possessed textbooks in English Studies and mathematics probably because of the

emphasis laid on these subjects in the curriculum.

Figure 3.6: Percentage of Learners who Possess Textbooks

The possession of textbooks will help learners organise their learning and thus learners work

on task and other assignment. Figure 3.7 indicates that only 23.20 percent of learners spend

up to two hours on homework per day, while 53.70 percent spend just an hour per day.

However, there were up to 0.40 percent of the learners who spent as much as three hours on

their assignments per week, while 7.30 percent of them never did homework at all.

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

One set Two sets Three sets None No

response

42.2 41.9

7.8 5.5

2.6

pe

rce

nt

Number of uniforms

16

Figure 3.7: Percentage of Time Spent on Homework

Some learners need assistance in accomplishing their homework from several sources within

and outside of the home. Among the different sources are parents/guardians, Brothers and

sisters among others. The responses in Figure 3.8 indicates that 54.80 percent, 35.70 percent,

30.70 percent and 23.20 percent of the learners received between very much assistance (5 to

7.5 hours) per week from their parents, siblings, paid tutor and guardians to do their

homework. Therefore it is quite apparent that parents provide much more assistance to

learners in this respect than anyone else. However, the quality of assistance with homework

requires the availability of educational resources, other than textbooks, which provide

educational information and first hand experiences to the learners.

Figure 3.8: Percentage of Time Spent on Homework

How conducive the home can be for learning is a function of available facilities, particularly the

educational ones. This is because they help to encourage learning when properly utilised and

consequently improve achievement. Figure 3.9 presents the facilities that are provided at home.

The figure indicates that in 72.60 percent, 70.90 percent and 55.30 percent of the learners‟ homes,

television, radio and video set are provided respectively. With current development in Information

Communication and Technology, it is worrisome though that two vital resources, the computer

17

and its companion the internet, are available only in 18.70 percent and 11.10 percent of the

learners‟ homes, respectively.

Figure 3.9: Percentage of Educational Facilities in the Home

Furthermore, home support was examined from two other items (distance from home to

school and the means of transportation by which learners normally go to school. This is an

important factor in determining parents‟ choice of schools for their children. Figure 3.10

indicates that 35.50 percent of the learners lived less than one kilometer away from their

schools, while 27.70 percent of them lived within a distance of one and two kilometers. Also

17.50 percent and 2.50 percent of the learners attended schools that were between two to

three kilometers and more than three kilometers, respectively.

Figure 3.10: Percentage of Distance of Home from School

Related to the issue of distance is the means by which learners go to school; the results in this

regard are presented in Figure 3.11. Their responses indicated that 79.00 percent of them

walk to school, 6.20 percent of them were driven in their parents‟ car, 7.80 percent used

bicycles/motorcycles/tricycles and 5.30 percent used public transportation.

18

Figure 3.11: Percentage of Mode of Transportation to School

3.3: Engagement in Co-curricular Activities

The benefits of extracurricular activities to learners are numerous but varied. They range

from physical health and well-being, life and social skills development, boost in academic

achievement, promotion of economic and labour skills with work habits and positive attitude

and behaviour. Research has shown that appropriate extracurricular activities help learners to

develop time management skills, build self-esteem, explore diverse interests and hobbies, set

life goals and break the boredom of regular classroom and homework assignment. An

examination of the results depicted in Figure 3.12 indicates that 66.8 percent of the learners

were either always or sometimes engaged in games and sports, 66.70 percent in cooking,

60.00 percent in farming and 36.30 percent in trading/hawking.

19

Figure 3.12: Percentage of Participation in Extracurricular Activities

20

Observation and Challenges

1. It is gratifying that as many as 84.1 percent of the learners had at least one uniform

because children who do not have any school uniform are prone to social stigmas as a

reflection of poverty and possibly lack of attention and care. Such learners could

experience rejection and isolation from classmates, with more serious consequences of

poor achievement or even dropping out of school.

2. Poor nutrition affects learners‟ growth and development as well as their cognitive achievement, health, general well-being and consequently their retention in school.

Researchers have discovered that malnourished children were found to have delays in

vision, fine motor skills, language development and personal-social skills. Results here

indicate that 5.8 percent of the learners had only one meal a day; these groups of learners

may therefore be in dire need and providing a second meal would be an added

advantage. This must have to be need-based and states should key-into this initiative so

that the revitalisation effort of the federal government can have a wider coverage.

3. At least 38 percent, that is more than a third, of the learners surveyed did not have any

textbooks in the core four subjects. The learners will definitely be disadvantaged because

they may not be able to complete homework assignment (from textbook) or even do self-

study to complement teachers‟ or class notes. This is a very worrisome development as it raises serious questions on the success of UBEC‟s policy of providing books to basic

education schools. It further questions the book distribution mechanisms at state level

and their usage and safety at school level.

4. It is quite evident that parents are the greatest providers of assistance on homework to

learners. However, the findings show that 53.70 percent of learners spent one hour daily

on homework; it would appear that homework was rarely given in most school subjects

at this level. Homework is given for several reasons including; encouraging independent

study and improvement of learning skills outside the classroom environment, allows

parents‟ monitoring learners‟ progress and provides opportunities to source information and first hand experiences from non-school platforms. Since homework compels learners

to undertake independent study at home, parents should take advantage of PTA meetings

to discuss issues of quality and frequency of assignments for any meaningful after school

engagement of learners.

5. The extant policy of distance between home and school specifies a maximum of 2 km. In

this study, 63.20 percent of the learners have benefited from this policy. Building more

schools can contribute to the full realisation of this policy. The consequence would

possibly be improved access and retention.

6. About one-fifth (21.20 percent) of the learners did not engage in games and sports and to

a large extent missed-out on the recreational benefits of participation in such activities.

Although 36.30 percent of the learners were engaged in some form of trading or

hawking, it is very high, since they could be doing so for economic reason. They engage

in these trades after school or during weekends in market places, motor parks, along the

streets, and even within the neighborhood, ostensibly to support their family. It is only

reasonable to expect this as a distraction with respect to engagement in after-school

homework and independent study. Furthermore, early involvement in economic activities

exposes learners to a number of risks and social vices. It is therefore necessary to enforce

existing laws by states and local government, including those on street hawking. Indeed

those aspects of the UBE Law, which address these challenges, should be justifiable and

implemented in order to serve as a deterrent to both parents and learners.

21

Chapter Four

Teachers in Schools

Introduction Without teachers, the educational processes that lead to acquisition of knowledge, skills and

acceptable behaviour by learners within the school would be stunted. The ability of the

teachers to effectively carry out this responsibility depends on the training, experience and

on-the-job professional development. Their efficiency can be reduced if there is no discipline

within the school. The principal who is also a teacher with requisite training and teaching

experience occupies and plays an important role in any school as decisions made by him/her

have far reaching consequences for the school. In this chapter, the teachers within the schools

are examined along different dimensions taking into consideration their profile, staff situation

in schools, professional development, school discipline, decision making, job satisfaction,

teaching and evaluation practices and teachers‟ needs and learners‟ problems encountered.

4.1: Profile of Teachers This section presents teachers‟ bio-data such as gender, age, educational qualifications,

among others. A total of 533 principals participated in the study. Among the principals, 378

(70.90 percent) of the Principals were aged between 50-59 years, 111(20.8 percent) were

between 40-49 years, 28 (5.3 percent) were aged 30-39 while 8 (1.5 percent) were aged 20-29

years and 8 (1.5 percent) did not respond. A large majority of the Principals (90.10 percent)

were married.

A large majority of the principals (90.10 percent) were married. A substantial number of

them were graduates with teaching qualification and 9.9 percent were holders of the Nigeria

Certificate in Education (NCE). Six hundred and eighty four teachers participated in the study

out of which 57.9 percent were males while 42 percent were females. The modal age of 30-39

years representing 41.1 percent was observed for the teachers and majority of the teachers

(93.7 percent) were less than 50 years old and are therefore in their productive year. Among

them, 5.4 percent were aged 50 years and above, while 0.9 percent did not specify their age.

Majority of the teachers representing 79. 2 percent of the sample were married, 17.3 percent

were never married, 1.3 percent were widowed, while 0. 3percent were separated and 13

percent did not specify their marital status. Among the teachers as presented in Figure 4.1,

44.9 percent were graduates with teaching qualifications, 37.3 percent had NCE, and 10.7

percent are graduates without teaching qualification. However, 0.7 percent of teachers did not

specify their qualifications From Figure 4. 1, about 82.2 percent of the teachers were

professionally qualified to teach in junior secondary schools.

22

Figure 4.1: Highest Educational Qualification of Teachers

Teaching experience of teachers showed that 34.8 percent of the teachers have taught for

0-5years, 45.1 percent have taught for 6-15 years, 10.2 percent have taught for 16-20 years,

5.8 percent have taught for 21-25years, 2.2 percent have taught for 26-30years, and 0.6

percent has taught for 31-35 years. However, 1.3 percent did not respond. From the data, 8.6

percent of the teachers have had over 20 years of professional experience.

With respect to salary, 63.2 percent of the teachers earned a monthly salary between N10,

000-50,000, 22.2 percent earned N51, 000-100,000, 2.5 percent earned N 101,000-150,000,

0.6 percent earned N151, 000-200,000, and 1.00 percent earned N201,000-250,000.

However, 10.5 percent of the teachers did not indicate their monthly salary.

4.2: Staff Situation in Schools

Human resources are a sine qua non in any organisation as they drive whatever happens

within it. In schools, both teaching and non-teaching staff are available and they work

together to ensure that the goals of the school are realised. There were 6583 non-teaching

staff made up of 52.3 9 percent males and 46.61 percent females in the sample schools. There

were 44644 teaching staff. Table 4.1 shows the qualification of teachers across the 36 states

and the FCT by gender. As can be seen, 14,969 (33.53 percent) of the teachers had the

Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE)/Associate Certificate in Education (ACE) of which

6,178 (13.84 percent) are males and 8,791 (19.69 percent) are females. Teachers with degree

certificates were 11,464 (25.68 percent), consisting of 6,195 (13.88 percent) males and 5,269

(11.80 percent) females, while 7,552 (16.92 percent) of the teachers had post graduate

degrees consisting of 3,414 (7.65 percent) males and 4,138 (9.27 percent) females. However,

considering that the minimum qualification for teaching at the basic education level is the

NCE, those with qualification below Grade II were high (8,397 or 18.82 percent) consisting

of 4,282 (9.60 percent) males and 4,115 (9.22 percent) females.

23

Table 4.1: Qualification of Teachers (Excluding Religious Instructors)

STATE

Below

Grade

II

Male

Below

Grade

II

Female

Grade

II

Male

NCE/

ACE

Male

NCE/A

CE

Female

Degree

Male

Degree

Female

PG

Male

PG

Female Total

ABIA 3 13 0 31 239 63 237 8 22 616

ADAMAWA 253 107 52 281 200 101 44 3 5 1046

AKWA-

IBOM 45 47 43 70 172 96 91 12 5 581

ANAMBRA 2 7 1 12 71 36 124 6 10 269

BAUCHI 629 602 669 527 588 1435 805 1375 1802 8432

BAYELSA 5 4 0 30 70 24 34 2 0 169

BENUE 22 29 14 56 113 126 89 59 29 537

BORNO 11 11 37 269 397 56 55 9 5 850

CROSS-

RIVER 0 3 8 77 295 130 266 3 2 784

DELTA 643 654 34 94 343 55 160 17 23 2023

EBONYI 2 13 4 99 267 54 91 4 7 541

EDO 0 6 5 63 352 60 97 6 12 601

EKITI 25 20 32 67 68 93 86 61 49 501

ENUGU 22 29 14 56 113 126 89 59 29 537

FCT-

ABUJA 0 2 0 232 225 88 105 18 7 677

GOMBE 300 328 47 310 257 46 16 3 1 1308

IMO 1 2 7 16 165 54 257 3 4 509

JIGAWA 23 36 10 62 115 122 101 60 34 563

KADUNA 13 9 4 257 342 155 84 1 3 868

KANO 45 15 36 520 116 128 25 9 1 895

KATSINA 337 299 7 272 255 73 30 13 6 1292

KEBBI 20 25 10 61 147 122 87 56 31 559

KOGI 21 28 5 163 269 46 44 5 11 592

KWARA 84 76 101 96 110 117 97 82 87 850

LAGOS 7 23 4 56 117 109 122 4 6 448

NASSARA

WA 2 5 2 89 127 25 51 4 2 307

NIGER 1 15 2 104 178 130 53 5 1 489

OGUN 2 3 0 89 226 128 169 5 5 627

ONDO 24 27 12 51 121 113 86 57 27 518

OSUN 74 77 0 54 278 99 161 0 2 745

OYO 0 2 6 109 252 132 152 3 0 656

PLATEAU 0 10 6 237 256 72 90 4 3 678

RIVERS 275 273 150 80 127 97 137 93 90 1322

SOKOTO 83 42 197 182 130 108 76 38 27 883

TARABA 680 680 28 596 725 262 186 14 2 3173

YOBE 25 25 62 329 391 124 83 3 0 1042

ZAMFARA 603 568 653 481 574 1390 789 1310 1788 8156

National 4282 4115 2262 6178 8791 6195 5269 341 4138 446

24

STATE

Below

Grade

II

Male

Below

Grade

II

Female

Grade

II

Male

NCE/

ACE

Male

NCE/A

CE

Female

Degree

Male

Degree

Female

PG

Male

PG

Female Total

4 44

With respect to teaching experience of the teachers, the aggregate revealed that the length of

service for 17.65 percent of male teachers and 16.86 percent of female teachers was 5-10

years and for 17.75 percent male and 11.71 percent female teachers, it was above 15 years.

Furthermore, there were more female teachers (13.66 percent) with less than 5 years teaching

experience than males (11.14 percent).

4.3 Professional Development Human resources development is one way to ensure that practitioners are abreast of emerging

issues in their areas of practice. Teachers as agents of change should be part of this wind of

change; consequently, they have to be exposed to professional development programmes.

Among the principals who took part in this study, 81.80 percent of them participated in „in-

service training‟ in the past five years, while 15.20 percent did not. The programmes that

these principals have attended within the last five years as presented in Figure 4.2 shows that

57.8 percent attended conferences/seminars/workshops/cluster training while 23.8 percent

were involved in in-service training.

Figure 4.2: Type of Training Attended in the Past Five Years by Principals

On the teachers‟ part, 29.6 percent of the principals reported that none of the teachers

attended any workshops/trainings in the past five years. However, 53.1 percent attended

between 1 to 10 workshops/trainings, 15.5 percent attended between 11 to 20 and 2.0 percent

attended between 25 to 60 workshops/trainings in the past five years. The various

professional training as contained in Figure 4.3 were attended by less than 48.0 percent of the

teachers. The training most patronised was teaching subject method (47.7 percent), followed

by classroom management (45.4 percent), Guidance and Counselling (35.1 percent),

computer training (31.9 percent) and improvisation of instructional materials (28.9 percent).

Library training (4.70 percent) and World Bank/ UBE sponsored Teachers Professional

Support (11.10 percent) were the least attended.

No response

Others

School-based teacher Professional support

Short Term courses

Conferences/Seminars/Workshops/Clust…In-Service Training (NCE, Degree, PG)

14.4

2.1

1.3

0.6

57.8

23.8

Percent

25

Figure 4.3: Workshop/Training Attended by Teachers in the Past Five Years

Among the teachers, 52.2 percent indicated that they have not attended in-service training in

the past 5 years, while 47.8 percent have. The training courses attended are presented in

Figure 4.4 with 45.5 percent of the teachers indicating that they have attended

conference/seminar/workshop in the past 3 years as part of professional development, while

31 percent have attended in-service training.

Figure 4.4: Training Courses Attended in the Past 3 Years by Teachers

About 54 percent of the teachers indicated that they received salary and other entitlements

during in-service training, while 46 percent did not.

4.4: School Discipline and Climate Without discipline in the school, order may not prevail and without order, the core business

of the school which is learning cannot take place. Principals as the managers in school should

implement disciplinary policies to minimise chaos in the school. Among the schools, 52.9

percent had no disciplinary cases involving learners. The range of disciplinary cases was

from one to seven; 32.80 percent had seven (7) cases. The predominant disciplinary case

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50 45.4

28.9

35.1

47.7

11.1

4.7

31.9

Pe

rce

nt

26

reported by the teachers in Figure 4.5 were quarrelling and stealing (6.0 percent) with a large

proportion of the respondents not responding to this item.

Figure 4.5: Type of Disciplinary Cases

Good disciplinary practice demands proper documentation of disciplinary measures; 49.70

percent of the principals did not document any disciplinary cases as part of the school

records. However, 13.7 percent, 17.1 percent and 11.1 percent of the principals documented

one, two and ten cases respectively. Effectively, 50.3 percent of the principals documented

incidence of disciplinary action. Serious disciplinary problems have to be discussed with the

parents. The results showed that 50.1 percent discussed with the parents and 49.9 percent did

not discuss with the parents. A breakdown of those who discussed with parents showed

among others that 11.60 percent discussed with one (1) parent, 13.50 percent discussed with

three (3) parents and 11.30 percent discussed with ten (10) parents.

4.5: Decision Making Principals are expected to make many decisions as part of their responsibility. These

decisions could be instructional, grouping, testing, and progression among others. In this

section, the freedom teachers have in decision making on some of these issues are considered.

Table 4.2 shows the extent to which principals were free to make decisions on aspects of

school activities. The activity which most principals indicated they have no freedom at all

was selection of topics for teaching (42.8 percent). The activities which large number of the

principals had full freedom in making decisions about were specification of minimum

requirements before learners can progress to the next level (54.0 percent). Others are use of

learners‟ achievement test (49.3 percent), taking disciplinary measures towards correcting

learners (43.2 percent) and amount of homework to be assigned to learners (39.2 percent).

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

No Response

Others

Absenteeism

Lateness

Bulling

Stealing

Pilfering

Quarelling

50.6

28

1.1

1.9

3.4

6

3

6

Percent

27

Table 4.2: Freedom in Decision Making about School Activities by Principals

Issue Fully Some extent Not at all No response

F

percent

F

percent

F

percent

f

percent

Selection of topics

for teaching

125 23.5 139 26.1 228 42.8 41 7.7

Selection of

instructional

materials

166 31.1 227 42.6 110 20.6 30 5.6

Sequence of

instructional

materials

113 21.2 259 48.6 122 22.9 39 7.3

Type of class

organization, (e.g.

small group, large

group and all class)

154 28.9 244 45.8 94 17.6 41 7.7

Use of learners‟ achievement tests

263 49.3 158 29.6 82 15.4 30 5.6

Specification of

Minimum

requirements before

Learners can

progress to the next

level

288 54 119 22.3 99 18.6 27 5.1

Amount of home

work to be assigned

to learners

209 39.2 217 40.7 82 15.4 25 4.7

Extent and type of

reporting to

parents/guardians

172 32.3 309 58 23 4.3 29 5.4

Taking disciplinary

measure towards

correcting learners

230 43.2 201 37.7 75 14.1 27 5.1

Developing or

modifying

infrastructural

facilities

94 17.6 336 63 71 13.3 32 6

Teachers‟ transfers/retention

87 16.3 163 30.6 245 46 38 7.1

In Table 4.3, teachers had freedom to take decision on all issues and majorly on selection of

instructional materials, use of learners‟ achievement, amount of homework to be assigned. The issue on which they had the least freedom was selection of topics for teaching.

28

Table 4.3: Freedom of Teachers in Decision Making

Items

No response

Not free at

all

Fairly free

Very free

f percent f percent f percent f percent

Selection of topics for

teaching 12 1.8 218 31.9 175 25.6 279 40.8

Selection of instructional

materials. 19 2.7 62 9.1 177 25.9 426 62.3

Sequence of learners‟ learning.

46 6.7 81 11.8 240 35.1 317 46.3

Type of class organisation

(e.g.) small group, large

group, all class.

36 5.3 97 14.2 214 31.3 337 49.3

Use of learners‟ achievement tests.

29 4.2 53 7.7 190 27.8 412 60.2

Specification of minimum requirements before

learners can progress to the

next level.

37 5.4 147 21.5 229 33.5 271 39.6

Amount of homework to

be assigned. 19 2.8 46 6.7 161 23.5 458 67

Extent and type of

reporting to parents. 27 3.9 97 14.2 305 44.6 255 37.3

Extent and type of

interaction with parents

(e.g. Parent nights,

Visitation).

21 3.1 151 22.1 275 40.2 237 34.6

Taking disciplinary

measures towards

correcting pupils.

27 3.9 86 12.6 280 40.9 291 42.5

4.6: Job Satisfaction and Morale Satisfaction in anything one does is important. When one is satisfied, the urge to work harder

takes root and consequently, organisational goals are pursued with greater vigour. In this

study, 88.00 percent of the principals reported that they were satisfied with their jobs, 8.3

percent were not satisfied and 3.8 percent did not respond. Satisfaction generally has to be

related to some happenings within the organisation. The things that principals like about their

job are presented in Figure 4.6. From it, the two most important are modelling lives of future

generation/building the nation (12.2 percent) and daily knowledge (11.6 percent). A large

percentage of respondents (49.3) did not respond to this item.

29

Figure 4.6: Things Principals like about their Job

Every coin has its other flip side. Figure 4.6 shows poor/delay in salary (13.10 percent) and

poor working environment (10.10 percent) as things principals do not like about their job.

The omnibus „others‟ was selected by more than 50 percent of the teachers.

Figure 4.6: Things Principals do not like about their Job

The interest, morale and satisfaction of the teachers is also important; 98.8 percent of the

teachers expressed their interest in teaching as a career and 0.9 percent indicated that they do

not like teaching. More than half of the teachers (60 percent) expressed satisfaction with their

teaching job while 37 percent of the teachers had no satisfaction. About 4percent of the

teachers expressed high level of morale, 47.4 percent had average morale, while 11.1 percent

had low morale.

Important factors that were responsible for the high morale of teachers as reported by the

sampled teachers include self-motivation (12.7 percent) and Salary package/Welfare (1.8

percent), adequate instructional materials (0.8 percent) and infrastructural facilities provided

(0.3 percent). Some factors that were responsible for teachers‟ low morale include Irregular

salary/welfare (1.5 percent), and Lack of interest in class work (0.8 percent) while a majority

of the teachers (96.9 percent) did not respond to the item.

0 10 20 30 40 50

MODELING LIVES OF FUTURE GENERATION/…APPRECIATION FROM PARENTS, GOVT & SOCIETY

DAILY KNOWLEDGE/ SKILL ACQUISITION

COOPERATION BY MEMBERS OF STAFF

TIME TO TAKE CARE OF MY FAMILY

MEANS FOR EARNING A LIVING

INSTILLING MORALS TO PUPILS

OTHERS

NO RESPONSE

12.2

3.4

11.6

2.6

5.6

1.3

6.9

49.3

6.9

Percent

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

No response

Others

Attitude of some parents towards pupils'…Indulgence

Lateness

No societal recognition

Poor working environment

Poor/delay in salary

9.8

54.8

2.3

1.1

2.6

6.2

10.1

13.1

Percent

30

4.7: Teaching and Evaluation Practices

Teaching and evaluation practices are important in driving school programmes. Teaching

practices include all activities prior to teaching, during the teaching and post teaching. In this

section instructional materials, evaluation instruments and use of evaluation to diagnose

learners‟ problems are presented. All the instructional materials contained in Figure 4.7

were being used as more than 58 percent of the teachers indicated their use often or rarely

with the exception of audio visual materials (for example, films or tapes) which was

indicated by 31.6 percent as rarely or often used.

Figure 4.7: Use of Instructional Materials by Subject Teachers

Figure 4.8 shows that most of the teachers used Objective tests (63.9 percent), Open ended or

essay type questions (45.8 percent), Oral tests (64.3 percent), Project work or pupils written

reports (64.8 percent), Homework handed in (71.6 percent), and Regular written work during

lessons often. However, the teachers used Tests with both objective and open ended questions

(44.3 percent), and Short quizzes (44.2 percent) rarely.

Figure 4.8: Use of Evaluation Instruments by Subject Teachers

0 20 40 60 80

Others

Audio-Visual materials

Worksheets or sets of materials you…Commercially produced kits or objects

Individualized instruction (eg…Published workbooks

Published textbooks

65.6

11.7

36.1

22.1

32.6

42.7

78.9

4.2

64.9

30.4

37.7

25.6

13.3

2

23.8

19.9

31.1

36.8

38.3

34.5

18

6.3

3.5

2.3

3.4

3.5

3.5

1

Often Rarely Never No response

0 20 40 60 80

Objective tests

Open ended or essay type questions

Oral tests

Tests with both objective and open

Short quizzes

Project work or pupils written…Homework handed in

Regular written work during lessons

1.8

2.5

1.8

2.6

4.1

1.9

1.2

1.6

4.4

13.6

4.8

9.9

25.3

6

4.2

6.9

30

38.2

29.1

44.3

44.2

27.3

23

29.5

63.9

45.8

64.3

43.1

26.5

64.8

71.6

62

Percent

Often Rarely Never No response

31

Learning problems often hinder further learning. Evaluation techniques are normally used in

diagnosing such problems if the learners are to be helped. From Table 4.5 it is noticed that

most of the teachers used Objective tests (62.7 percent), Open ended or essay type questions

(45.8 percent), Oral tests (57.6 percent), Project work or pupils written reports (62.1 percent),

and Homework handed in (60.2 percent) often. However, the teachers rarely used Tests with

both objective and open ended questions (41.2 percent), and Short quizzes (40.8 percent). It is

observed that teachers never used regular written work during lessons (58.6 percent).

Table 4.5: Use of Evaluation Techniques for Diagnosing Learners’ Weakness by

Teachers

Type of test

NO

RESPONSE NEVER RARELY OFTEN


Objective tests 15 2.2 37 5.4 203 29.7 429 62.7

Open ended or essay type

questions 22 3.2 102 14.9 243 35.5 313 45.8

Oral tests 22 3.2 54 7.9 214 31.3 394 57.6

Tests with both objective

and open ended

question(a) 28 4.1 116 17 282 41.2 258 37.7

Short quizzes 28 4.1 174 25.4 279 40.8 203 29.7

Project work or pupils

written reports 23 3.4 57 8.3 179 26.2 425 62.1

Homework handed in 76 11.1 61 8.9 135 19.7 412 60.2

Regular written work

during lessons 21 3.1 401 58.6 171 25 91 13.3

4.8: Teacher Needs During training, teachers are exposed to theory and practice of education. They cannot all

equally possess the knowledge and skills required to perform their duties and even if they do,

new developments require continuous updating. Teachers‟ needs in instructional activities,

management practices, extra curricula activities and instructional materials and evaluation are

presented. In Table 4.6, it is observed that the subject teachers did not need help in all the

instructional activities except that they needed some help or much help in Identifying

appropriate teaching activities (36.8 percent), developing techniques for teaching in large

classes (38.9 percent) and overcoming difficulties encountered in providing excursions

outside the classroom (42.4 percent).

Table 4.6: Help Needed by Teachers in Instructional Activities

32

Instructional Activities NO

RESPONSE

NO HELP SOME HELP MUCH

HELP

f perce

nt

f percent f percent f percent

Writing performance Objective 1 2 1.8 459 67.1 146 21.3 6 7 9.8

Determining what to teach i.e. content 1 1 1.6 413 60.4 174 25.4 8 6 12.6

Identifying appropriate teaching

activities

1 5 2.2 252 36.8 252 36.8 165 24.1

Securing or improvising appropriate

teaching/learning materials

9 1.3 448 65.5 152 22.2 7 5 1 1

Carrying out Continuous Assessment 1 5 2.2 400 58.5 188 27.5 8 1 11.8

Identifying appropriate evaluation

techniques

1 4 2 248 36.3 238 34.8 184 26.9

Organising resources and materials for

more effective teaching

1 5 2.2 424 6 2 154 22.5 9 1 13.3

Presenting lessons at the level of

learner‟s understanding

1 1 1.6 382 55.8 211 30.8 8 0 11.7

Demonstrating principles by

performing simple

experiments/demonstrations

9 1.3 479 7 0 120 17.5 7 6 11.1

Developing daily lesson notes 1 2 1.8 386 56.4 197 28.8 8 9 1 3

Teaching learners how to observe,

record, organise, generalise, predict,

etc.

1 1 1.6 403 58.9 195 28.5 7 5 1 1

Obtaining learners feedback for the

purpose of improving instructions

1 4 2 419 61.3 176 25.7 7 5 1 1

Presenting lessons so that learners

could discover facts themselves

1 3 1.9 368 53.8 215 31.4 .8 8 12.9

Developing in learners a mastery of

content and skills

1 3 1.9 330 48.2 242 35.4 9 9 14.5

Developing in learners effective study

habits

1 5 2.1 336 49.1 228 33.3 105 15.4

Developing in learners the ability to

relate content of learning to everyday

life

1 2 1.8 291 42.5 240 35.1 141 20.6

Developing techniques for teaching in 1 8 2.6 174 25.4 266 38.9 226 3 3

33

large classes

Overcoming Difficulties encountered

in providing excursions outside the

classroom

1 2 1.8 200 29.2 290 42.4 182 26.6

Obtaining information on where to get

help for teaching and learning

4 1 6 352 51.5 177 25.9 114 16.7

Making learning meaningful and

interesting to learners

1 0 1.5 499 7 3 115 16.8 6 0 8.8

From Figure 4.9, it is observed that the subject teachers did not need help in almost all the

management practices. However, the teachers needed some help or much help in making

constructive use of time (39.2 percent), and controlling their personal behaviours which could

distract learners‟ attention (46.1 percent).

Figure 4.9: Help Needed by Teachers in Management Practices

From Figure 9.10, it is observed that the subject teachers needed some help or much help in

encouraging learners to participate in activities (42.7 percent), organising out-of-school

activities on the basis of learners‟ interests (45 percent), and organising out-of-school

activities on the basis of learners‟ abilities (44. 9 percent). However, the teachers did not

need help in developing in learners on appreciation of co-curricular activities.

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

ontrolling the class effectively.

Managing learners distractive behaviours.

Maintaining discipline in the class.

Planning a schedule of activities on

Planning a schedule of activities on

Setting and ordering priorities.

Making constructive use of time.

Managing learners with health problems.

1.2

1

1.2

1.8

2

0.9

1.2

1.6

1.5

1.5

64.3

71.8

64.6

59.8

69.2

72.7

35.5

28.9

44.9

43.4

26.2

18.3

25.9

29.5

20.5

17

39.2

46.1

39.5

41.8

8.3

8.9

8.3

8.9

8.3

9.5

24.1

23.4

14.2

13.3

Percent

MUCH HELP SOME HELP NO HELP NO RESPONSE

34

Figure 4.10: Help Needed by Teachers in Co-curricular Activities

From Figure 4.11, it is observed that the subject teachers did not need help in almost all the

instructional materials and evaluation practices. However, the teachers needed some help or

much help in increasing learners‟ abilities to utilize the library (41.7 percent).

Figure 4.11: Help Needed by Teachers in Instructional Materials and Evaluation

Practices

4.9: Learners' Problems Reporting The problems identified by the teachers as common in schools are presented in Figure 4.12.

The five most important pressing problems frequently encountered by the classroom teachers

were Lack of instructional materials (21.4 percent), Learners‟ lack of interest in class/school

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

NO RESPONSE

NO HELP

SOME HELP

MUCH HELP

1.2

55.1

31.9

11.8

1.3

29.5

42.7

26.5

1.3

24.9

45

28.8

1.6

17.3

36.3

44.9

Percent

Organising out-of-school activities on the basis of learners abilities

Organising out-of-school activities on the basis of learners interests

Encouraging learners to participate in activities.

Developing in learners an appreciation of co-curricula activities.

0 20 40 60 80 100

Utilising textual materials..

Utilising the library.

Obtaining living things for classroom use.

Interpreting the result of standardized test.

Evaluating learners’ progress as a group. Reporting learners’ progress

1.5

1.3

1.5

1.3

1.6

1.3

1.8

2

1.8

1.9

1.3

6

2.2

2

1.9

1.8

0.4

40.4

39.5

38.6

21.3

42.1

47.5

38.2

49.1

55.1

57.9

63

55.1

59.4

51.5

55.8

57.5

83.3

32.7

28.2

32.9

35.7

31.7

30.8

36.8

32

30.4

27.6

24

26.2

26.9

29.5

27.3

26.6

11.5

25.4

31

27

41.7

24.6

20.3

23.2

16.8

12.7

12.6

11.7

12.7

11.5

17

14.9

14.2

4.7

MUCH HELP SOME HELP NO HELP NO RESPONSE

35

(14.7 percent), Lack of basic infrastructure (14.6 percent), Stealing habits among learners

(9.1 percent), and Truancy/Absenteeism among learners (6.3 percent).

Figure 4.12: Problems Encountered as Classroom Teacher

From Figure 4.13, the three most important pressing problems encountered by the teachers

with learners were Lateness to school (39.5 percent), Truancy/Absenteeism (33.5 percent),

and Learners‟ lack of interest in class/school (12.4 percent).

Figure 4.13: Problems Teachers Encounter with Student

Observations and Challenges

1. A large number of the teachers were professionally qualified and however some plans

should be put in place to retrain those who lack teacher training. The fact that a large

proportion of the principals are ageing and getting close to the age of retirement would

not pose a serious issue as the teachers who are trained could eventually serve as

replacement.

2. As a substantial number of teachers (23.9 percent) possess qualifications below the

minimum prescribed for teaching.

0 5 10 15 20 25

LACK OF BASIC INFRASTRUCTURE,…LACK OF INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS

DIRTINESS/UNTIDINESS

TRUANCY/ABSENTEEISM

LACK OF INTEREST IN CLASS WORK

POOR SALARY STRUCTURE/WELFARE

No response

14.6 4.4

21.4 1.7

3 5.2

6.3 4.9

14.7 2.5

9 9.1

3.2

Percent

0 10 20 30 40

LATENESS

TRUANCY/ABSENTEEISM

BULLYING

LACK OF INTEREST IN CLASS WORK

DIRTINESS/UNTIDINESS

FIGHTING

STEALING

OTHERS

NO RESPONSE

39.5

33.5

4.8

12.4

2.9

1.6

0.3

1.6

3.4

Percent

Series1

36

3. The participation of principals in development programmes was high. This could have

been because of the mandatory training rendered by the All Nigeria Confederation of

Secondary School Principals. Such programme ensures that principals keep abreast of

developments that can enhance good management practices.

4. The training attended by a large number of teachers included among others teaching

methods and classroom management. This is good for the system as the teacher in most

cases have to manage classes as well as apply pedagogical principles in teaching

5. Quarrelling and stealing are two major disciplinary problems that emerged from this

study. These are social problems which can easily be managed. Discussion of disciplinary

problems by about 50 percent of the principals with parents is an acceptable practice. In

this way, the home and school cooperation can be engendered.

6. Principals and teachers had limited freedom in selecting what to teach. This situation

could have arose because school clusters particularly across states teach using the same

scheme as they have to administer the same examination on termly basis. Failure to do

this can have a deleterious effect on their learners.

7. Almost all principals were satisfied with their job as molding future of the child is of

greatest importance to them. This can lead to enhanced interest in the job of the principal.

They however are not happy with delay in getting monthly emoluments and the poor

working environment. These factors are important in enhancing the motivation of

workers. The fact that almost all teachers indicated a positive disposition towards

teaching can promote commitment and effectiveness on the part of the teachers. The

consequence would be improved learning on the part of the learners. The morale and job

satisfaction levels are welcomed development as it can trigger greater learners‟ achievement.

8. Teachers used almost all instructional materials in most cases with the exception of

audio-visual materials which could be as a result of the cost involved. Not using regular

written work during lessons by the teachers as noticed here would not augur well for

teaching and learning.

9. Teachers indicated that they needed help in developing techniques for teaching in large

classes and overcoming difficulties encountered in providing excursions outside the

classroom. This has implications for teacher development as population in schools is

growing steadily. This is more so as the teachers needed some help or much help in

making constructive use of time and controlling their personal behaviours which could

distract learners‟ attention. 10. The major problem encountered by classroom teachers relates to provision of materials

with which to work. This has implications on judicious utilisation of funds budgeted for

education.

11. Lateness as a problem with the learners can emanate from distance from home to school

or truancy which can be managed through proper supervision of the learners and greater

cooperation between the home and the school.

37

Chapter Five

The School and the Community

Introduction In this chapter the school and the community are considered. The information contained

herein were pooled from responses provided by the learners, teachers, parents and the

principals. The focus is on two main aspects though subdivisions that have been provided:

and the learner lives within the community and commutes from there to the school. The

school is located within the community. For the school to discharge its responsibilities

effectively the community needs to provide some assistance. The school as part of its service

delivery has to schedule activities; the community works cooperatively with the school

through provision of facilities to facilitate the schools‟ service provision. This chapter looks at the interaction between the schools‟ provisions and how the community helps to eventuate it.

5.1. The School in Perspective In this study, 533 schools were involved with 53.10 percent of them serving the urban

community while 44.8 percent served the rural community; 89.3 percent provided secondary

education only, 6 percent provided both secondary and primary education and 4.5 percent

provided pre-primary, primary and secondary education. An issue which has been of concern

in schools is the paucity of accommodation for the growing population of learners which has

resulted in the inability of the available classrooms to accommodate the learners. The shift

system has been a welcome development in this regard. Among the schools, 76.50 percent

ran morning shift only, 15.80 percent ran morning and afternoon, while 7.30 percent ran

afternoon shift only as depicted in Figure 5.1.

Figure 5.1: Shift System Run in School

5.2: Parents Relationship with the School A good relationship between the home and the school provides great cooperation for realising

the goals of the school and the home. One way in which this cooperation can be fostered is

through the PTA. It is a forum where pressing issues on how to move the school forward are

0 20 40 60 80

No response

Morning and afternoon

Afternoon only

Morning only

0.4

15.4

7.3

76.5

Percent

38

discussed; discipline problems and support for the school are also sought through the PTA. It

is expected that all schools should have one; 93.1 percent of the schools actually have PTAs,

2.6 percent do not have and 4.3 percent of principals did not respond to this item. The

regularity of meetings of the PTA as shown in Figure 5.2 indicates that PTA meets as the

need arises in 46.90 percent of the schools, while it meets in 32.30 percent of the schools

termly. The PTA also meets monthly, quarterly and yearly in less than 5percent of the

schools.

Figure 5.2: Frequency of PTA Meetings

The results indicated that 7.6 percent of parents have never attended PTA meeting at all, 43.6

percent have attended PTA meeting very often and 35.1 percent attended often. In Figure 5.3,

about 46 percent of the subject teachers sometimes invited parents to discuss learners‟ progress, while about 34 percent of the teachers often invited the parents for the same

purpose. Thus, the needed home-school interaction is not ignored by these teachers.

Figure 5.3: Invitation of Parents to Discuss Learners’ Progress

0 10 20 30 40 50

No response

Once a year

Twice a year

Termly

Quarterly

Monthly

As need arises

3.9

2.4

5.4

32.3

5.8

3.2

46.9

Percent

0

10

20

30

40

50

No

response

Never Rarely Sometimes Often

1.5 6.7

12.1

46.1

33.6

Pe

rce

nt

39

It is not only parents that have to visit the school; teachers also have to. Majority of the

subject teachers sometimes (48.1 percent), and often (15.8 percent) visited parents to discuss

learners‟ matter, 18.6 percent rarely and 15.9 percent of the subjects teachers never visited

parents for the same purpose as presented in Figure 5.4.

Figure 5.4: Subject Teachers Visit to Parents

With respect to visit to schools by parents as contained in Figure 5.4, 3.8 percent have never

visited the school, 56.2 percent visited sometimes and 31.8 percent visited very often.

5.3: Parental Support of the School It is not enough for parents to attend PTA meetings and to visit schools; the school may have

some needs to be met. These needs could be in the areas of finances, provision of

instructional materials, provision of security and even in meeting of teachers‟ welfare. Figure 5.5 shows that assistance was rendered by more than 50 percent of the parents to schools in

the areas of finance, instructional materials, security, co-curricular activities and teachers‟ welfare. Assistance with respect to buildings was very minimal.

Figure 5.5: Level of Assistance Rendered by Parents to School

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

14.3

19.1

28

23.1 18.5

21.6

6 9.5 11.2 11.4 9.6 10.1 8.4

12.3 12.4 11.5 11.6 11.6

37.5

30.8 26.2 25.8

31.6 30 33.9

28.3

22.3

28.2 28.7 26.7

Pe

rce

nt

NEVER NO RESPONSE RARELY SOMETIMES VERY OFTEN

NO RESPONSENEVER

RARELYSOMETIMES

OFTEN

1.6

15.9 18.6

48.1

15.8

40

One way the school can sustain itself is through collection of fees/levies. In situations where

free education at this level is not in place, it enables the school to realise some money to meet

its needs. Figure 5.6 shows that nearly 78 percent parents indicated that they regularly paid

fees or levies while 4 percent never paid fees or levies at all.

Figure 5.6: Chart of Levies and Fees Payment by Parents

Majority of the parents, 53.1 percent, as contained in Figure 5.7 indicated that the relationship

between schools and the community was excellent, 31.9 percent and 12.5 percent indicated

that it was very good and good respectively while 1.3 percent saw the relationship as poor.

Figure 5.7: Relationship between the School and the Community

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Regularly Sometimes Rarely Never No response

77.6

14.3

2.9 4 1.1

Pe

rce

nt

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Excellent Very Good Good Poor No

Response

53.1

31.9

12.5

1.3 1.2

Pe

rce

nt

41

5.4: School Fence and Security Provision Security is of essence in schools so as to protect life and non-human resources. Out of all the

schools, 26.6 percent of them were fenced and 70.40 percent were not fenced. The type of

fence used across the schools presented in Figure 5.8 shows that Cement block fence was the

type mostly used as reported by 22.70 percent of the school. Other types of fence were

reported by 40 percent of the schools while 29.6 percent did not respond.

Figure 5.8: Type of Fence

Among the schools, 75.4 percent of them have security personnel while 20.8 percent did not.

The others did not respond. Local persons employed by the school/PTA were the security

personnel engaged by 34.90 percent of the schools, 32.50 percent engaged private security

outfit employed by the school/PTA/Government while other types of security not specified

were employed by 16.70 percent of the schools as presented in Figure 5.9.

Figure 5.9: Type of Security Engaged by School

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

29.6

40

22.7

0.9 0.6 0.6 1.7 3.2

0.8

Pe

rce

nt

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35

LOCAL PERSONS EMPLOYED BY THE…COMMUNITY VIGILANTE

POLICE

PRIVATE SECURITY OUTFIT EMPLOYED…PEACE CORPS

OTHERS

NO RESPONSE

34.9

5.4

1.5

32.5

0.2

8.8

16.7

Percent

42

5.5: School Community Relations A school is located within a community and it is expected to support it. There is usually a

reciprocal relationship between the school and the community in which it is situated. The

school draws its students from the community and the students return to the community as

future leaders who have been well prepared by the school. This helping role can be facilitated

by the cordial relationship that is built by the teachers and principal in their interaction with

members of the community. In this study, 45 percent of principals live within the community

as against 52.9 percent who do not. Among the teachers only 16.9 percent do not live within

the community while others do.

With respect to assistance rendered by the community, 64 percent indicated that this was

rendered as against 34.3 percent who stated that the community does not; 1.7 percent did not

respond to this item. The type of assistance rendered to the school as contained in Figure 5.10

indicated that 68.1 percent was in the area of security, 27.6 percent in the provision of land

and auxiliary teachers (15.8 percent).

Figure 5.10: Types of Assistance Rendered to School

Attitude is an important driving force in things which are done in any situation. Therefore, it

is important to examine the attitude of the community towards aspects of the schools

operations. As presented in Figure 5.11, the attitude of the community towards aspects of the

school varied. Attitude to teaching/learning was positive (62.7 percent), attitude towards

learners‟ problems and concerns, school activities and teachers was positive in 60.4 percent,

54.8 percent and 52.0 percent of cases respectively.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

6.8

15.8

7.1 11.8 9.2

27.6

68.1

Pe

rce

nt

43

Figure 5.11: Community Attitude towards Aspect of Schooling

5.6 The School Compound and Buildings A school should be one in which the learner is encouraged and willing to be in. As such, it

should be inviting and friendly and must provide an ambience that motivates the learner. At

the heart of this are buildings and the surroundings with a play field suitable for organising

sports and games. As the population increases, there should be room for further development.

Apart from this, the school should be well located and security of the learners and its

properties can be guaranteed. Under such circumstances, parents can be encouraged to enroll

their children in the school.

Table 5.1 provides a description of the school compound with 71.3 percent of principals

indicating excellence with respect to the appropriateness of the school compound in terms of

being „well defined, secured from encroachment and large enough for buildings, playgrounds

and gardens‟. It is only in 23.6 percent of the schools that the compounds are assessed as

small without room for expansion and without defined play fields and gardens. With respect

to the buildings, 19 percent of the schools had no issues with cracks, roofs were securely in

position and doors/ window shutters were available and securely in position. Few cracks were

noticed in 46 percent of the schools and heavy cracks available in 28.1 percent of the schools.

The compound of 40.90 percent of schools were free from erosion problems, 46.20 percent of

the compounds had evidence of erosion problems, 8.10 percent had serious erosion problems

and 4.90 percent of the principals did not respond.

Table 5.1: Description of School Compound

ITEM Frequency percent

Well defined, secured from encroachment and large enough for

buildings, playgrounds and gardens 380 71.3

Small school compound, little or no extra land for expansion 105 19.7

Extremely small compound with no defined play field or

gardens 21 3.9

No Response 27 5.1

Total 533 100

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70 62.7

26.8

54.8 60.4

52 42.6

21.4

45.4

26.1 29.5 28.7 25.9

12.4

22.9 14.8

5.1

14.8

27.6

3.6 4.9 4.3 5.1 4.5 3.9

Pe

rce

nt

Positive Neutral Negative No Response

44

5.7: Learners’ Enrolment, Dropout and Repeaters The data indicated that at the national level, female learners‟ enrolment (52.71 percent) was

higher than that of male learners (47.29 percent). The enrolment figures per state indicated

that there was near parity between male and female learners in five (5) States (Akwa-Ibom,

Borno, Kaduna, Osun, and Plateau) and the FCT. Female learners had higher enrolment in ten

(10) states (Abia, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Ebonyi, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, Nasarawa, and

Oyo), while, the male learners had higher enrolment in the remaining 21 states. More male

learners (5.4 percent) dropped out of school than the female learners with 2.7 percent dropout

rate. The variation in dropout and repeating rates are presented in Figure 5.12 with Zamfara

and Rivers states showing abysmally high dropout rates of 52.37 percent and 35.37 percent

respectively.

Figure 5.12: Repeaters and Dropout Rates across States

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

ABIA

AKWA-IBOM

BAUCHI

BENUE

CROSS-RIVER

EBONYI

EKITI

FCT-ABUJA

IMO

KADUNA

KATSINA

KOGI

LAGOS

NIGER

ONDO

OYO

RIVERS

TARABA

ZAMFARA

5.9

5.3

8.2

2.8

13.2

2.6

1.9

11.1

4.5

11.2

5.2

2.9

5.4

1.9

2.3

1.8

2.9

1.9

2.2

1.7

3.2

2.3

2.9

5.6

3.6

4.6

0.5

0.9

1.7

8.1

4.6

5.5

35

4

5.1

1.5

52.4

2.3

6.1

7.4

3.7

0.5

6

5.6

1.7

5.2

2.5

3.9

4.1

5.1

5.6

2.6

2.8

1.9

4.7

3.1

2.2

3

5.4

3.9

4.5

10

3.5

5.4

2.7

6

2.8

7.1

5.1

4.5

2.9

6.7

2

1.8

Percent

Repeaters Dropout

45

The reasons for dropping out of school as indicated in Figure 5.13 are poverty (15.20

percent), lack of parental care (12.40 percent), change of accommodation (4.60 percent), lack

of interest in School (3.70 percent) and transfer of parents (3.70 percent) as adduced by the

principals. „Other‟ reasons not specified constituted 12.7 percent of the reasons. Principals

who did not respond to this item were 36.2 percent.

Figure 5.13: Reasons for Learners’ Dropping Out of School

5.8: Classroom Spaces and Open Classrooms Learners learn in classrooms and when these are in short supply, teaching and learning can be

carried out in open spaces otherwise called open classrooms. Even when classes are in

abundance, teaching can also take place in open classrooms particularly for subjects which

involve the study of the environment. In such situations, the teachers are able to provide

opportunities for learners to have a feel of what exists outside the conventional classrooms.

The proportion of classrooms was 82.5 percent while that of open classrooms was 17. 5

percent. The variation across states as shown in Figure 5.14 indicates that states like Edo,

Kogi, Osun and Bayelsa had no open spaces. Almost all the states with the exception of

Bauchi had more than 70 percent of classrooms.

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40

LACK OF PARENTAL CARE

LACK OF INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS

POVERTY

PUPIL POOR ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

LACK OF INTEREST

EARLY MARRIAGE

LACK OF MOTIVATION/ COMPETITION

POOR ORIENTATION ABOUT SCHOOL -…INAPPROPRIATE SCHOOL UNIFORM

CHANGE OF ACCOMMODATION

FARMING

TRANSFER OF PARENTS

ISLAMIYYA SCHOOL

HEALTH PROBLEM

PARENTAL DEATH

BROKEN HOME

INADEQUATE TEACHER

OTHERS

NO RESPONSE

12.4

3.5

15.2

2

3.7

1.2

0.9

1.4

0.2

4.6

0.4

3.7

0.2

0.1

0.1

0.4

1.3

12.7

36.2

Percent

46

Figure 5.14: Distribution of Classroom Spaces and Open Spaces by States

5.9: Facilities in Schools Apart from human resources, facilities are used by schools to eventuate effective teaching

and learning. These facilities are varied and their number and adequacy are germane to

teaching effectiveness. Laboratories need to be available in schools and so are sports facilities

and the library. This section takes a look at the facilities which are available in schools with

respect to numbers and their condition.

In most schools, science and mathematics laboratories were either grossly inadequate or

unavailable. Libraries were available and adequate in only very few schools (28.10 percent),

ICT was hardly any better.

0 20 40 60 80 100

ABIA

AKWA-IBOM

BAUCHI

BENUE

CROSS-RIVER

EBONYI

EKITI

FCT-ABUJA

IMO

KADUNA

KATSINA

KOGI

LAGOS

NIGER

ONDO

OYO

RIVERS

TARABA

ZAMFARA

90.6

70.4

92.5

88.9

61.8

100

75

86.7

91.9

86.8

86.2

100

68.3

75

92.6

88.2

88.9

73.3

92.9

83.7

90.5

75

100

70.9

94.2

77.8

96.3

84.1

76.5

100

97.6

81.7

76.8

82

86.2

80

70.9

9.4

29.6

7.5

11.1

38.2

0

25

13.3

8.1

13.2

13.8

0

31.7

25

7.4

11.8

11.1

26.7

7.1

16.3

9.5

25

0

29.1

5.8

22.2

3.7

15.9

23.5

0

2.4

18.3

23.2

18

13.8

20

29.1

Percent

Open spaces Classroom spaces

47

Figure 5.15: Condition of some Facilities in Schools

The reasons for the condition of the lockable storage space were availability of materials

(9.80 percent), inadequate facilities/equipment (9.80 percent) and in good use (3.20 percent),

while 66.80 percent did not respond. These were in addition to security (0.2 percent) and

dilapidated facilities (0.8 percent).Reasons adduced by the schools for the condition of their

gardens/farms were inadequate facilities/equipment (13.9 percent), inadequate funding (9.6

percent), in good use (4.90 percent) and security (1.1 percent), while 70.0 percent of the

schools did not respond.

Among the principals, 90.8 percent of the schools did not respond to the item on reasons for

condition of the weather station. However, 8.60 percent of the Schools gave inadequate

facilities/equipment as reason for the condition of the weather station, while 0.2 percent of

the principals indicated each of inadequate funding, in good use and lack of infrastructure as

reasons. With respect to the condition of the staff room, inadequate facilities/equipment was

the reason adduced by 22.5 percent of the principals, in good use by 2.6 percent, dilapidated

infrastructure by 0.2 percent, while 74.7 percent did not respond.

The distribution of teachers‟ furniture as presented in Figure 5.16, shows that 42.6 percent of

principals indicated that their schools had no furniture; 36.4 percent had 1 to 10 furniture, 3.9

percent had 20-30 and 4.7 percent had 31 furniture and above. It is instructive to note that a

principal indicated that the school had 228 and two indicated that their schools had 139

furniture.

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

Staff room

Weather Station

School garden/farm

Lockable storage space

26.8

13.7

28.2

20.1

35.3

17.8

22.5

22.5

37.9

68.5

49.3

57.4

Percent

No response Not Appropriate Appropriate

48

Figure 5.16: Distribution of Furniture

The condition of the teachers‟ furniture was described by 34.10 percent of the principals as

appropriate, 40.30 percent as not appropriate, while 25.50 percent did not respond.

Inadequate facilities/equipment was the reason given by 26.6 percent of the principals for the

condition of the teachers‟ furniture, 11.1 percent and 11.6 percent gave dilapidated

infrastructure and in good use respectively as reasons, 0.6 percent and 0.2 percent gave

inadequate funding and poor maintenance respectively, while 49.9 percent did not respond.

The condition of the learners‟ furniture was reported by 22.90 percent of the principals as

appropriate while 49.90 percent describe them as not appropriate; 27.2 percent however did

not respond. Reasons for the condition of learners‟ furniture were given by 28.1percent of the

principals as inadequate facilities/equipment, 10.9 percent as in good use and 0.2percent each

as dilapidated infrastructure and inadequate funding, while 60.6percent did not respond.

With respect to available Auditorium or hall, 55.2 percent of the schools had no

auditorium/halls, 31.3 percent had one auditorium/hall, while 13.6 percent had more than one

auditorium/hall. The condition of the auditorium/hall was described by 19.7 percent of the

principals as appropriate, 28.7 percent as not appropriate, while 51.6 percent did not respond.

The number of classrooms (at 40 learners per class) a school had was such that 53.5 percent

of the principals reported they had none, 34.8 percent reported they had between 1-10 such

classrooms, 7.8 percent indicated they had between 11-20, while 4.6percent had more than 20

classrooms. On the condition of the classrooms (at 40 Learners per class), 12.6 percent saw

them as appropriate, 47.10 percent indicated that they were not appropriate, while 40.30

percent did not respond.

Administrative blocks were not available in 61.2 percent of the schools, 34.0 percent had one

(1) while 4.9 percent had more than one block. The condition of the administrative block is

described by 23.50 percent of the principals as appropriate, 40.00 percent as not appropriate,

while 36.60 percent did not respond.

0 10 20 30 40 50

31 and above

21 to 30

11 to 20

1 to 10

None

4.7

3.9

12.9

36.4

42.6

Percent

Nu

mb

er

49

5.10: The Child Friendly School Environment The school environment in this context entails where learning takes place in a formal setting.

It encompasses the school being safe and secure, free from violence and affords children an

opportunity to take responsibility for their learning and promotes healthy lifestyle and life

skills. Within such an environment, there is safe water, sanitation facilities and curriculum

provisions. Some of these issues are examined in this section of the report. With respect to

availability of toilet facilities, 63.30 percent of the schools had toilet while 32.30 percent did

not have; 5.40 percent did not respond. The breakdown of number of different types of toilets

are presented in Tables 5.2 and 5.3 for learners and teachers respectively. The results indicate

a great shortage of toilets of all types for the teachers and learners. Among the schools, 94.2

percent of the schools did not have bucket system toilet for male learners, 3.6 percent had

one, while 2.30 percent had between 2- 6. Similarly, 94.6 percent of the schools did not have

the bucket system toilet for female learners, 3.6 percent had one, while 1.90 percent had

between 2- 6. For normal pit toilets, 79. 9 percent of the schools did not have any for the male

learners, 10.5 percent had one, while 9.6 percent had 6 or more of such toilets. Similarly, 80.9

percent of the schools did not have normal pit toilets for female learners, 11.3 percent had

one, while 8.0 percent had 6 or more of such toilets for female learners.

Table 5.2: Number of Toilets for Learners

Number

of toilets

Bucket system Normal pit

Male Female Male Female


0 502 94.2 504 94.6 436 79.9 431 80.9

1 19 3.6 19 3.6 56 10.5 60 11.3

2 8 1.5 8 1.5 29 5.4 27 5.1

3 3 0.6 1 0.2 7 7.3 6 1.1

4 = = = = 5 0.9 4 0.8

5 = = = = 2 0.4 = =

≥6 1 0.2 1 0.2 8 1.6 5 1.0

Total 533 100 533 100 533 100 533 100

From Table 5.4, the responses reveal that 85.2 percent of the schools did not have normal pit

toilets for male teachers, 9.2 percent and 3.2 percent had 1 and 2 of those toilets respectively,

while 2.5 percent had 6 or more of such toilets. On the number of normal pit toilets available

for female teachers, 87.4 percent of the schools did not have any. The situation for other

types of toilets was not better.

Table 5.3: Toilets for Teachers

Number

of toilets

Normal pit VIP Others

Male Female Male Female Male Female

f perc

ent f percent f

perc

ent f

perc

ent F

perc

ent f percent

0 454 85.2 466 87.4 421 79 425 80.3 453 85 514 96.4

1 49 9.2 48 9 30 5.6 86 16.1 14 0.6 13 2.4

2 17 3.2 14 2.6 61 11.4 13 2.4 4 0.8 = =

50

3 5 0.9 1 0.2 7 1.3 2 0.4 3 0.6 = =

4 3 0.6 1 0.2 5 0.9 1 0.2 1 0.2 = =

5 2 0.4 1 0.2 4 0.8 = = = = = =

≥6 3 0.6 2 0.4 5 1.0 3 0.6 58 10 6 1.1

Total 533 100 533 100 533 100 533 100

Curriculum Materials

Curriculum materials are used by the teachers for effective teaching. Among these are the

national curriculum, curriculum modules, diary, scheme of work, teachers‟ guide and the syllabus. The availability of these materials as presented in Figure 5.17 shows that teachers

Guide, syllabus and curriculum modules were not available in 62.1 percent, 49 percent and

40.7 percent of the schools. One to ten copies of the national curriculum, scheme of work,

diary and teachers‟ guide were available in 44.3 percent, 44.3 percent, 34.8 percent and 23.6

percent of the schools.

Figure 5.17: Available Curriculum Materials in Schools

The quality of the curriculum materials as contained in Figure 5.18 that with the exception of

the syllabus all other materials were assessed as good by more than 65 percent of the

principals. The quality of the scheme of work was best rated while that of the syllabus was

least. The no response varied from 14.6 percent (scheme of work) to 26.1 percent (syllabus).

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

Syllabus

Teachers' Guide

Scheme of Work

Diary

Curriculum Modules

National Curriculum

49

62.1

25.9

37.3

40.7

28.5

39.2

23.6

44.3

34.8

27.9

44.3

8.4

10

24.6

22.3

9.2

9.7

1.8

3.2

3.3

3

1.2

3.8

2.1

1.4

2.1

3.1

21.2

10.7

Percent

≥41 21 to 40 11 to 20 1 to 10 0

51

Figure 5.18: Quality of the Curriculum Materials

With respect to adequacy of the curriculum materials as presented in Figure 5.19, adequacy

level of the curriculum materials was least for syllabus (26.1 percent) and highest for scheme

of work (43.9 percent). It is observed that all of the curriculum materials were assessed as

adequate by less than 50 percent of the principals. The no response rate on the curriculum

varied from 24.4 percent for scheme of work to 34.1 percent for curriculum modules.

Figure 5.19: Adequacy of the Curriculum Materials

5.11: Types of Instructional Materials The instructional materials that are used by the teachers as contained in Table 5.4, shows a

preponderance of use of textbooks as indicated by 78 percent of the principals; 7.5 percent

indicated charts/flipcharts and cardboard by 1.4 percent. On the other hand, only 0.2 percent

of the principals indicated that the teachers used graphs, novels, curriculum and textbooks

0 20 40 60 80 100

Syllabus

Teachers' Guide

Scheme of Work

Diary

Curriculum Module

National Curriculum

59.3

72.8

80.7

78

65.7

76.4

14.6

4.7

4.7

4.9

5.8

3.9

26.1

22.5

14.6

17.1

28.5

19.7

Percent

No Response Bad Good

0 10 20 30 40 50

Syllabus

Teachers' Guide

Scheme of Work

Diary

Curriculum Modules

National Curriculum

26.1

34.3

43.9

40.5

32.9

28.9

14.6

36.4

31.7

33.6

33

46

26.1

29.3

24.4

25.9

34.1

25.1

Percent

No Response Not Adequate Adequate

52

Table 5.4: Types of Instructional Materials Available in Schools

Frequency percent

TEXTBOOKS 1307 78

BLACKBOARD/CHALKBOARD/MARK

BOARD 60 3.6

CHARTS/FLIPCHARTS 126 7.5

CARDBOARD 24 1.4

CHALK 15 0.9

GRAPH 4 0.2

MAP 16 1

NOVELS 3 0.2

PICTURES (TEACHING AID) 38 2.3

COMPUTER 29 1.7

CURRICULUM 4 0.2

NOTEBOOK 4 0.2

PROJECTOR 9 0.5

MEARSURING TAPE

(MEASUREMENTS) 6 0.4

SCIENCE KIT 19 1.1

GLOBE 11 0.7

TOTAL 1,675 100

An assessment of the quality of the instructional materials showed that 34.50 percent of the

principals reported that the instructional materials were of good quality, 3.20 percent said

they were of bad quality, while 62.30 percent of the principals did not respond. On the

appropriateness of the instructional materials, 29.30 percent of the principals reported that

they were appropriate, 8.60 percent considered the instructional materials not appropriate,

while 62.10 percent of the principals did not respond.

5.12: Water Supply Sources The main source of water supply as shown in Figure 5.20 indicates that Rain water is the

source in 4.7 percent of the schools, stream/river in 5.1 percent, well water in 28.9 percent,

borehole water in 37.0 percent, pipe-borne water in 3.0 percent and tanker water in 1.5

percent of the schools. However, 19.80 percent of the schools had no sources of water.

53

Figure 5.20: Sources of Water Supply

Availability of Useable Games/Sports Facilities in School

The responses in Figure 5.21 showed that 62.1 percent of the schools had facilities for

football, 43.2 percent had facilities for handball, 37.1 percent had facilities for athletics, 39.3

percent had facilities for volleyball and less than 20.0 percent of the schools had facilities for

basketball, table tennis and lawn tennis.

Figure 5.21: Available Useable Games/Sports Facilities

Availability and Usage of Refuse Disposal Facilities in Schools

The responses indicated that refuse disposal facilities were available in few schools as less

than 26.0 percent of the schools had the facilities as shown in Figure 5.22. Similarly, usage

was also low as less than 31.00 percent of the schools indicated that the facilities were used

as seen in Figure 5.23.

0 10 20 30 40

Rain

Stream/River

Well

Borehole

Pipe Borne water

Tanker

None

4.7

5.1

28.9

37

3

1.5

19.8

Percent

0 20 40 60 80 100

Athletics

Football

Handball

Lawn Tennis

Table Tennis

Basketball

Volleyball

37.1

62.1

43.2

4.7

10.1

17.8

29.3

49.7

36

52.9

90.2

83.9

77.3

65.5

18.1

1.9

3.9

5.1

6

4.9

5.3

Percent

No response No Yes

54

Figure 5.22: Availability of Refuse Disposal Facilities in School

Figure 5.23: Usability of Refuse Disposal Facilities in School

Availability of Usable Recreational Facilities in Schools

Swing was the most usable recreational facility as indicated by 16.50 percent of the schools.

This meant that usable recreational facilities were available in few schools as less than 15.00

percent of the schools, as can be seen from Figure 5.24, reported that they had the other listed

facilities.

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

REFUSE DISPOSAL

COMPOSE PIT

DUST PIT

LARGE BIN

NONE

22.3

25.9

22

7.1

15.4

54.6

49.5

51.2

51.4

28.1

23.1

24.6

26.8

41.5

56.5

Percent

No response No Yes

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

REFUSE DISPOSAL

COMPOSE PIT

DUST PIT

LARGE BIN

25.9

18.4

7.9

6.4

49.5

44.5

51.4

41.7

24.6

37.1

40.7

52

Percent

No response No Yes

55

Figure 5.24: Availability of Usable Recreational Facilities in Schools


1. More than 75 percent of the schools run only morning session.

2. More than 80 percent live less than 2km from the schools. More than 90 percent go to

school on foot.

3. Almost all schools had PTA which met as the need arose. They also rendered assistance

to schools.

4. Few of the schools were fenced though not often with durable materials which did not

guarantee safety. Some engage security personnel to guarantee safety within the schools.

5. The community provided auxiliary teachers to assist schools.

6. Only few schools had playgrounds, gardens, and others. Existing buildings needed to be

maintained.

7. The enrolment of the girl-child is low across the nation.

8. The dropout rates in Bayelsa and Zamfara states were of great concern.

9. There was lack of facilities of all kinds in most schools nation-wide. These range from the

curriculum, textbooks, toilets, sports field, recreational to disposal facilities.

0 20 40 60 80 100

Swimming pool

Merry-go-round

Slide

See-Saw

Swing

Ladder

11.8

5.1

14.4

4.9

16.5

15

83.1

90.4

80.5

89.9

79.4

80.7

5.1

4.5

5.1

5.3

4.1

4.3

Percent

No Response No Yes

56

Chapter Six

Attitude towards Parents

A child‟s first contact is his/her parents. The parents nurture the child from infancy through a

process of socialization and this builds up a strong bond between them and the child. This

bond will determine how much the child will like the parent as the bond could be positive or

negative. Positive bonding builds trust and hence obedience by the child. The result is that if

a child is sent to school, (s)he works hard to excel. In this study two items on attitude of

parents towards the learners were presented to the learners. Out of the 7,464 learners who

responded in the study, 60 (0.80 percent) think their parents do not like them, while 7004

(93.80 percent) believe the parents like them; 400 (5.40 percent) declined to respond to this

item.

A parent cannot like a child all the time; the child can fall out of favour with the parents.

Thus it is necessary to examine why they are liked and when they also do not get the needed

favourable node from the parents. The reasons adduced by the learners in this study are

presented in Figure 6.1. Learners‟ responses to this item indicate that 31.60 percent and 14.50

percent adduced “I am obedient” and “they gave birth to me” as reasons for the parent liking

them.

Figure 6.1: Reasons Parents like Children

As regards reasons why the learners are not liked, these are presented in Figure 6.2. Among

the respondents, 93.42 percent did not respond. The most predominant reasons adduced were

because „I fight always‟ by 0.20 percent and „I disobey my parents‟ by 0.20 percent and „I do not go to farm with them‟ by 0.11 percent.

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Always pass my examinations

Assist with farm work

Assist to sell things

maintain my textbooks

I assist with care of my siblings

They are my parents

Others

No response

5.5

0.7

0.87

1.5

0.9

14.15

29.95

19.84

Percent

57

Figure 6.2: Reasons Parents do not like the Learners

6.2: Attitude towards Teachers

Teachers interact with learners and this can breed a relationship between the two which may

be healthy or otherwise. The learners‟ attitude to the teacher will depend on their perception of the teachers‟ disposition towards them. If his perception is positive, the learner would

ultimately like the teacher and the subject taught and this may affect performance in the

subject. Among the learners 94.5 percent believe they are liked by the teacher, 0.9 percent did

not see themselves as liked by the teacher and 4.6 percent did not respond. Among other

reasons, as can be seen in Figure 6.3, adduced by the learners for liking their teacher were

“teacher teaches well” (29.50 percent) and “teacher is friendly” (16.10 percent).

Figure 6.3: Reasons Why the Learners like their Teachers

In Figure 6.4, 99.40 percent of the learners did not respond to the item on why they do not

like the teacher. However, 0.20 percent of the learner gave “teacher punishes learner always” while 0.10 percent alluded that “teacher is unfriendly” and “teacher does not teach most of

the times” (0.1) as reasons.

0 20 40 60 80 100

I fight always

I disobey them

I do not go to farm with them

Others

No response

0.2

0.2

0.11

0.1

98.42

Percent

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

No response

Others

Teacher teaches well

Teacher maintains discipline in class

Teacher is regular and punctual

Interested in learners

Teacher is friendly

Teacher encourages learners to learn

Dresses and moderately smartly

17.4

15.9

29.5

3.4

3

6.1

16.1

2.9

5.7

Percent

58

Figure 6.4: The Reasons Why the Learners do not like Their Teachers

6.3: Attitude towards School Subjects Liking subject is seen as a proxy of attitude towards the subject in this study. When students

like the subject they are likely to put in lots of effort in learning the subject and consequently

if all things work well will excel in the subject. Not liking the subject can create hatred

towards even the teacher. In this section subjects liked and those not liked and reasons for

these were explored. Figure 6.5 shows the two most liked subjects to be English Studies

(33.00 percent) and Mathematics (24.60 percent). The various degrees of learners‟ likeness for other subjects are displayed in the figure.

Figure 6.4: The Reasons Why the Learners do not like Their Teachers

Reasons for liking subjects were given by 18.50 percent as “it is simple” “my teacher teaches

the subject well” (16.30 percent), “I understand when I read the subject” (10.10 percent) and

“it is crucial to me achieving my goal” (7.90 percent). Other reasons are as shown in Figure

6.5.

0 20 40 60 80 100

No Response

Others

Teacher punishes learners always

Teacher is unfriendly

Teacher is too strict and aggressive

Teacher does not teach most of the time

Teacher comes late to school always

99.3

0.1

0.2

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.1

Percent

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35

No response

Religious Studies

Nigeria Languages

Home Economics

English Studies

Computer Studies

Business Studies

Basic Science

Agriculture

2.7 8.4

4.5 1.4

3 24.6

1.3 0.3

33 0.6

1.2 2.9

2.4 1.2

10.1 0.4

1.8

Percent

59

Figure 6.5: Reasons the Learners like the Two Subjects best

Two subjects which learners did not like are Mathematics (12.10 percent) and Nigerian

Languages (8.30 percent). The degree for the dislike of other subjects is indicated in Figure

6.6. However, 20.80 percent of the learners did not respond.

Figure 6.6: Two Subjects the Learners do not like

The main reason why learners did not like the subjects was “they are too difficult” (29.5)

percent) followed by “my teacher do not teach me well” (7.70 percent). “Other reasons” (21.90 percent) though not explicit were given by the learners, while 24.50 percent did not

respond as depicted in Figure 6.7.

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

No response

Other

It is simple

It is crucial to achieving my goals

My teacher teaches the subject well

I understand when I read the subject

I have people who can assist me on the…

14.7

28.2

18.5

7.9

16.3

10.1

4.3

Percent

0 5 10 15 20 25

No Response

Religious Studies

Nigerian Language

Home Economics

English Studies

Computer Studies

Business Education

Basic Science

Agriculture

20.8 5.6

1.8 4.1

8.3 12.1

2.7 6.8

2.8 3.7

3.3 5.3

4.5 5.4

0.78 0.7

4.4

Percent

60

Figure 6.7: The Reasons Why the Learners do not like the Two Subjects

6.4: Attitude to Schooling Good attitude towards school is one step towards achieving educational goals. This will

translate to greater effort as attitude can be motivational. Out of the 7,464 learners that

responded in the study 58 (0.80 percent) do not like schooling; 6,892 (92.30 percent) are

categorical that they like schooling. A total of 514 (6.90 percent) did not respond. Figure 6.8

presents the various reasons why the learners like schooling. In their multiple responses, 513

(3.40 percent) of the learners attend school because of its adequate classroom and furniture;

609 (41.00 percent) because of the beautiful compound with flowers; and for 1,032 (6.90

percent) it is because of the organisation of co-curricular activities. A total of 739 (5.00

percent) learners like schooling because it is close to their home; 695 (4.70 percent) like

schooling because it maintains discipline; 734 (4.90 percent) like the school because the

teachers are friendly; while for 1.1percent it is because the teachers encourage the learners to

participate. Another 7.5 percent of learners like school because of the availability of

textbooks and instructional materials. Altogether, 1,117 (7.50 percent) responses were invalid

and 2,404 (16.10 percent) learners did not respond.

Figure 6.8: Reasons Why the Learners like Schooling

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

I do not have people that can…My teacher do not teach them well

They are boring

They are too difficult

Other pupils/students run out…Other reason

Invalid Response

No Response

4

7.7

5.4

29.5

1.5

21.9

5.5

24.5

Percent

0 10 20 30 40 50

No Response

Others

Availability of textbooks and…Teachers encourages learners to…Teachers are friendly

School maintains discipline

School is close to my house

Organization of Co-curricular activities

Beautiful Compound with Flowers

Adequate classroom and furniture

23.6

41

1.1

5.3

4.9

4.7

5

6.9

4.1

3.4

Percent

61

Among learners who do not like schooling, it may be instructive to find out why? Figure 6.9

presents the reasons given by the learners why they do not like schooling. Among the

learners, 99.40 percent decline to react to this item; and 0.20 percent of the responses were

invalid. Altogether, 0.10 percent of learners do not like schooling because of bullying by

other learners and 0.10 percent because of inadequate classrooms. Among the learners 0.10

percent do not like schooling because they receive no support or motivation from the teachers

while 0.10 percent think the teachers do not teach well enough.

Figure 6.9: Reasons Why Learners do not like Schooling

Observations and Conclusions

1. One worrisome issue in this chapter was the preponderance of no response. This

probably may have arisen as many items required a free response from the learners.

Nonetheless it is hoped that the little information gleaned have partially illuminated the

situation.

2. Mathematics is the most hated and this should be of concern as it is the bed rock of

science and technology. On the other hand not liking Nigerian language may lead to the

future extinction of these languages. This could have been because most parents

currently do not communicate in their mother tongue with their children.

3. Liking school and teachers as observed is commendable as these are likely to lead to

greater achievement in schools. The teacher drives whatever takes place in school and

liked by the learners, they would work hard to excel in the subject taught by the teacher.

0 20 40 60 80 100

Bullying by other learners

Inadequate classroom

No support or motivation from teachers

Teachers do not teach well

No Response

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.2

99.5

Percent

62

Section Two: Learners’ Achievement

In this section of the report, four chapters on achievement in English Studies, Mathematics,

Basic Science and Technology are presented. Each chapter is organised in three sub-sections:

achievement at national, zonal and state levels. Two main types of test, Multiple Choice and

Essay were used in the study for each subject. For the purpose of analysis, the scores in the

two types of test were transformed into T-score with a mean of 50 and standard deviation of

10 at the three sub-sections. Tests measured objectives through the content taught in schools.

The content was reflected by the themes in the curriculum while the objectives were

categorized into Knowledge, Comprehension and Higher order objectives consisting of

application, analysis, evaluation and synthesis. In analyzing achievement on the themes and

objectives, the raw scores obtained by the learners were not transformed. Some contextual

variables which were thought to influence achievement were explored. Finally, each chapter

was concluded with observations and challenges.

63

Chapter Seven

Achievement in English Studies

Introduction

This chapter presents the results of the Multiple Choice and Essay tests of English Studies.

The achievements at national, geo-political zone and state levels were focused on. The

relationship between some contextual variables and the achievement of the learners are also

presented.

7.1: Achievement at National Level The achievement scores at this level are transformed scores with a mean of 50 and a standard

deviation of 10 otherwise called T-scores. This section presents the results of the essay and

multiple choice tests; range and percentiles; group achievements (gender of learners and

location of schools) and finally along the content and cognitive domains. Observations and

challenges from the results are also presented.

7.1.1 National Means

Figure 7.1 shows the national average of the learners‟ achievement in the essay and multiple-

choice tests. Overall, the national average was 50.00 in the multiple choice test; while that in

the essay test was 49.83. The differences in these two tests were however marginal.

Figure 7.1: Mean Score on Essay and Multiple Choice Tests

7.1.2 National Range and Percentile The range shows the spread or cluster of the scores while the percentile indicates the relative

standing of an examinee‟s score vis-à-vis scores of other examinees. The scores were

categorized into four clusters: 0-39(Fail), 40-49(Fair), 50-59(Good) and 60-69(Very Good)

and 70 and above (Excellent). Figure 7.2 gives the range in the transformed national scores in

both the essay and multiple choice tests. In the multiple choice test, small proportion of

learners scored in the cluster of 70 and above; 33.6 percent scored within the cluster 50-59;

while 18.3 percent of the learners scored in the lowest cluster of 0-39. Thus 55.8 percent

49.7

49.75

49.8

49.85

49.9

49.95

50

Essay Muliple choice

49.83

50

Sco

re

64

scored at or above the expected mean for the transformed scores in the Multiple Choice test.

In the Essay test, 4.5 percent of learners scored in the cluster 70 and above; 41.9 percent

scored in the cluster 40-49, while 2.3 percent of the learners scored in the lowest cluster of 0-

39. Effectively, 45.8 percent of the learners scored at or above the expected mean for the

transformed scores in the Essay test. These results may not be very satisfactory for this level

of learners.

Figure 7.2: Transformed Score Ranges

The overall percentile of the learners across the country is shown in Figure 7.3. Learner who

scored 39.23, 42.01, 47.6, 57.26 and 65.1 performed better than 10 percent, 25 percent, 50

percent, 75 percent and 90 percent respectively of all learners who took the multiple choice

test. In the essay test, learners who scored 40.25, 42.18, 46.05, 55.73 and 65.4 performed

better than 10 percent, 25 percent and 50 percent, 75 percent and 90 percent respectively. The

results indicate that achievement of the learners at the 10th

, 25th

and 90th

percentile was

consistently better in the essay test; it was however better in the multiple choice test at the

50th

and 75th

percentiles.

Figure 7.3: Percentile Score in Multiple Choice and Essay Tests

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

Fail (0 - 39 ) Fair (40 - 49

)

Good (50 -

59)

Very Good

(60 - 69)

Excellent

(70-100 )

18.3

25.9

33.6

21.9

0.3

12.3

41.9

27.4

13.9

4.5

Sco

re

Multiple Choice Essay

65

7.1.3 Group Achievements

Two groups were used as part of group achievement; these are gender of students (male and

female) and location of schools (urban and rural).

Achievement by Gender

Figure 7.4 shows that at the national level in the multiple choice test, the achievement of the

female learners (50.30) is higher than that of the male learners though the difference is not

substantial. In the essay test, the national mean achievement of the male (49.71) and female

(49.96) learners did not suggest any large difference between the two.

Figure 7.4: Distribution of Mean Scores in Multiple-Choice and Essay by Gender

Achievement by Location of School

Figure 7.5 shows that at the national level in the multiple choice test, the achievement of the

learners from rural schools (50.01) is higher than that of the learners from urban locations.

The difference is not substantial. In the essay test, the national mean achievement of the

learners from urban areas (49.70) was lower than that for learners from rural areas (49.96).

Rural learners (50.01) on the multiple choice test performed better than rural learners on the

essay test. In the same token, learners from rural locations (50.01) in the multiple choice test

performed better than urban learners (49.99) on the essay test.

Figure 7.5: Achievement of the urban and the rural schools in multiple choice and essay

tests.

0.00

10.00

20.00

30.00

40.00

50.00

60.00

URBAN RURAL URBAN RURAL

MULTIPLE CHOICE ESSAY

49.99 50.01 49.70 49.98

66

7.1.4 Achievement in the Content Domain

This section presents results on achievement on the content domain. Five themes were used

in this study. These are Speech, Grammatical accuracy, Literature, Writing and Reading. The

scores reported here are the raw scores expressed as percentages. Figure 7.6 presents the

scores of the learners in the five content themes of the English Studies curriculum. From the

figure it is observed that the learners performed best in Reading (65.50) and Writing (59.83).

The mean score in Literature was 50.03 and the lowest achievement was in Speech (46.86)

and Grammatical Accuracy (48.10). The achievement in Speech and Grammatical Accuracy

are often relatively more difficult to comprehend by second language learners.

Figure 7.6: Achievement of the Learners in the Five Themes in English Studies

7.1.5 Achievement on the Cognitive Domain

In Figure 7.7, the mean achievement of the learners in the three cognitive domainsare

presented. The learners scored highest on items testing Comprehension (61.17) and the

achievement on higher order was 54.33; while the lowest score of 45.71 was on items on

knowledge objectives. Theory indicates that order of achievement on cognitive objectives

should be, in decreasing order, should be knowledge, comprehension and higher order; the

results do not follow this trend. Thus there could have been issues with the classification of

the items into objectives.

0 20 40 60 80

Speech

Grammatical Accuracy

Literature

Writing

Reading

46.86

48.1

50.03

59.83

65.5

Scores

0 20 40 60 80

Knowledge

Comprehension

Higher Order

45.71

54.33

61.17

Score

67

Figure 7.7: Achievement of the Learners in the Cognitive Objectives

7.2 Achievement at Geo-Political Zones In this section, achievement was looked at from the angle of the multiple choice and essay

tests and group achievements were equally presented.

7.2.1 Achievement in Essay and Multiple Choice Tests

In Figure 7.8, zones in the south consistently performed better in the multiple choice test than

the essay test. However, Zones in the north also performed better on the essay test than the

multiple choice test. The best performing zone on the multiple choice test was South East

(54.74) while that on the essay test was South South (50.27). The lowest achievement on the

multiple choice test was by learners in North East (44.3) and that on the essay was by learners

in South West (49.04). Among the zones in the north, North Central (50.15) learners

exhibited the best achievement on the essay test while North East (44.3) learners displayed

the least achievement. Among the zones in the south, the best achievement on essay was

displayed by learners in South South (50.27).

Figure 7.8: Achievement across Geo-Political Zones on Essay and Multiple Choice Test

7.2.2 Group Achievements across the Geo-Political Zones

Table 7.1 contains the mean scores and standard errors of the achievement in English Studies

essay and multiple choice tests decomposed by gender. In the essay test, the achievement of

female learners was better than that of male learners in all zones with the exception of North

West (49.72 and 49.33 respectively) and South West (49.18 and 48.91 respectively) With

respect to achievement in multiple choice test, male learners in two zones North Central

(49.51) and North East (44.64) performed better than female learners. On the other hand,

female learners in four zones performed better than male learners. Some of the zones where

female learners performed better than male learners are North West (46.34) and South West

(53.84).

Table 7.1: Distribution of Means and Standard Error of English Studies Multiple

Choice and Essay Tests for Zones by Gender

Zone MULTIPLE CHOICE ESSAY


68

Mean SE Mean SE Mean SE Mean SE

North

Central 49.51 0.48 48.57 0.49 49.75 0.46 50.56 0.47

North East 44.64 0.36 43.87 0.37 49.86 0.40 50.44 0.46

North West 46.12 0.32 46.34 0.38 49.72 0.34 49.33 0.42

South East 54.60 0.38 54.85 0.35 50.01 0.43 50.18 0.41

South

South 52.22 0.39 52.51 0.38 49.79 0.42 50.76 0.43

South West 53.58 0.33 53.84 0.32 49.18 0.39 48.91 0.35

Figure 7.9 contains the mean scores for the zones classified according to location on the

multiple choice test. The learners in rural schools performed better than the urban schools in

the multiple choice test in four zones, namely, North Central (49.22 and 48.90 respectively),

North West (46.31 and 46.09 respectively), South East (54.87 and 54.61 respectively). Also,

learners in rural schools in the South West performed slightly better than those in urban

school (53.73 and 53.70 respectively).

Figure 7.9: Achievement in Multiple Choice by School Location

In the essay test, the achievement of the learners in urban school was better than that of

learners in rural schools in South East (50.53 and 49.66 respectively) and South West (49.23

and 48.78 respectively). The least achievement in rural schools was obtained by learners in

South West (48.78) while the best achievement was for learners in North East (50.93).

Learners in urban schools had the least achievement in South West (49.23). The South West

had the least achievement for both urban and rural schools for zones in the south. In the same

vein, learners in North West had the least achievement in both urban and rural schools for

zones in the north.

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

NORTH CENTRAL

NORTH EAST

NORTH WEST

SOUTH EAST

SOUTH SOUTH

SOUTH WEST

NATIONAL

48.9

44.47

46.09

54.61

52.22

53.73

49.99

49.22

44.08

46.31

54.87

52.5

53.7

50.11

Score

RURAL URBAN

69

Figure 7.10: Achievement in Essay Test by School Location

7.3 Achievement at State Level This section presented the learners‟ achievement in essay and multiple choice at state level. The cognitive group achievements in terms of gender, school location, content and cognitive

domains were also presented. The section was concluded with observations and conclusions.


The national average for the multiple Choice test was 50; 19 states achieved above the

national average. States achieving at the top include Lagos (58), FCT (57) and Ebonyi (57).

In the Essay test, the national average was 50 and 20 states performed above this value. States

performing on top of the chart include Akwa-Ibom (50), Adamawa (51) and Sokoto (51).

States performing at the bottom include Bayelsa (48), Kebbi (48) and FCT (48). Learners

from 19 states performed better in the Multiple Choice test than the Essay test.

70

Figure 7.11: Mean Score in English Language in Essay and Multiple Choice tests

Note:

i. Learners‟ score in multiple choice are out of the parentheses ii. Learners‟ score in essay are in parentheses

7.3.2 Group Achievements by Gender

Table 7.2 shows that male learners in 18 states scored above the national male mean score of

49.71 for the essay test; the states performing well here include Cross River (52.11), Oyo

(51.4) and Bauchi (51.35). Female learners in 19 states performed better than the national

female average score of 49.96 on the essay test; top performing states here include Delta

(53.15), Akwa Ibom (52.09) and Plateau (48.51). Female learners in 22 states performed

better than the male learners in the same test.

In the multiple choice test, male learners in twenty states performed better than the female

learners in the multiple choice test; top performing states included FCT (58.36), Lagos

(58.15) and Ebonyi (56.26). Female learners performed better than male learners in sixteen

states and the Federal Capital Territory in the multiple choice test. Male learners from

eighteen states performed above the national mean for males in the multiple choice test;

among the top performing states are Lagos (58.63), Ebonyi (57.22) and FCT (56.22).

48(5151(50)

51(51

54(49).

51(48) 51(51)

55(51)

54(50) 57(50)

54(51)

54(49)

53(49

53(49)

50(48)

42 (51)

48(49)

49(50)

54(5051(50

53(48)

58(49)

47(50)

47(48)3

46(50

46(50)

46(49)

48(49)

44(51)

41(50

43(45)

55(51

56.11

45(50)

46(51) 43(50)

53(48)

48(49)

National Average

Score=50/50

71

Table 7.2: Multiple Choice and Essay Tests Score in English Studies by Gender

State

ESSAY MULTIPLE CHOICE



ABIA 50.64 0.99 50.52 1.05 53.61 0.92 54.33 0.88

ADAMAWA 51.12 1.36 51.47 1.00 47.70 1.04 44.41 0.86

AKWA-IBOM 50.48 1.04 52.09 0.92 51.26 0.84 51.43 0.77

ANAMBRA 49.50 0.85 50.08 0.84 54.80 0.81 53.47 0.79

BAUCHI 51.35 1.04 50.58 1.22 44.40 0.87 44.50 0.92

BAYELSA 44.96 1.11 50.95 1.54 50.36 1.18 51.35 1.28

BORNO 49.82 1.01 50.52 1.47 45.83 0.81 44.14 0.94

BENUE 48.47 2.04 51.13 1.99 37.69 1.18 45.56 1.51

CROSS RIVER 52.11 0.93 48.94 1.06 50.80 0.96 51.36 1.14

DELTA 48.94 0.82 53.15 1.09 55.54 0.80 53.90 0.85

EBONYI 50.77 0.97 49.42 0.97 56.26 0.74 57.38 0.73

EDO 50.36 1.18 50.13 1.15 50.87 0.90 51.40 0.92

EKITI 49.09 0.88 48.61 0.87 51.97 0.73 54.22 0.73

ENUGU 48.19 0.96 49.98 0.85 53.17 0.87 55.16 0.76

GOMBE 50.63 0.85 49.98 1.13 41.16 0.64 40.08 0.71

IMO 50.90 1.08 50.78 0.90 55.08 0.93 54.44 0.74

JIGAWA 48.23 0.93 48.79 0.88 45.00 0.90 46.29 0.86

KADUNA 50.31 0.92 50.53 1.05 45.80 0.73 45.55 0.81

KANO 49.67 1.18 50.83 1.83 46.08 1.04 45.25 1.33

KATSINA 48.93 0.93 49.15 0.96 48.16 0.87 48.77 0.97

KEBBI 48.86 0.81 46.89 1.07 49.85 0.94 50.08 1.15

KOGI 50.25 1.16 51.46 1.32 49.07 1.15 46.15 1.19

KWARA 50.84 0.98 49.28 1.04 54.26 0.84 54.43 0.93

LAGOS 47.75 0.93 49.66 0.80 58.15 0.85 58.63 0.63

NASARAWA 51.08 1.44 51.05 1.39 47.74 1.54 47.28 1.32

NIGER 49.50 1.17 50.41 1.14 49.05 1.26 48.25 1.29

OGUN 47.86 1.01 48.97 0.97 54.38 0.75 52.33 0.77

ONDO 50.49 0.91 47.97 0.88 52.59 0.81 52.43 1.03

OSUN 47.91 0.95 48.87 0.85 53.88 0.79 53.06 0.76

OYO 51.40 1.06 49.07 0.82 51.44 0.77 51.25 0.72

PLATEAU 48.51 0.93 52.07 1.05 44.04 0.82 41.82 0.81

RIVERS 48.95 0.99 49.21 0.83 52.86 0.93 54.11 0.80

SOKOTO 50.85 0.86 51.28 1.10 41.99 0.67 42.78 0.82

TARABA 49.05 0.88 49.61 0.96 42.55 0.63 42.91 0.82

YOBE 47.58 0.84 50.45 1.11 48.80 1.15 47.51 1.04

ZAMFARA 50.33 0.81 47.79 1.19 47.00 0.74 45.51 1.19

FCT 47.95 1.34 48.42 1.14 58.36 1.36 56.22 1.35

NATIONAL 49.71 0.16 49.96 0.17 49.72 0.16 50.30 0.17

In Table 7.3, mean scores and standard error for the English Studies essay test and multiple

choice test are presented. From the table, 18 states performed above the mean for urban

72

learners in the essay test; among the top performing states are Abia (50.74), Adamawa

(50.53) and Edo (50.37). Among the rural learners, 22 states performed above the national

mean on the essay test with states like Borno (52.17), Adamawa (52.02) and Akwa Ibom

(51.69) topping the achievement table. Learners in 18 states and FCT from rural locations

performed better than the learners from urban locations on the essay test.

Twenty states performed above the national mean of 49.99 on the multiple choice test among

urban learners; top performing states here include Lagos (58.82), FCT (58.5) and Ebonyi

(56.28). With respect to this same test, learners from rural locations in 18 states and FCT

performed above the national mean of 50.01; the top performing states in this category

include Lagos (57.91), Ebonyi (57.19) and FCT (55.32). Learners from rural locations in 17

states performed better than those from urban areas on the multiple choice test.

Table 7.3: Multiple Choice and Essay Test Score of Learners in English Studies by

Location

State

ESSAY MULTIPLE CHOICE



ABIA 50.74 0.95 50.36 1.11 53.96 0.85 53.99 0.96

ADAMAWA 50.53 1.17 52.02 1.13 46.56 0.98 45.14 0.92

AKWA-IBOM 50.85 1.07 51.69 0.90 50.91 0.95 51.65 0.70

ANAMBRA 51.00 0.93 48.94 0.78 54.17 0.90 53.99 0.73

BAUCHI 51.08 1.15 50.90 1.11 44.49 0.89 44.41 0.89

BAYELSA 47.70 1.15 46.98 1.80 50.25 0.96 52.53 1.97

BORNO 49.07 1.02 52.17 1.42 45.61 0.75 44.38 1.11

BENUE 49.36 1.51 = 40.32 1.10 = =

CROSS RIVER 51.09 1.14 50.44 0.90 50.80 1.08 51.23 0.99

DELTA 50.83 1.00 51.01 0.94 54.38 0.88 55.15 0.78

EBONYI 50.36 1.03 49.98 0.93 56.28 0.79 57.19 0.70

EDO 50.37 1.11 50.11 1.23 51.14 0.81 51.13 1.02

EKITI 48.90 0.84 48.79 0.91 53.62 0.75 52.65 0.72

ENUGU 49.56 0.86 48.80 0.94 54.49 0.82 54.05 0.80

GOMBE 49.85 0.94 50.88 0.99 40.73 0.70 40.74 0.66

IMO 50.95 0.95 50.66 0.99 54.43 0.75 55.12 0.92

JIGAWA 48.63 0.78 48.33 1.11 45.73 0.78 45.48 1.04

KADUNA 50.27 1.20 50.47 0.84 45.73 0.95 45.68 0.66

KANO 49.34 1.49 50.75 1.38 45.51 1.19 45.97 1.14

KATSINA 49.37 1.01 48.75 0.89 48.36 0.95 48.54 0.89

KEBBI 47.88 1.21 48.21 0.75 50.39 1.18 49.67 0.92

KOGI 50.21 1.30 51.30 1.17 47.51 1.28 47.82 1.10

KWARA 49.58 0.95 50.72 1.08 54.83 0.85 53.82 0.91

LAGOS 48.87 0.81 48.97 0.94 58.82 0.67 57.91 0.79

NASARAWA 52.06 1.44 49.92 1.35 47.07 1.34 48.02 1.53

NIGER 49.13 1.21 50.72 1.11 48.11 1.32 49.00 1.25

OGUN 49.14 1.03 47.71 0.92 52.67 0.74 53.94 0.80

ONDO 49.26 0.67 50.60 2.29 52.65 0.67 51.31 2.13

73

OSUN 49.07 1.09 47.97 0.76 52.74 0.89 53.93 0.69

OYO 50.09 0.91 50.21 0.97 51.65 0.73 51.01 0.76

PLATEAU 50.37 0.95 50.27 1.08 42.98 0.79 42.80 0.86

RIVERS 48.03 0.83 50.22 0.97 54.08 0.88 53.07 0.83

SOKOTO 50.80 0.93 51.23 0.99 42.34 0.74 42.24 0.74

TARABA 48.69 0.76 50.44 1.21 43.26 0.63 41.62 0.82

YOBE 48.13 0.91 49.63 1.03 47.60 1.10 48.87 1.13

ZAMFARA 49.80 0.91 49.34 1.01 46.37 0.84 46.83 0.95

FCT 47.55 1.05 49.16 1.50 58.50 1.15 55.32 1.64

NATIONAL 49.70 0.16 49.98 0.17 49.99 0.16 50.01 0.17

7.3.3 Achievements in Cognitive and Content Domains

Five content domains were used in English Studies; these are speech, reading, grammatical

accuracy, writing and literature. The achievements of learners in these domains are raw

scores expressed as percentages. The achievements of the learners in each of these domains

are presented in this sub-section.

74

Speech

Figure 7.12: Mean Scores of the Learners on the Theme Speech

From Figure 7.12,

1. 18 states and FCT performed above the national average of 46.86; states that

excelledhere include FCT (52.28), Lagos (50.32) and Kwara (50.05).

2. Achievement on this theme was only good.

75

Reading

Figure 7.13: Mean Scores of the Learners on the Theme Reading

From Figure 7.13,

1. 18 states and FCT performed above the national average of 65.50; states that excelled

here include Lagos (80.46), FCT (78.42) and Ebonyi (76.42).

2. Achievement on this theme was excellent.

76

Grammatical Accuracy

Figure 7.14: Mean Scores of Learners in Grammatical Accuracy

From Figure 7.14,

1. Learners from 19 States scored above the national average (48.10) in grammatical

accuracy; best performing states include Lagos (64.56), Ebonyi (61.41) and FCT

(61.22).

2. Achievement was good.

77

Writing

Figure 7.15: Mean Scores of Learners on the Theme Writing

From Figure 7.15,

1. Learners from 21 states performed above the national average of 59.83; Lagos

(72.22), Ebonyi (72.21) and FCT (71.03) outshone their counterparts.

2. Achievement on this theme was very good.

78

Literature

Figure 7.16: Mean Scores of Learners on the Theme Literature

From Figure 7.16,

1. Learners from 20 states performed above the national average of 50.03; Lagos

(69.94), FCT (64.55) and Ebonyi (63.90) outshone their counterparts.

2. Achievement on this theme was good.

79

Knowledge

Figure 7.17: Means Scores of Learners on Knowledge Objectives

From Figure 7.17,

1. 19 states scored higher than the national average; these include Lagos (63.13), Ebonyi

(59.29) and FCT (59.26).

2. Achievement on knowledge objective was Fair.

80

Comprehension

Figure 7.18: Mean Scores of Learners on Comprehension Objectives

In Figure 7.18,

1. 19 states scored above the national average in comprehension; among the states are

Lagos (72.49), FCT (71.45) and Ebonyi (69.60).

2. The national average of 61.87 was quite high; achievement on this objective was very

good.

81

Higher Order

Figure 7.19: Means Scores of Learners on Higher Order Objectives

From Figure 7.19,

1. 19 states and FCT scored above the national average in higher order; among the states

are Lagos (65.32), FCT (64.54) and Ebonyi (63.86).

2. The national average of 54.33 was within an acceptable level of achievement; therefor

the achievement on this objective was good.

82

1.4. Relational Analysis This subsection deals with the relationship between the learners contextual variables that may

influenced their achievement in English Studies. Specifically, how homework assistance

provided; available learning facilities; after school non-learning engagement; occupation of

father and mother; means of going to school; distance between learners‟ home and school; number of meal per day; learners‟ possessing textbook on English Studies; liking teacher and school affected learners achievement in English Studies were discussed.

Assistance with Homework as Related to Achievement

Homework assistance for learners was a composite of the help rendered by parents/guardians,

home tutors and siblings so as to complete their homework in English Studies. The scores

were categorised into 3 (high, moderate and low) assistance and the results related with

achievement. Figure 7.20 contains the results from the analysis. At the national level,

achievements exhibited showed mean values of 50.2, 49.6 and 50.1 for low, moderate and

high levels of assistance respectively. Seventeen states, eighteen states and twenty states

performed above the national mean for the low, moderate and high levels of assistance

respectively. The effect of level of assistance with homework appeared to be the same for

almost all states. States such as Lagos (53.8, 53.9 and 53.1), Ebonyi (53.3, 53.4 and 54.7) and

Delta (52.9, 52.6 and 53.4) exhibited high achievement at low, moderate and high levels of

assistance respectively. In the same token, states like Benue (36.1, 45.5 45.0), Gombe (45.1,

45.5 and 46) and Yobe (45.2, 49.0and 48.7) performed poorly across all levels of assistance.

83

English Studies

Figure 7.20: Assistance with Homework as Related to Achievement in English Studies

84

Available Facilities as Related to Achievement in English Studies

Figure 7.21: Available Facilities as Related to Achievement in English Studies

Nationally, there was an

increase in achievement as

facilities increased; the mean

for low level of facilities was

49.1 and for moderate level it

was 50.1 while at the high level,

it was 50.8. Learners from 24,

17 and 18 states performed at

or above the mean for low,

moderate and high level of

available facilities. Lagos (54.7,

53.9 and 53), Imo (53.7, 52.8

and 51.7) and Abia (53.7, 51.6

and 53.5) performed well in all

the categories of available

facilities, Benue (43.6, 46.5 and

47.8), Gombe (45.1, 45.5 and

48.2) and Plateau (45.8, 47.5

and 46.2) exhibited low

achievement at each of low,

moderate and high level of

available facilities respectively.

Thus it would seem that

achievements were not very

different for the states across

the different levels of facilities.

85

Out of school non-learning engagement as related to achievements in English Studies

Figure 7.22: Non-Learning Engagement as Related to Achievement in English Studies

The national average were 48.3,

47.6 and 48.7 for low, moderate

and high levels of out of school

non-learning engagement

respectively. For the low level of

out of school non-learning

engagement, learners from

eighteen states performed above

the national average for the

group. For the moderate group,

learners from 21 states

performed above the national

average while learners from 15

states performed above the

national average for the high level

of non-learning engagement.

Osun (57.4, 54.5 and 54.6), Kebbi

(56.3, 56.9 and 57.2) and Zamfara

(54.3, 51.5 and 53.1) for low,

moderate and high non-learning

engagements respectively were

among the best performing

states. Differences among the

groups look large in favour of low

level of involvement for Lagos

state. Nasarawa (40.2, 43.4 and

43.7), Benue (41.0, 42.8 and 38.6)

and Gombe (41.2, 40.9 and 41.5)

non-learning engagements

respectively were among states

that did not exhibit very good

achievement.

86

Occupation of Father as Related to Achievement in English Studies

Figure 7.23b: Occupation of Fathers as Related to Achievement in English Studies

Learners whose fathers belong

to the occupational group

‘others’ exhibited the best achievement (51.1) while those

whose fathers belong to the

group of worker

(public/Private) had the least

achievement (49.7). Learners

whose fathers are into the

occupations Farming/fishing,

Business/Trading, Worker

(Public/private) and ‘others from 21 states, 19 states, 22

states and 18 states

respectively scored above their

national average. Differences in

achievement of learners across

occupation of fathers are not

too different in states. See

Ebonyi, Imo and Abia for states

performing well and Gombe,

Jigawa and Taraba for states

not performing very well.

87

Occupation of Mothers as Related to Achievement in English Studies

Figure 7.24: Occupation of Mothers as Related to Achievement in English Studies

Learners whose mothers

belong to the occupational

group worker

(Public/private) exhibited

the best achievement (50.6)

while those whose mothers

belong the group of others

had the least achievement

(48.9). Learners whose

parents are into the

occupations

Farming/fishing, Business

/Trading, Worker (Public/

private) and ‘others from 26 states, 15 states, 21 states

and 17 states respectively

scored above their national

average. Kwara, Imo and

Ebonyi among the best

performing states and

Jigawa, Gombe and Taraba

among states that did not

perform very well are

indicative of effect of

occupation of mothers not

substantially different with

states.

88

Liking Teacher as related to achievement in English Studies

Figure 7.25: Liking Teacher as Related to Achievement in English Studies

There were learners from all

the states indicating liking or

non-liking for their teacher.

There were however no

learners from 9 states including

Lagos, Ebonyi, Taraba and Imo

that indicated they do not like

their teachers. When the

learners from the nine states

were excluded, real differences

in achievement was observed

between learners who like

teachers and those who do not

like teachers as noted for

Kwara (61.4 and 52.2), Delta

(61.2 and 52.8) and Ekiti (60.2

and 50.9) for states with high

achievement for learners who

do not like and those who like

the teacher respectively. At the

lower rug of achievement,

were learners from Plateau

(37.2 and 46.7), Katsina (38.3

and 48.90 and Yobe (38.5 and

48.7) for learners who do not

like and those who like the

teacher respectively. Thus at

the lower level of achievement,

liking teacher may be

important while at higher level

learners not liking teachers

performed better.

89

Mode of Transportation as Related to Achievement

Learners who go to school with canoe and donkey were from very few states and were

eliminated from this analysis. From Table 7.4, the best achievement at the national level was

by learners who go to school with Taxi/Bus (50.8) while the least achievement was for

learners who go with family car (49.5). Learners who go to school by walking, using

Okada/Bicycle/Tricycle had national means of 49.8 and 50.6 respectively. Learners from 18,

21, 19 and 20 states performed above the national average for learners who walk, use

okada/bicycle/tricycle, taxi/bus and family car respectively. Among the top performing states

the mean were Lagos (53.6, 54.3, 54.5 and 51.1), Ebonyi (53.4, 54.8, 57.5 and 49.5) and Imo

(52.9, 51.3, 53.4 and 52.5) for learners who walk, use okada/bicycle/tricycle, taxi/bus and

family car respectively. With respect to states not performing very well, Benue (44.1, =, 45.7

and 40.6), Gombe (45.4, 48.4, 43.0 and 45.9) and Taraba (46.0, 48.9, 47.3 and 45.4) for

learners who walk, use okada/bicycle/tricycle, taxi/bus and family car respectively.

Table 7.4: Achievement as Related to Means of Transportation to School

state

Walking Okada/Bicycle/Tricycle Taxi/Bus Family car


ABIA 52.2 0.5 52.1 1.8 53.5 2.0 53.3 3.4

ADAMAWA 49.2 0.6 44.7 1.6 47.1 3.1 42.4 1.2

AKWA-

IBOM 51.3 0.4 51.4 2.2 48.5 4.9 53.9 3.2

ANAMBRA 52.1 0.5 52.1 1.1 53.5 1.2 49.2 1.7

BAUCHI 47.6 0.6 48.0 1.5 47.0 2.2 48.8 6.2

BAYELSA 48.6 0.7 51.8 1.9 = = 53.6 1.3

BORNO 47.6 0.5 48.1 3.8 45.4 1.7 51.0 1.9

BENUE 44.1 2.0 = = 45.7 1.3 40.6 1.6

CROSS

RIVER 50.9 0.5 54.4 2.6 56.4 3.4 47.7 2.1

DELTA 52.7 0.5 52.6 2.2 49.5 3.0 54.4 1.6

EBONYI 53.4 0.5 54.8 1.7 57.5 3.3 49.5 3.1

EDO 50.6 0.6 50.7 2.2 = = 52.0 2.1

EKITI 50.8 0.5 54.0 1.5 55.5 1.8 48.5 1.1

ENUGU 51.8 0.5 50.9 1.4 52.3 2.6 51.4 2.0

GOMBE 45.4 0.5 48.4 2.0 43.0 1.1 45.9 1.0

IMO 52.9 0.5 51.3 2.4 53.4 1.7 52.5 2.6

JIGAWA 47.2 0.5 46.4 2.2 49.2 3.6 46.1 1.5

KADUNA 48.3 0.5 47.3 1.2 50.2 2.3 40.8 2.0

KANO 48.3 0.7 46.8 1.4 45.3 2.0 = =

KATSINA 48.5 0.5 50.9 1.3 48.0 2.3 52.2 2.5

KEBBI 48.9 0.5 48.3 1.2 55.1 3.4 48.8 2.1

KOGI 49.7 0.7 43.0 1.8 49.2 1.2 50.1 3.1

KWARA 52.2 0.5 51.8 1.9 53.8 2.3 52.2 2.0

LAGOS 53.6 0.5 54.3 0.9 54.5 0.9 51.1 1.3

NASARAWA 49.2 0.8 50.2 3.3 = = 49.8 2.6

NIGER 49.3 0.6 46.5 3.8 52.4 2.2 48.2 3.1

90

OGUN 51.2 0.5 49.7 0.9 50.0 2.0 48.7 3.9

ONDO 50.8 0.5 51.6 2.3 51.2 1.9 52.0 1.2

OSUN 50.4 0.4 53.2 2.4 52.7 1.4 55.2 1.5

OYO 51.3 0.6 50.6 1.0 48.9 1.5 50.3 0.9

PLATEAU 46.2 0.5 50.2 4.2 46.2 1.5 47.4 1.5

RIVERS 51.3 0.5 53.5 1.2 50.5 1.6 50.0 1.3

SOKOTO 46.3 0.5 51.2 2.2 46.0 1.6 45.7 1.5

TARABA 46.0 0.5 48.9 1.2 47.3 3.5 45.4 1.4

YOBE 48.6 0.6 48.6 2.4 53.1 2.7 45.1 3.2

ZAMFARA 48.1 0.5 47.0 2.0 55.5 6.3 47.6 1.8

FCT 52.8 1.2 52.2 1.6 54.3 1.9 51.9 1.5

National 49.8 0.1 50.6 0.3 50.8 0.4 49.5 0.3

Distances Traveled to School as they are Related to Achievement

Table 7.5 contains the achievements for different distances traveled to school as they are

related to achievement. The national mean of learners who travel less than 1km, 1 to 2km,

greater than 2 to 3km and more than 3km are 49.4, 49.80, 50.3 and 51 respectively. Learners

from 20, 20, 16 and 18 states performed above the national average for the distances of less

than 1km, 1 to 2km, greater than 2 to 3km and more than 3km respectively. States like

Ebonyi (54.3, 52.6, 52.3 and 54.2), Delta (53.4, 53.5, 50.9 and 51.5) and Akwa-Ibom (53.0,

50.8, 50.4 and 51.4 exhibit high achievement while states like Taraba (45.6, 46.0, 46.3 and

46.2), Gombe (46.1, 43.9, 45.8 and 47.3) and Plateau (46.4, 46.9, 46.7 and 45.3) exhibited

low achievement. These results indicate that variation of achievement within states was not

dependent on distance traveled to school.

Table 7.5: Distance from Home to School as Related to Achievement in English Studies

State

Less than

1km 1 to 2km >2 to 3km More than 3km

Mean SE

Mea

n SE

Mea

n SE

Mea

n SE

ABIA 52.9 0.9 51.2 0.8 53.5 1.1 52.3 1.0

ADAMAWA 50.5 0.9 48.3 0.9 46.6 0.9 47.2 1.7

AKWA-IBOM 53.0 1.0 50.8 1.0 50.4 0.9 51.5 0.7

ANAMBRA 51.4 1.1 51.5 0.8 52.9 0.9 51.9 0.7

BAUCHI 47.4 0.8 48.2 1.0 47.6 1.0 46.8 2.5

BAYELSA 49.6 1.4 49.7 1.5 49.4 1.0 47.9 1.2

BORNO 48.0 0.7 47.0 1.0 46.9 1.4 49.5 3.5

BENUE 46.8 4.6 44.6 1.4 43.0 1.7 42.0 3.7

CROSS

RIVER 51.0 1.0 50.3 1.0 51.8 1.1 50.5 0.9

DELTA 53.4 0.8 53.5 0.7 50.9 1.1 52.4 1.3

EBONYI 54.3 0.8 52.6 0.9 52.3 1.0 54.2 0.8

EDO 51.9 1.1 50.4 1.1 49.9 1.1 51.5 1.2

EKITI 50.5 0.6 50.8 0.7 51.9 1.0 52.4 2.3

ENUGU 51.4 1.3 52.0 0.9 51.6 1.0 51.5 0.7

91

State

Less than

1km 1 to 2km >2 to 3km More than 3km

Mean SE

Mea

n SE

Mea

n SE

Mea

n SE

GOMBE 46.1 0.6 43.9 0.7 45.8 1.1 47.3 1.4

IMO 52.1 1.1 51.8 1.0 54.0 0.8 53.0 1.0

JIGAWA 46.8 0.6 47.5 1.0 45.2 1.3 49.8 2.6

KADUNA 47.3 0.8 47.8 0.9 49.2 0.9 48.9 1.1

KANO 48.7 0.7 47.4 1.8 45.4 2.2 46.6 1.2

KATSINA 49.1 0.7 48.3 0.8 49.6 1.8 47.3 1.6

KEBBI 48.8 0.7 48.9 0.9 50.1 1.2 49.9 1.4

KOGI 49.4 1.1 48.9 1.0 47.7 1.4 52.4 1.8

KWARA 52.6 0.8 51.8 0.8 50.9 1.2 53.4 1.1

LAGOS 53.0 0.9 54.2 0.7 54.9 0.8 52.6 0.6

NASARAWA 48.3 1.5 50.8 1.5 48.1 1.3 50.0 1.4

NIGER 48.9 0.7 48.3 1.4 50.8 1.9 56.0 1.4

OGUN 51.5 0.9 52.0 0.7 50.1 0.8 48.6 1.0

ONDO 51.8 0.6 50.5 0.8 49.4 1.3 51.3 1.6

OSUN 50.0 1.0 50.9 0.7 51.9 0.9 51.1 0.8

OYO 49.1 0.8 51.2 0.8 51.5 0.9 51.7 1.0

PLATEAU 46.4 0.7 46.9 0.8 46.7 1.2 45.3 1.4

RIVERS 50.9 1.0 51.2 0.9 50.4 0.9 52.2 0.7

SOKOTO 47.0 0.7 46.0 0.8 47.0 1.1 46.5 1.3

TARABA 45.6 0.7 46.0 0.8 46.3 0.9 46.2 1.2

YOBE 48.4 0.6 50.2 1.3 46.5 2.4 48.2 1.3

ZAMFARA 48.5 0.7 47.7 1.1 47.1 1.8 48.6 1.3

FCT 52.4 1.7 53.4 1.5 52.9 1.7 52.3 1.3

National 49.4 0.1 49.8 0.2 50.3 0.2 51.0 0.2

92

Number of Meals per Day as Related To Achievement in English Studies

Figure 7.26: Number of Meals per Day as Related to Achievement

The mean achievement of

learners who ate once, twice,

three times and four times a

day were 49, 49.7, 50 and

50.4 respectively. Learners

from 17, 21, 17 and 16 states


average for those who ate

once, twice, three times and

four times a day respectively.

Among the top performing

states, the averages were

Bayelsa (58.4, 48.3, 49.2 and

49.9), Imo (56.3, 52.7, 52.5

and 59) and Enugu (54.4,

52.1, 51.5 and 52.1) while

among the low performing

states, the averages were

Kano (38.3, 46.8, 48.5 and

45.8), Benue (40.0, 39.8, 46.0

and no value) and Sokoto

(42.7, 46.5, 46.8 and 47.4) for

learners who ate once, twice,

three times and four times a

day. Some substantial

differences were noticed.

93

Possession of Textbooks as Related to Achievement in English Studies

Figure 7.27: Possession of Textbooks as Related to Achievement

The national average for

learners who do not have

textbooks was 49.6

which was smaller than

the average for learners

that had textbooks.

Learners without

textbooks from 20 states

performed above

national average while

learners with textbooks

from 17 states

performed above the

national mean. Among

the high performing

states, Lagos (53.7 and

53.7), Ebonyi (53.3 and

53.6) and Delta (52.9 and

52.8) for learners

without textbooks and

those with textbooks

respectively. Among the

low performing states,

Taraba (45.5 and 46.5),

Gombe (45.7 and 45.3)

and Jigawa (46.3 and

47.8). Differences in

achievement between

learners with textbooks

and those without

textbooks was not

substantial.

94

Liking School as Related to Achievement in English Studies

Figure 7.28: Liking School as Related to Achievement

Learners from 15 states

did not indicate that they

do not like schooling. The

National average for

learners at the national

level for those who do not

like schooling was 49.5

while that for those who

like schooling was 50.

Number of states

performing the national

average for those who do

not like schooling was 11;

while for learners who

like schooling were from

15 states. Learners who

like school exhibited the

better achievement.

95


1. The mean achievement on the essay was the expected mean of 50 for transformed score

while the mean for multiple choice test was 49.48. The superior achievement in the essay

test is further buttressed as learners found the essay test easier at 10th

, 25th

and 90th

percentiles. In addition, learners not being represented in the range of 75 and above for

the multiple choice is also indicative of the difficulty of the test. This better achievement

in the essay test could be as a result of greater flexibility in marking the essay. One may

need to look at construction of marking schemes for grading essay questions.

2. Variation in achievement across the grouping variables of gender and location is

unexpected as female learners are expected to display a better achievement in language

related courses.

3. Achievement was best in comprehension items, then higher order and lowest achievement

was noticed for knowledge. Learners from Lagos, FCT and Ebonyi consistently

performed better than learners from all other states. In the same vein, the low

performance of Benue and Gombe across all levels of the cognitive domain requires a

better approach to teaching English Studies in both Gombe and Benue states. As

achievement in comprehension was better than that of higher order and lowest for

knowledge, one needs to take a close look at the classification of the cognitive objectives.

Performance in reading and writing was best among the themes indicating that learners

found reading and writing easier than speech and grammatical accuracy. It is not

unexpected because of interference of the mother tongue with speech and grammatical

accuracy. Thus, more attention needs to be given to this difficult aspect of English

Studies.

4. Zones in the south consistently performed better in the Multiple Choice test than the essay

test. Zones in the north also performed better on the essay test than the Multiple Choice

test. Is this variation as a result of learners being test wise? Teachers‟ development

programme could focus on how these two tests should be constructed and used in

assessing the performance of learners.

5. Relationship between achievement and each level of assistance with homework and

number of meals a day were not very definite. The results with respect to non-learning

engagement and level of facilities are indicative point to the issue of use of available

facilities being very important in English Studies.

6. The distance learners travelled to school did not show any definite trend as regards

achievement in English studies.

7. At lower level of achievement, learners who liked their teachers performed better than

those who didn‟t, while at higher level of achievement learners who do not like teachers

performed better than those who like teacher. One wonders why this is the case. It is

likely that these learners who do not like teachers and perform better than those who like

teachers are self-motivated. Thus, motivation of all the learners has to be given needed

impetus.

8. Learners who liked school exhibited a better level of achievement in English studies.

96

Chapter Eight

Achievement in Mathematics

8.0: Introduction

The mathematics achievement related results and relational analysis are presented in this

chapter. In particular, the chapter focuses on achievement at national level, geo-political

zones and at state levels. This is followed with relational analysis of non-cognitive variables

with achievement. Finally, observations and challenges are presented.

8.1: Learners’ Achievement at National Level This sub-section presents results of Essay and Multiple Choice; range and percentile; group

achievement along gender (male and female) and school location (urban and rural) and

achievement along content and cognitive domains.

8.1.1: National Means

Figure 8.1 shows the achievement of learners in the multiple choice and essay tests in

mathematics. Learners performed better in multiple choice test (mean score = 50.17) than in

essay test (49.84). Thus learners displayed better skills in essay test than multiple choice test.

However, the two scores have the same standard error of 0.12.

Figure 8.1: National Mean on Multiple Choice and Essay Tests in Mathematics

8.1.2 Range and Percentile

The range shows the spread or cluster of the scores while the percentile indicates the relative

standing of an examinee‟s score vis-à-vis scores of other examinees. The scores were

categorised into five clusters: 0-39(Fail), 40-49(Fair), 50-59 (Good), 60-69 (Very good) and

70 and above (Excellent). From Figure 8, the cluster for the multiple choice test with largest

number of learners was 40-49 (45.6 percent) and for the essay it was also 40-49 (57.4

percent). On the whole, the achievement cluster in mathematics of 50-69 had more than 35.5

percent and 40.8percent of the participating learners for the essay and multiple choice tests

respectively. Effectively, 42.5 percent of the learners scored at or above the expected mean

for the transformed scores in the Essay test. On the other hand, 45.5 percent of the learners

scored at or above the expected mean for the transformed scores in the Multiple Choice test.

These results are not satisfactory for this level of learners.

49.6

49.7

49.8

49.9

50

50.1

50.2


50.17

49.84

Sco

re

97

Figure 8.2: Distribution of Transformed Score Ranges in Mathematics Essay and

Multiple Choice Tests

In Figure 8.3, it is observed that learners who scored 39.23, 42.01, 47.6, 57.26 and 65.1 on

the multiple choice test performed better than 10 percent, 25 percent, 50 percent, 75 percent

and 90 percent of all learners who took the multiple choice test. Similarly, on the essay test,

learners who scored 40.25, 42.18, 46.05, 55.73 and 65.4 performed better than 10 percent, 25

percent, 50 percent, 75 percent and 90 percent of all learners who took the test. Learners

performed better on the essay test compared to the multiple choice test at the 10th

, 25th

and

90th

percentiles. At the 50th

and 75th

percentiles learners performed better on the Multiple

choice test than the Essay test. Thus learners found the essay test to be easier at the 10th,

25th

and 90th

percentiles.

Figure 8.3 Percentile Scores in Multiple Choice and Essay Tests for Mathematics

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Fail (0 - 39 ) Fair (40 - 49

)

Good (50 -

59 )

Very Good

(60 - 69 )

Excellent (70

- 100 )

8.9

45.6

24

16.8

4.7 0

57.4

22.7

12.8

7

Sco

re


0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

10th 25th 50th 75th 90th

40.25 42.18 46.05

55.73

65.4

39.23 42.01

47.6

57.26

65.1

Sco

re

Percentile

Essay Multiple choice

98

8.1.3 Group Achievement

Two groups used were gender (male and female) and school location (urban and rural).Figure

8.4 shows that female learners performed better than the male learners in multiple choice and

essay tests. However, there is no significant difference between the achievement of male and

female learners in both multiple choice and essay test. The achievement of male learners

(49.8) was slightly lower than that of the female learners (49.89) in essay test. On the other

hand, the achievement of female learners in multiple choice was (50.26) higher than that of

male learners (50.09).

Figure 8.4: Mathematics Achievement by Gender

Figure 8.5 shows that learners in rural schools performed better than learners in urban schools

in the two tests. However, there seems to exist no substantial difference between the

achievements of learners in both rural and urban schools. The achievement of learners from

urban schools in essay was 49.7 while that of rural schools was 50.01. On the other hand,

achievement of learners in rural schools (50.29) was slightly higher than that of the learners

in urban schools (50.07) in multiple choice test.

49.4 49.6 49.8 50 50.2 50.4

Male

Female

50.09

50.26

49.8

49.89

Score

Essay Multiple Choice

49.4 49.6 49.8 50 50.2 50.4

Urban

Rural

50.07

50.29

49.7

50.01

Score


99

Figure 8.5: Mathematics Achievement by School Location

8.1.4 Achievements in the Content Domains

There were three themes in the Mathematics curriculum that were covered in this study.

These are Number and Numeration, Basic Operation and Algebraic process. The results in

this section were not transformed scores but raw scores expressed as percentages. In addition,

the analysis done here was limited to the items on the multiple choice test. The learners

performed best in items relating to Algebraic process (50.46), followed by Number and

Numeration (48.67) and finally in items based on basic operations (41.33). Thus the learners

found items on Basic operations difficult. The poor results in basic operation should be of

concern as this forms the foundation on which further study of mathematics is normally

based.

Figure 8.6: Achievement in the Content Domain

8.1.5 Achievements in the Cognitive Domain

Learners had the best achievement on items measuring comprehension component (48.51),

followed by items based on knowledge (45.51) and finally items on higher order (40.97). It

would have been expected that achievement should decrease in the order from knowledge to

comprehension and finally higher order. The fact that this is not the case could imply that the

items may not have been properly classified.

Figure 8.7: Achievement in Cognitive Domain

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Algebraic Process

Basic Operation

Number and Numeration

50.46

41.33

48.67

Score

100

8.2: Achievement at Geo-Political Zones

This section looked at achievement in the Zones on both essay and multiple choice tests. It

also examined achievement by gender and location.


In Figure 8.8, the achievement in the Multiple Choice was better than that of the essay testin

all the zones with the exception of the North East zone. Learners in the South West (53) had

the best achievement in the Multiple Choice test while learners in the South South (50.46)

displayed the best achievement on the Essay test. Among the northern zones, North West

(50.09 and 49.89 respectively) performed best in both essay and multiple choice tests. The

South West (53) performed best in the multiple choice test while the South South (50.46)

displayed the best achievement in the Essay test among the zones in the south. Achievement

in the Multiple Choice test was generally better than that in the Essay across all the zones. It

was only the South South (50.46) that performed above the expected mean of the transformed

scores in the Essay test. On the other hand, almost all zones with the exception of North East

(46.91) and South South (49.63) performed above the expected mean of 50 for the

transformed scores in the multiple choice test.

Figure 8.8: Achievement in Essay and Multiple Choice Tests based on Geo-Political

Zones

8.2.2 Group Achievements across the Geo-Political Zones

In Table 8.1, the mean scores and standard error in Mathematics for levels of gender by geo-

political zones are presented. In the essay test, female learners performed better than male

learners in all zones with the exception of the North Central (49.72 and 50.05 respectively)

and South East (49.27 and 50.99 respectively). However, female learners showed superiority

in multiple choice test in three zones (North Central (50.58 and 49.6 respectively), North

West (50.58 and 49.96 respectively) and South South (49.85 and 49.41 respectively)). Male

learners performed better in essay test than multiple choice test in North Central (50.05 and

49.6 respectively), North East (49.27 and 47.52 respectively) and South East (50.99 and

50.67 respectively). Among the female learners, achievement in multiple choice test was

better in multiple choice test than essay for North Central (50.58 and 49.72 respectively),

101

North West (50.58 and 50.41 respectively), South East (50.62 and 49.73 respectively, South

South (49.85 and 49.44 respectively) and South west (52.59 and 49.97 respectively).

Table 8.1: Distribution of Mean and Standard Error of Mathematics Achievement in

Multiple Choice and Essay Tests for Zones by Gender

Zone Gender Multiple Choice Essay

Mean SE Mean SE

NORTH

CENTRAL

Male 49.6 0.47 50.05 0.49

Female 50.58 0.51 49.72 0.44

NORTH EAST Male 47.52 0.36 49.27 0.37

Female 46.35 0.37 49.89 0.42

NORTH WEST Male 49.96 0.38 49.27 0.35

Female 50.58 0.42 50.41 0.4

SOUTH EAST Male 50.67 0.32 50.99 0.41

Female 50.62 0.4 49.73 0.46

SOUTH SOUTH Male 49.41 0.41 49.39 0.39

Female 49.85 0.41 49.44 0.42

SOUTH WEST Male 53.54 0.38 49.92 0.41

Female 52.59 0.34 49.97 0.37

In Table 8.2, for the essay test, learners in urban schools performed better than those in rural

schools for North Central (49.94 and 49.82 respectively) and North West (49.95 and 49.61

respectively) and the reverse was the case for the other zones. With the multiple choice test,

rural learners performed better than the urban learners in North Central (50.49 and 49.8

respectively), North East (45.72 and 48.34 respectively), South East (51.85 and 49.75

respectively), South South (50.01 and 49.26 respectively) and South West (54.18 and 51.99

respectively). Among the urban learners, achievement in essay was better than that of the

multiple choice test for North Central (49.94 and 49.8 respectively), North East (49.06 and

48.34 respectively) and South East (50.2 and 49.72 respectively). With respect to rural

learners, achievement was better in multiple choice than essay for North Central (50.49 and

49.82 respectively), North West (49.79 and 49.61 respectively), South East (51.85 and 50.8

respectively), South South (50.01 and 49.74 respectively) and South West (54.18 and 50.18

respectively).

Table 8.2: Distribution of Mean and Standard Error of Mathematics Achievement in

Multiple Choice and Essay Tests for Zones by Location

ZONE Location Multiple choice Essay

Mean SE Mean SE

NORTH CENTRAL URBAN 49.8 0.45 49.94 0.43

RURAL 50.49 0.53 49.82 0.52

NORTH EAST URBAN 48.34 0.4 49.06 0.39

RURAL 45.72 0.32 50 0.39

NORTH WEST URBAN 50.62 0.38 49.95 0.36

RURAL 49.79 0.41 49.61 0.39

SOUTH EAST URBAN 49.75 0.32 50.2 0.39

RURAL 51.85 0.4 50.8 0.49

SOUTH SOUTH URBAN 49.26 0.41 49.1 0.4

RURAL 50.01 0.41 49.74 0.42

SOUTH WEST URBAN 51.99 0.33 49.74 0.37

102

RURAL 54.18 0.39 50.18 0.41

8.3 Achievement in Mathematics at State Level This section presented learners achievement in essay and multiple choice test at state level.

The group achievements in terms of gender (male and female) and school location (urban and

rural) were presented. The achievements in the content and cognitive domains were also

presented.


The national average for the Multiple Choice and essay tests were each 50. Learners from 18

states performed above the national average for the Multiple Choice test; learners from FCT

(57), Lagos (57) and Kebbi (52). States performing at the bottom include Gombe (41),

Kaduna (45) and Bauchi (45). Learners from 19 states performed above the national average

for Multiple Choice test. Learners from Ebonyi (54), Imo (51) and Plateau (51) were on top

of the performance chart while Kogi (49), Kwara (49) and Ekiti (49) performed at the bottom

of the chart. Learners from 19 states performed better in the Multiple Choice test than in the

Essay test.

Figure 8.9: Mean Score of Learners in Mathematics Essay and Multiple Choice Tests

Note:

i. Learners‟ score in multiple choice are out of the parentheses ii. Learners‟ score in essay are in parentheses

48.30

Average National

Score=50(50)

52)50)

51(50)

51(51)

52(49) 49(49)

51(50)

57(49

57(50)

(51(51)

45(49)

46(50)

50(50)

46(51))

41(51)

43(50) 49(49

52(49)

52(50

54(51)

53(48)

47(49) 52(52)

46(49)

47(50)

49(49) 45(51)

54(49)

52(49)) 54(49(

50(51)

53(48)

53(49)

54(49)

51(49) 49(49)

103

8.3.2 Group Achievements across the States

From Table 8.3, male learners in 18 states and FCT and female learners in 17 states and FCT

scored above their respective national means for the multiple choice test respectively. In the

essay test, male and female learners in 19 states and FCT scored above their respective

national means. Table 8.3 also shows that male learners in 22 states performed better (if only

marginally) than their female counterparts on the multiple choice test. Male learners in 19

states performed better than the female learners on the essay test.

In addition, male learners from Kebbi (61.15), FCT (58.78) and Osun (57.38) and female

learners from Kebbi (60.6), Osun (58.77) and FCT (57.14) displayed the best achievement in

the multiple choice test. With respect to the essay test the best performing states were Imo

(52.71), Ebonyi (52.2) and FCT (52.14) for male learners while among the female learners in

the test, the best performing states were Benue (53.43), Bauchi (52.32) and Adamawa

(51.89).

Table 8.3: Distribution of Mean Scores in Multiple Choice and Essay Tests based on

Gender across States

States




Abia 48.03 0.66 47.88 0.69 47.55 0.79 47.25 0.96

Adamawa 50.60 1.12 48.36 1.10 50.57 0.88 51.89 1.33

Akwa-Ibom 50.72 1.02 50.93 1.12 49.86 0.83 48.44 0.86

Anambra 48.71 0.64 51.08 0.97 50.53 0.86 49.90 1.03

Bauchi 52.33 1.02 51.53 0.95 48.35 0.98 52.32 1.13

Bayelsa 53.09 2.11 48.28 1.54 51.16 1.85 50.25 1.67

Borno 42.53 0.56 43.23 0.60 49.79 1.01 49.22 0.89

Benue 41.47 0.82 41.06 0.78 49.67 2.45 53.43 3.15

Cross River 46.86 0.98 47.45 0.78 49.85 1.09 48.97 0.86

Delta 52.84 1.05 54.66 0.92 49.81 0.97 49.95 0.97

Ebonyi 50.58 0.68 51.72 0.94 52.20 0.94 50.95 1.19

Edo 46.59 0.82 48.60 0.83 49.90 0.96 49.50 1.14

Ekiti 52.99 0.85 50.08 0.69 50.20 1.00 50.79 0.91

Enugu 51.08 0.67 50.62 0.71 52.01 0.97 50.26 1.00

Gombe 42.61 0.38 41.96 0.43 49.34 0.92 48.02 0.83

Imo 54.93 0.80 51.81 1.08 52.71 0.99 50.29 0.90

Jigawa 44.84 0.70 47.11 0.69 47.61 0.93 50.49 0.86

Kaduna 45.49 0.56 43.70 0.63 49.81 0.81 49.60 1.17

Kano 48.44 1.18 49.32 1.16 50.53 1.25 51.38 1.44

Katsina 47.65 1.00 50.68 1.30 49.08 0.95 50.71 1.08

Kebbi 61.15 1.00 60.60 0.91 49.42 1.10 49.70 0.98

Kogi 47.93 0.95 49.37 0.99 47.07 1.10 48.78 1.06

Kwara 56.43 1.09 56.28 1.16 51.47 1.06 49.70 0.91

Lagos 55.72 0.95 54.62 0.81 49.72 1.01 51.18 0.90

Nasarawa 44.12 0.77 40.90 0.77 50.08 1.26 49.41 1.63

Niger 50.00 1.29 55.97 1.51 48.52 1.09 51.20 1.40

104

Ogun 50.74 0.86 49.12 0.78 48.50 0.96 47.85 0.88

Ondo 51.28 1.01 51.10 0.92 51.64 1.02 49.21 0.82

Osun 57.38 0.84 58.77 0.77 50.21 1.02 51.56 1.02

Oyo 52.57 0.90 51.63 0.76 49.08 1.00 48.87 0.81

Plateau 44.45 0.60 43.80 0.46 51.12 1.19 48.95 0.86

Rivers 47.84 0.60 47.35 0.75 47.73 0.72 50.15 1.10

Sokoto 47.06 0.59 45.96 0.69 49.45 0.85 50.93 0.98

Taraba 43.30 0.53 42.70 0.48 49.89 0.89 49.24 0.91

Yobe 53.55 0.75 52.63 1.17 47.77 0.75 48.85 1.05

Zamfara 56.82 0.95 55.91 1.23 49.27 0.78 50.39 1.14

FCT 58.78 1.33 57.14 1.18 52.14 1.93 50.22 1.11

National 50.09 0.16 50.26 0.17 49.80 0.16 49.89 0.17

In Table 8.4, mean scores for the essay test and multiple choice tests in Mathematics are

presented for school location. In twenty two states, learners from rural schools performed

better than learners in the urban school in the mathematics multiple choice items. Also,

learners from rural schools in 19 states and the FCT performed above their national mean of

in the mathematics multiple choice test items. On the other hand, learners in urban schools

from 18 states and the FCT scored higher than the national mean of urban schools (50.07) in

the mathematics multiple choice test.

The achievements of learners in mathematics essay test items were not substantially different

in urban and rural schools. In twenty two states and the FCT, learners from rural schools

performed better than learners in the urban school in the mathematics essay test items. Also,

learners from rural schools in 15 states and FCT displayed achievement better than the

national mean of learners in rural schools (50.01) in the mathematics essay test. On the other

hand, learners in urban schools from 18 states performed below the national mean of learners

in urban schools (49.70).

Table 8.4: Multiple Choice and Essay Test Mean Score of JSS 3 Learners in

Mathematics by School Location

State


Urban Rural Urban Rural


ABIA 47.56 0.51 49.35 1.2 48 0.71 45.5 1.09

ADAMAWA 51.9 1.27 47.39 0.92 51.03 0.98 51.15 1.14

AKWA-

IBOM

50.88 1.12 50.75 1.02 49.37 0.86 49.14 0.84

ANAMBRA 49.58 0.77 49.98 0.83 49.3 0.79 51.46 1.11

BAUCHI 50.7 0.96 53.27 1 49.4 1.01 51.73 1.17

BAYELSA 47.51 1.57 52.46 1.85 46.57 1.3 53.3 1.75

BORNO 43.3 0.45 42.47 0.71 48.33 0.88 50.78 1

BENUE 39.91 0.73 42.18 0.78 52.89 3.18 50.16 2.46

CROSS

RIVER

47.56 0.78 46.65 0.96 48.96 0.86 49.9 1.08

DELTA 52.73 1.08 54.84 0.87 50.45 1.02 49.36 0.93

EBONYI 51.65 0.8 50.48 0.76 50.93 1.08 52.39 1.01

105

EDO 48.66 0.97 46.63 0.68 50.05 1.13 49.36 0.99

EKITI 50.5 0.7 52.53 0.86 50.02 0.86 51.35 1.09

ENUGU 50.45 0.61 51.56 0.8 50.66 0.87 52.12 1.17

GOMBE 43.14 0.65 42.01 0.31 48.73 1.19 48.71 0.74

IMO 50.88 0.94 55.9 0.86 53.67 0.99 50.04 0.94

JIGAWA 46.97 0.7 45 0.69 49.39 0.83 49.06 1

KADUNA 45.77 0.68 44.02 0.52 51.24 1.09 48.36 0.78

KANO 51.02 1.17 46 0.98 52.43 1.3 48.98 1.36

KATSINA 50.25 1.15 47.65 1.13 49.58 0.93 50.11 1.1

KEBBI 58.86 1.07 62.85 0.76 48.87 0.97 50.34 1.11

KOGI 46.06 0.9 51.48 0.96 47.75 1.03 48.24 1.14

KWARA 57.8 1.23 55.19 1.04 51.08 1.04 50.17 0.94

LAGOS 54.86 0.83 55.34 0.92 51.49 0.91 49.43 0.99

NASARAWA 44.08 0.77 40.51 0.54 50.37 1.26 48.63 1.54

NIGER 50.17 0.97 64.65 2.33 49.71 0.94 49.92 2.39

OGUN 49.55 0.66 50.32 1.05 47.6 0.76 48.94 1.15

ONDO 48.57 0.78 53.31 1.02 50.98 0.95 49.73 0.88

OSUN 56.39 0.78 59.77 0.8 49.91 1.02 51.91 1.03

OYO 51.8 0.83 52.28 0.81 48.49 0.87 49.47 0.9

PLATEAU 43.78 0.56 44.38 0.48 49.46 1 50.36 1.03

RIVERS 47.32 0.65 48.03 0.68 47.79 0.78 49.46 0.94

SOKOTO 46.13 0.53 47.43 0.85 50.01 0.81 50.4 1.06

TARABA 42.43 0.59 43.44 0.47 49.29 1.12 49.83 0.78

YOBE 53.21 0.79 53.31 0.93 48.01 0.71 48.54 1.22

ZAMFARA 58.39 1.1 54.46 0.99 49.17 0.85 50.17 0.98

FCT 57.83 1.01 57.8 1.89 50.66 1.15 52.44 2.34

NATIONAL 50.07 0.16 50.29 0.17 49.7 0.16 50.01 0.18

8.3.3: Achievements in Content and Cognitive Domains

The achievements in this section are raw scores expressed as normal percentages and are not

transformed scores. Three themes were in the content domain of Mathematics. These were

Number and Numeration, Basic Operation and Algebraic process. The cognitive domains

were knowledge, comprehension and higher order objectives.

106

Number & Numeration

Figure 8.10: Achievement in Mathematics on the Theme Number and Numeration

From Figure 8.10,

1. 17 states and FCT performed above the national average; top performing states here

include Kebbi (64.95), Osun (61.09) and FCT (60.73).

2. The states with lowest achievement on this cognitive objective were Benue (34.24),

Gombe (35.38) and Borno (36.67).

3. The achievement on this theme was good.

107

Basic Operations

Figure 8.11: Achievement in Mathematics on the Theme Basic Operation across the

States

From Figure 8.11

1. 16 states and FCT performed above the national average; states performing on top here

include Kebbi (61.63), Zamfara (56.32) and Osun (55.94).

2. States performing poorly on this theme were Benue (26.39), Gombe (28.95) and Taraba

(29.23). Generally, achievement was Fair.

108

Algebraic Process

Figure 8.12: Achievement in Mathematics on the Theme Algebraic Process across the

States

From Figure 8.12:

1. 19 states and FCT performed above the national average top achieving states include

Kebbi (56.87), Osun (55.92) and Kwara (55.19).

2. States at the bottom on this theme were Benue (41.78), Gombe (43.74) and Nasarawa

(44.62).

3. Achievement on this theme was equally good.

109

Knowledge Domain

Figure 8.13: Achievement in the Knowledge Objectives of the Multiple Choice Test in

Mathematics across the States

In Figure 8.13,

1. 17 states and FCT performed above the national average, with top achieving state as

Kebbi (57.36), Osun (54.58) and FCT (54.25).

2. States at the bottom include Benue (34.99), Gombe (36.92) and Nasarawa (37.37).

110

Comprehension Domain

Figure 8.14: Achievement in the Comprehension Objectives of the Multiple Choice Test

in Mathematics across the States

In Figure 8.14,

1. 17 states and FCT performed above the national average on the comprehension

objective; states performing on top including Kebbi (66.92), Osun (62.50) and the

FCT (62.05).

2. Benue State (32.56), Gombe (34.20 and Borno (35.41) were at the bottom of the

achievement chart.

111

Higher Order Domain

Figure 8.15: Achievement in the Higher-Order Objectives in the Multiple Choice Test

in Mathematics across the States

From Figure 8.15,

1. Learners in 16 states and FCT performed above the national average (40.97) on items

testing Higher Order Objectives; top performing states here include Kebbi (57.74),

Osun (52.82) and Zamfara (52.60).

2. States that performed at the bottom of the figure were Benue (28.88), Gombe 30.30)

and Nasarawa (30.90).

112

8. 9: Relational Analysis

Introduction

This subsection deals with the relationship between the learners‟ contextual variables that

may influence their achievement in Mathematics. Specifically, how homework assistance


father and mother; means of going to school; distance between learners‟ home and school; number of meal per day; learners‟ possessing textbook on Mathematics; liking teacher and school affected learners achievement in Mathematics were discussed.

Homework Assistance as Related to Achievement in Mathematics

From Table 8.5, nationally, the mean of learners with low, moderate and high assistance were

47.9, 48.2 and 48.1 respectively; they were not substantially different though. The range for

the low level of assistance was 17.6 (57.3 (Kebbi state) to 39.7 (Nasarawa state) with 18

states performing above the national mean for this level of assistance. At the moderate level

of assistance, the range is16 (56.2 (Kebbi state) to 40.2 (Gombe state)) with learners from

twenty states performing above the national mean of the group while at the high level of

assistance the range was 15.6 (57 (Osun state) to 41.4 (Benue state)) with learners from

seventeen states performing above the national mean. Based on these facts, it is difficult to

say in which way assistance with homework affects achievement in mathematics.

Table 8.5: Assistance with Homework as Related to Achievement in Mathematics

Low Moderate High

state Mean SE Mean SE Mean SE

ABIA 45.3 0.8 44.6 0.7 45.9 1.2

ADAMAWA 44.4 1.4 49.3 1.1 49.3 1.3

AKWA-IBOM 48.5 1.1 47.4 1.0 49.8 1.6

ANAMBRA 46.3 0.8 49.9 0.9 46.5 1.4

BAUCHI 48.2 1.1 51.2 1.0 49.9 1.5

BAYELSA 41.8 3.3 50.8 1.6 48.5 2.2

BORNO 42.2 1.1 41.8 0.6 42.1 0.8

BENUE 41.4 1.9 42.3 1.7 40.7 2.4

CROSS RIVER 46.3 1.5 45.8 0.8 44.0 1.2

DELTA 51.6 1.5 48.2 1.2 53.0 1.0

EBONYI 48.5 1.2 50.7 0.9 48.8 1.1

EDO 45.5 1.1 46.2 0.9 45.9 1.0

EKITI 49.4 0.8 49.2 0.9 49.6 1.2

ENUGU 49.1 2.6 49.5 0.5 48.0 1.4

GOMBE 42.7 0.7 40.2 0.6 41.1 0.8

IMO 51.5 1.0 53.2 0.9 48.3 1.4

JIGAWA 44.0 1.2 45.0 0.8 43.9 0.9

KADUNA 43.4 0.9 43.4 0.6 45.1 1.2

KANO 47.3 1.6 48.5 1.2 46.0 1.6

KATSINA 45.6 1.5 47.8 1.0 46.7 1.5

KEBBI 56.4 1.3 56.2 1.3 57.3 1.0

KOGI 43.3 1.1 46.6 0.8 46.1 1.4

113

KWARA 50.6 1.7 55.0 0.9 49.8 1.8

LAGOS 53.5 0.9 53.1 1.3 50.4 1.1

NASARAWA 42.0 1.6 42.9 0.9 39.7 1.7

NIGER 50.0 2.2 50.8 1.2 46.6 2.1

OGUN 48.1 1.3 46.8 1.0 46.4 0.9

ONDO 50.1 1.5 49.3 0.9 48.1 1.1

OSUN 57.0 1.1 54.2 0.7 56.9 1.9

OYO 49.9 1.2 48.4 0.8 49.6 1.0

PLATEAU 43.7 0.7 42.7 0.7 43.4 1.0

RIVERS 46.4 1.0 45.8 0.7 44.0 0.9

SOKOTO 44.6 1.1 45.4 0.8 45.4 0.8

TARABA 42.1 0.9 42.1 0.6 42.5 0.9

YOBE 48.6 1.1 48.2 0.8 54.8 1.0

ZAMFARA 51.9 1.5 53.6 1.0 53.2 1.2

FCT 54.9 1.6 53.7 1.6 56.2 1.6

National 47.9 0.2 48.2 0.2 48.1 0.2

114

Availability of Learning Facility as Related to Achievement

In Figure 8.16, the distributions of mean scores for levels of availability of learning facilities

are presented. At the national level, the mean for low, moderate and high levels of available

facilities are 49.1, 50.1 and 50.8 respectively; this indicates that achievement was best when

the facilities are very much available. For low, moderate and high levels of available

facilities, learners from 24, 16 and 18 states performed above their respective national mean.

Among the best performing states were Lagos (54.7, 53.9 and 53.0), Imo (53.7, 52.8 and

51.7) and Abia (53.2, 51.6 and 53.5) and among states that did not perform were; Benue

(45.8, 47.5 and 46.3, Gombe (45.1, 45.5 and 48.2) and Plateau (45.8, 47.5 and 46.3) for low,

moderate and high levels of available facilities respectively. Achievement does not seem to

be related to available facilities.

Figure 8.16: Availability of Learning Facilities as Related to Achievement in

Mathematics

115

Out of School Non Learning Engagement as Related to Achievement in Mathematics

In Figure 8.17, achievement based on out of school non-learning engagements are presented.

From the table, the national mean for low, moderate and high level of non-learning

engagements were 48.3, 47.6 and 48.7 respectively. This indicates that at moderate level of

engagement, achievement drops lower than that at low level of engagement and rises to a

level that is higher than both low and moderate levels of engagement. Learners from 17, 21

and 15 states performed above the national average for low, moderate and high levels of non-

learning engagements respectively. Among the best performing states, the achievement were

Kebbi (56.3, 56.9 and 57.2), Osun (57.4, 54.5 and 54.6) and Lagos (54.0, 53.1 and 50.2);

while for states that did not perform well such as Gombe (41.2, 40.9 and 41.5), Taraba (41.9,

41.9, 43.1)and Borno (41.2, 42.2 and 42.2) in the order low, moderate and high levels of

non-learning engagement. The variation across levels within the states did not show

substantial differences for different levels of engagement.

Figure 8.17: Out of School Learning Engagement as Related to Achievement in

Mathematics

116

Occupation of Fathers as Related to Achievement in Mathematics

In Figure 8.18, the national mean of learners whose fathers were into the occupational groups

farming/fishing, business/trading, worker (public/private) and „other‟ were 47.9, 48.4, 48.2 and 47.9 respectively. Such learners performed best and learners whose fathers were into

farming/fishing and „other‟ displayed the lowest level of achievement. Learners from 16, 17 and 18 states scored above the national average for the occupational groups farming/fishing,

business/trading, worker (public/private) and „other‟. States for which achievement was high include FCT (48.7, 57.3, 54.0 and 59.8), Osun (54.1, 56.9, 53.0 and 53.7) and Kebbi (57.3,

55.6, 58.3 and 50.6) with means in the order of the occupational groups: farming/fishing,

business/trading, worker (public/private) and „other‟ respectively. It would seem that it is only in the case of FCT that learners whose fathers are in the occupational groups

farming/fishing showed large difference from that of other groups. Among the states not

performing well are Gombe (41.2, 40.9, 40.9 and 40.6), Nasarawa (45.2, 41.4, 40.9 and 42.1)

and Taraba (42.9, 41.4, 42.0 and 43.4) with means in the order of the occupational groups

farming/fishing, business/trading, worker (public/private) and „other‟. Again, it would seem that it is only in the case of FCT that learners whose fathers are in the occupational groups

farming/fishing showed large difference from that of other groups.

Figure 8.18: Occupation of Fathers as Related to Achievement in Mathematics

117

Mothers’ Occupation as Related to Achievement in Mathematics

In Figure 8.19, the national mean of learners whose mothers are into the occupational groups

farming/fishing, business/trading, worker (public/private) and „other‟ were 47.2, 48.3, 48 and 48.3 respectively. This indicates that learners whose mothers are into business/trading and

„other‟ performed best and learners whose mothers are into farming/fishing had the lowest level of achievement.

Figure 8.19: Occupation of Mothers as Related to Achievement in Mathematics

118

Normal Means of Going to School as Related to Achievement in Mathematics

In Figure 8.20, the national mean for the normal mode of going to school were 48, 47.7, 46.4,

48.3 and 48.4 for learners who go to school walking, with donkey, canoe,

okada/bicycle/tricycle, and Taxi/bus. Thus, learners who go to school with taxi/bus exhibited

the best achievement while those who go to school with canoe showed the least achievement.

It is only in few states that donkey and canoe are used as can be seen from the figure; they are

therefore omitted in further discussion. Among the learners who go to school walking, using

Okada/bicycle and tricycle and taxi/bus, learners in 18, 13 and 18 states respectively

performed up to 48.4 which is the highest mean for modes of going to school in the

mathematics test. Thus, achievement was best for learners who use Taxi/bus, followed by

those who walk and those who use okada/bicycle/tricycle exhibited the least achievement.

Figure 8.20: Normal Means of Going to School as Related to Achievement in

Mathematics

119

Distance between Home and School as Related to Achievement in Mathematics

In Figure 8.21, the national mean for learners who travel a distance of less than 1km, 1 to less

than 2km, 2km to 3km and more than 3km were 48.1, 48.1, 47.9 and 48.3 respectively; the

differences here do not look sufficiently large. Learners from 17 states in each category of

distance of less than 1km, 1 to less than 2km, 2km to 3km and more than 3km performed

above the national average. This achievement ordering shows that learners who travel more

than 3km exhibited the best achievement.

Figure 8.21: Distance to School as Related to Achievement in Mathematics

120

Number of Meals a Day as Related to Achievement in Mathematics

In Figure 8.22, it is observed that in Kano state and FCT, no learner took one meal a day.

The mean achievement of learner who took one meal, two meals, three meals and 4 meals a

day were 50.2, 47.7, 48 and 47.9 respectively. On this basis, it can be said that learners who

took one meal performed best while those who ate two times had the least achievement.

When we examine the number of states in which learners had a mean of up to 50.2 which is

the mean for one mean, 12, 10, 10 and 14 states performed at this level for learners who eat

one meal, two meals, three meals and 4 meals a day respectively. It seems relationship

between number of meals and achievement is not very clear.

Figure 8.22: Number of Meals per Day as Related to Achievement in Mathematics

121

Possession of Textbook as Related to Achievement in Mathematics

Figure 8.24 presents results based on relationship between possession of textbooks and

achievement. Learners who did not have textbooks (48.2) performed better than those who

had textbooks (48.1). When the number of states performing up to 48.2 for the groups is

considered, learners from 19 states without textbooks and learners from 19 states with text

books performed at this level. Thus learners without textbooks exhibited better achievement

in Mathematics.

Figure 8.24: Possession of Textbook as Related to Achievement in Mathematics

122

Liking Teachers and Achievement in Mathematics

From Figure 8.25, it is observed that in eleven states there were no learners who did not like

their teachers. Nationally, the mean for learners who do not like their teachers (52.2) was

better than that of learners who liked their teachers (48). The learners who do not like their

teachers and those who like their teachers with means up to 50.2 were from 11 and 6 states

respectively. Thus, learners who do not like their teachers performed better than those who

liked the teachers. This possibly could be due to the fact that the learners loath learning

mathematics as teachers in most cases do not use a humanistic approach in teaching it.

Figure 8.25: Liking Teacher and Achievement in Mathematics

123

Liking School as Related to Achievement in Mathematics

From Figure 8.26, it is observed that in sixteen states there were no learners who did not like

schooling. The national mean for learners who liked schooling and those who do not were

49.6 and 48 respectively. If we consider states in which there are learners who like schooling

and those who do not like schooling, learners from 9 states performed above the national

mean for learners who do not like schooling while learners from 11 states performed above

the national average for those who like schooling. Among the top scoring states, were Kebbi

(35.9 and 56.5), Osun (52.8 and 56.1) and Kwara (42.9 and 53.6) while among the low

scorers were Gombe (38.3 and 41.2), Taraba (40.2 and 41.9) and Borno (45.2 and 42.0) in the

order of not like schooling and liking schooling. Differences in achievement between learners

who do not like schooling and those who like schooling were substantial in some of the cases

but not definitely in favour of one group.

Figure 8.26: Liking School as Related to Achievement in Mathematics

124


Observations made in this chapter include the following:

1. Mean achievement in Multiple Choice test was a little higher than what was expected

from a transformed score while it was lower than the expected mean of 50 for Essay. The

range within which the largest number of learners performed was 40-49 in both Essay and

Multiple Choice tests. However, 36.9 percent and 42.0 percent of learners achieved up to

50 in the Essay and Multiple Choice tests. Thus, the achievement in Multiple Choice is

better than that in the Essay. An important implication of this result is that relying on only

one test format may not provide the objectivity expected of tests generally. Therefore, the

use of both tests forms should be recommended for use in assessments.

2. Female learners performed better in both Essay and Multiple Choice tests though the

differences were not substantial. Learners from rural schools performed better in both

Essay and Multiple Choice tests. These results were not unexpected as results on gender

and location differences in Mathematics have been mixed. These can be explained in

terms of cultural, family influences, socio-economic status of parents, as well as cultural

and traditional influences. There is need to consider these in any meaningful attempt to

enhance achievement.

3. Achievement was best on items relating to algebraic process. This is not expected as

number and numeration was the bed rock on which Mathematics learning is based. There

could have been classification difficulties or over emphasis on Algebraic processes.

4. Learners exhibited the best achievement on items testing comprehension. What would

have been expected is best performance at the knowledge level. Questions that arise

would be on classification. There should be a better and more incisive classification of the

cognitive objectives.

5. No clear trend in relationship between assistance with homework, available facilities and

non-learning engagement and achievement in Mathematics. One would have expected

level of assistance and available facilities to be positively related. As this is not the case,

then the level of assistance and available facilities may not be the important factors but

quality of assistance and use of the facilities. These are issues that schools may need to

focus on. With respect to non-learning engagement, the type of engagement could also be

explored.

6. Learners who took taxi and those who travelled more than 3km exhibited best

achievement. The comfort from family car was not an issue here. In the same token, the

distance could have afforded the learners greater opportunity to interact on academic

related issues.

7. Learners without textbooks, learners who don‟t like teacher and those who don‟t like

school performed better than their counterparts. These are very much at variance with

what should be expected. It is likely that this group of learners had an inherent motivation

that propelled them to perform at their best.

125

Chapter Nine

Achievement in Basic Science and Technology

9.0 Introduction

The achievement related results and relational analysis are presented in this chapter. In

particular, the chapter focuses on achievement at national level, achievement at geo-political

zone and at state levels. The achievement related results and relational analysis of cognitive

and non-cognitive variables are also presented. Observations and challenges from the results

are also presented.

9.1 Achievement at National Level

This sub-section present results of Essay and Multiple Choice; range and percentile; group

achievement along with gender (male and female), and school location (urban and rural) as

well as achievement along Content and Cognitive domains.

9.1.1 National mean

Figure 9.1 shows achievement of learners in the Multiple Choice and Essay tests in basic

Science and technology. On the average, learners performed better in the Essay test (mean

score = 46.08) than the Multiple Choice test (45.71).

Figure 9.1: Distribution of Mean Scores for Essay and Multiple Choice



standing of an examinee‟s score vis-à-vis other scores of other examinees. The scores were

categorised into five clusters: 0-39 (Fail), 40-49(Fair), 50-59 (Good), 60 – 69 (Very good) and

70 and above (Excellent). From Figure 9.2, the cluster within which most learners scored for

the Essay test was 50-59 (30.2percent) and for the Multiple Choice test was also 50-59

(31percent). On the whole, the range of the achievement in Basic Science and Technology of

45.4 45.6 45.8 46 46.2

Multiple Choice

Essay

45.71

46.08

Score

126

50 and above had more than 52.7percent of the participating learners for the Multiple Choice

test and 53.3percent for the Essay test. Thus the results are satisfactory for learners at this

level.

Figure 9.2: Distribution of Transformed Score Ranges in Essay and Multiple Choice

Tests

In Figure 9.3, learners who scored 36.66, 41.34, 49.9, 57.99 and 63.51 performed better than

10 percent, 25 percent, 50 percent, 75 percent and 90 percent of all learners respectively who

took the Multiple Choice test. In the same vein, learners who scored 35.63, 40.72, 49.2, 57.68

and 64.47 performed better than 10 percent, 25 percent, 50 percent, 75 percent and 90 percent

of all learners that respectively took the Essay test. It is observed that the achievement of

learners at all the percentiles in the multiple choice test was higher than that in the Essay test

with the exception of the 90th

percentile. Thus, achievement at lower percentiles could

indicate that learners found Essay test items more difficult to handle.

Figure

9.3: Percentile Scores in Multiple Choice and Essay Tests in JS 3 Basic Science and

Technology

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Fail (0 - 39 ) Fair (40 - 49

)

Good (50 -

59 )

Very Good

(60 - 69 )

Excellent (70

- 100 )

17.6

29.6 31

19.6

2.1

18.6

28 30.2

23.1

0

Sco

re


0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70


36.66 41.34

49.9

57.99 63.51

35.63 40.72

49.2

57.68

64.47

Sco

re

Percentile


127

9.1.3 Group Achievements

Two groups were used, these are gender (male and female) and school location (urban and

rural).


Figure 9.4 shows that while female learners performed better in the Essay test, the male

learners performed better in the Multiple Choice test. The achievement of female learners

(50.38) in the Essay test was better than that of male learners (49.97). On the contrary, the

achievement of male learners (49.65) in Multiple Choice was higher than that of female

learners (49.48). Female learners‟ achievement (50.38) in Essay test was higher than their

achievement in Multiple Choice test (49.48). In the same token, male learners‟ achievement (49.97) in Essay was higher than their achievement in Multiple Choice (49.65).

Figure 9.4: Achievement in Essay and Multiple Choice Tests by Gender

Achievement by School Location Figure 9.4 shows that learners in rural schools performed better than learners in urban schools

in the two tests. However, there is no large difference between the achievements of learners

in rural and urban schools. The achievement of learners from urban schools in essay was

49.64 while that of rural schools was 49.54. Similarly, the achievement of learners in rural

schools (50.12) was slightly higher than that of the learners in urban schools (49.97) in

Multiple Choice Test.

Figure 9.5: Achievement in Essay and Multiple Choice Tests by Location

49

49.2

49.4

49.6

49.8

50

50.2

50.4



49.65 49.48

49.97

50.38

Sco

re

49.2

49.4

49.6

49.8

50

50.2



50.12 49.97

49.64 49.54

Sco

re

128

9.1.4 Achievements in the Content Domains

There were four themes (content domain) in the curriculum of JSS Basic Science and

Technology. Items were generated from each of the four themes, namely: you and your

environment, living and non-living things, science and development and you and energy. The

Content Domain achievement in this chapter was limited to only Multiple Choice test.

Learners in JSS3 performed better (52.58) in items relating to living and non-living things

than in the rest of the content domains. The achievement in you and your environment

(50.97) ranked second in the content domain where learners exercised some level of mastery.

The learners found the items relating to science and development most difficult with a mean

score of 27.95.

Figure 9.6: Achievement in Content Domains

9.1.5 Achievements in Cognitive Domain Learners scored more items in Basic Science and Technology testing comprehension (48.8)

followed by achievement in Knowledge (42.23) and finally in items related to Higher Order

(38.27) Domain.


0 10 20 30 40 50 60

You and Energy

Science and development

Living and non-living things

You and your environment

31.33

27.95

52.58

50.97

Score

0 10 20 30 40 50

Knowledge

Comprehension

Higher order

42.23

48.8

38.27

Score

129

9.2 Achievement at Geo-Political Zones

In this section, achievement was looked at from the angle of the multiple choice and essay

tests and group achievements were equally presented.


Generally, achievement for zones in the North were higher than those in the South in essay

test while the achievement of zones in the South were higher than those in the North for the

multiple choice test. The best performing zone on the Multiple Choice test was the South East

(49.73) and the best performing state in the essay was North East (47.59). The North East

also displayed the least achievement in the multiple choice test 39.46. The South West

performed least in the essay test (44.96).

Figure 9.8: Achievement across Geo-Political Zones

9.2.2 Group Achievements across the Geo-Political Zone

Table 9.1 contains the mean and standard error of achievement for the zones in both essay

and objective tests for male and female learners. In the essay test, male learners performed

better than the female in North Central (50.12 and 49.62), North East (50.26 and 49.87),

South South (49.78 and 49.17) and South West (49.31 and 49.08). In the multiple choice test,

female learners performed better than male learners in all zones with the exception of North

Central (49.25 and 49.83).and South East (52.93 and 53.14).

Table 9.1: Distribution of Means and Standard Error of Achievement in Multiple

Choice and Essay Tests for Zones by Gender

Zones Gender Multiple Choice Essay

Mean S.E. Mean S.E.

North Central Male 49.83 0.46 50.12 0.45

Female 49.25 0.49 49.62 0.46

North East Male 45.43 0.35 50.26 0.39

Female 45.49 0.40 49.87 0.46

North West Male 47.53 0.36 49.25 0.35

Female 47.81 0.41 49.84 0.43

South East Male 53.14 0.40 49.37 0.44

Female 52.93 0.38 49.46 0.42

130

South South Male 51.59 0.38 49.78 0.44

Female 52.84 0.38 49.17 0.44

South West Male 52.57 0.36 49.31 0.41

Female 52.67 0.35 49.08 0.38

Achievement by School Location

Table 9.2 contains the mean scores and standard errors of the achievement in Basic Science

and Technology essay and multiple choice tests by school location. In the essay test, the

achievement of the learners in urban school was better than that of learners in rural schools in

three zones which are North West (49.84 vs 49.15), South West (49.26 vs 49.12), South East

(49.53 vs 49.44). In the multiple choice, the achievement in rural was better than urban for

learners in all zones with the exception of North West (47.24 and 47.83).


Choice and Essay Tests for Zones by Location

Zone Location Multiple Choice Essay

Mean SE Mean SE

North Central Urban 49.42 0.45 49.61 0.45

Rural 49.58 0.52 50.3 0.48

North East Urban 45.32 0.35 49.93 0.4

Rural 45.6 0.39 50.3 0.44

North West Urban 47.83 0.4 49.84 0.4

Rural 47.24 0.37 49.15 0.37

South East Urban 47.83 0.38 49.53 0.41

Rural 53.01 0.41 49.44 0.46

South South Urban 51.75 0.39 49.09 0.44

Rural 52.81 0.38 49.88 0.44

South West Urban 52.47 0.34 49.26 0.37

Rural 52.84 0.37 49.12 0.43

9.3: Achievement at State Level

This section presents learners achievement in essay and multiple choice at state level. The

group achievements in terms of gender (male and female), school location (urban and rural)

and achievements in the content and cognitive domains were also presented.


The national average for Multiple Choice test was 50 with learners from twenty two states

performing above it. States topping the achievement include FCT (57), Lagos (57) and

Ebonyi (54). States at the bottom of the achievement were Taraba (43), Gombe (41) and

Sokoto (40). In the Essay test, the national average was 50 and states achieving on top

include (Benue (53), Akwa-Ibom (51) and Bauchi (51). States achieving at the bottom

include Enugu (48), Zamfara (48) and Rivers (48). Learners from twenty one states

performed better in the Multiple Choice test than the Essay test.

131

Figure 9.9: Mean Score in Basic Science and Technology Essay and Multiple Choice

Tests

Note:

i. Score in Multiple Choice are out of the parentheses

ii. Score in Essay are in parentheses

The average achievement of learners in each of the State is presented in Figure 9.9. Learners

in FCT performed best with an average mean of 58.43 followed by learners in Yobe State

(57.69). The least achievement was recorded from learners in Bayelsa (40.88) followed by

learners in Adamawa State (42.33).

52(50

40(49)

51(50)

50(51)

52(49) 49(49

51(50)

57(49)

51(48)

57(50)

51(50)

45(49)

46(50)

50(50)

46(51)1

41(51)

43(50

49(49)

52(49)

52(50)

54(51)

53(48)

47(49) 52(51)

46(49

47(50)

49(49) 45(51)

54(49) 52(49) 54(49)

52(50

53(50)

53(49)

54(49)

51(49) 47(53)

Average National

Score=50(50)

132

9.3.2: Group Achievements across the States

In Table 9.3, male learners from 22 states and FCT performed above the national mean while

female learners from 19 states and FCT performed above the national mean on the multiple

choice test for their respective groups. The national mean of male learners (49.77) was lower

than that of female learners (50.38) in Basic Science and Technology multiple choice test.

The FCT (59.11) had the highest achievement for male learners in the multiple choice test

while the state with the highest achievement for female students was Lagos (57.92). On the

other hand, the state with the lowest achievement of male (40.14) and female (40.87) learners

was Sokoto. Female learners in nineteen states performed better than their male counterparts

on the multiple choice test.

Male learners from 17 states performed above the national mean while female learners from

17 states and FCT performed above the national mean on the essay test for their respective

groups. The national mean of male learners (49.65) was higher than that of female learners

(49.48) in Basic Science and Technology essay test. AkwaIbom (51.68) had the highest

achievement for male learners in the essay test while the state with the highest achievement

for female students was Benue (54.03). On the other hand, the state with the lowest

achievement of male students was Enugu (48.19) while the state with the lowest achievement

of female learners was Bayelsa (47.76). Female learners in twenty states and FCT performed

better than their male counterparts on the essay test.

Table 9.3: Distribution of Mean Scores on Essay and Multiple Choice Tests based on

Gender across States

STATE


MALE FEMALE MALE FEMALE


ABIA 51.42 0.87 52.21 0.79 49.39 0.99 50.01 1.03

ADAMAWA 50.19 1.24 47.27 1.06 49.86 1.09 48.95 1.11

AKWA-

IBOM

51.68 0.83 52.30 0.86 52.63 0.93 50.47 0.93

ANAMBRA 52.30 0.85 51.98 0.81 48.85 1.03 49.13 0.88

BAUCHI 45.99 0.84 45.54 0.90 52.11 1.03 49.70 1.06

BAYELSA 47.17 1.25 47.45 1.27 49.24 1.57 47.76 1.74

BORNO 47.36 0.73 47.30 1.05 49.07 0.93 51.58 1.24

BENUE 46.87 1.13 47.61 1.89 52.53 1.69 54.03 2.38

CROSS

RIVER

51.63 0.85 53.03 0.95 50.09 0.90 49.80 1.07

DELTA 53.26 0.90 54.29 0.89 49.13 1.02 48.26 1.06

EBONYI 54.84 0.82 53.83 1.01 49.93 0.93 48.80 1.05

EDO 51.30 1.01 52.82 0.92 48.64 1.16 49.22 1.19

EKITI 53.73 0.82 52.68 0.81 48.19 0.88 49.56 0.94

ENUGU 53.04 0.94 52.97 0.87 48.19 0.98 48.37 0.89

GOMBE 40.45 0.56 40.92 0.65 50.25 0.88 51.51 1.08

IMO 54.07 0.94 53.79 0.81 50.46 1.00 50.89 0.88

JIGAWA 46.50 0.91 46.35 0.85 49.61 0.96 50.78 1.00

KADUNA 45.28 0.72 45.31 0.82 48.87 0.95 49.39 0.99

KANO 51.78 1.37 49.50 1.62 50.24 1.14 50.54 1.54

133

STATE


MALE FEMALE MALE FEMALE


KATSINA 49.89 1.01 51.98 0.96 49.92 1.00 49.70 1.05

KEBBI 51.78 1.04 52.35 1.39 49.55 0.98 50.16 1.30

KOGI 49.47 1.01 48.39 1.17 50.43 1.05 47.97 1.19

KWARA 51.45 0.90 52.95 1.04 49.24 0.93 47.83 0.84

LAGOS 57.92 0.78 56.77 0.71 48.69 1.10 48.88 0.85

NASARAWA 47.21 1.59 44.83 1.23 49.20 1.28 49.35 1.31

NIGER 51.48 1.56 49.65 1.37 50.27 1.29 50.70 1.15

OGUN 51.49 0.91 50.46 0.86 51.16 1.10 48.67 0.98

ONDO 50.34 0.92 51.29 1.11 48.61 0.88 50.35 1.06

OSUN 54.64 0.74 54.14 0.78 49.55 1.01 48.93 0.94

OYO 48.07 0.76 49.43 0.75 50.00 1.03 48.32 0.90

PLATEAU 44.97 0.77 45.10 0.86 51.00 1.11 50.88 1.13

RIVERS 51.60 0.86 53.41 0.78 48.23 1.08 48.54 0.87

SOKOTO 40.14 0.39 40.87 0.58 49.34 0.83 49.54 1.06

TARABA 42.77 0.61 42.90 0.77 50.27 0.83 48.93 1.04

YOBE 49.68 0.94 50.23 1.01 49.87 1.04 49.28 1.19

ZAMFARA 50.33 0.83 51.21 1.24 48.20 0.79 48.79 1.24

FCT 59.11 1.20 55.87 1.34 49.46 1.31 50.66 1.37

NATIONAL 49.77 0.16 50.38 0.17 49.65 0.17 49.48 0.17

Table 9.4: Distribution of Mean Scores on Multiple Choice and Essay Tests based on

School Location across States

State



Mean Std. Dev Mean Std.

Dev Mean

Std.

Dev Mean

Std.

Dev

ABIA 47.18 11.61 49.35 12.71 45.34 31.33 48.04 17.37

ADAMAWA 42.84 15.10 44.22 14.27 48.80 30.33 42.77 16.08

AKWA-IBOM 46.96 12.46 49.32 12.37 49.79 28.73 52.99 15.94

ANAMBRA 48.81 11.68 48.28 12.65 45.10 29.03 43.94 17.12

BAUCHI 39.52 11.47 40.27 11.76 50.46 31.71 49.90 16.18

BAYELSA 41.51 9.81 42.97 30.89

BORNO 42.82 10.93 40.36 9.00 44.73 27.83 52.74 15.50

BENUE 41.72 8.19 56.28 25.10

CROSS

RIVER

49.34 12.85 48.12 12.24 48.24 29.25 46.47 17.02

DELTA 50.37 13.63 51.03 12.28 44.25 32.97 42.94 16.60

EBONYI 51.77 13.03 51.03 12.92 47.60 28.05 45.95 19.07

EDO 47.78 12.12 49.11 11.32 42.88 31.59 45.67 16.13

134

EKITI 48.88 12.51 51.16 11.27 46.40 30.49 42.18 14.42

ENUGU 50.90 12.92 48.48 13.69 41.09 28.43 43.56 16.92

GOMBE 33.44 8.76 32.45 8.40 48.49 29.37 50.57 15.80

IMO 50.03 12.78 52.19 12.69 50.29 30.50 48.21 14.87

JIGAWA 41.21 12.79 40.13 12.68 47.26 30.13 48.83 17.82

KADUNA 40.18 11.37 38.79 10.82 41.42 31.76 46.32 15.83

KANO 45.54 15.44 47.94 14.76 47.35 31.63 49.26 16.20

KATSINA 47.05 13.20 46.69 13.64 49.52 30.64 44.48 15.28

KEBBI 48.98 16.18 48.01 15.17 48.29 32.98 45.38 16.40

KOGI 42.80 12.96 45.31 13.28 43.57 31.52 46.44 15.75

KWARA 48.37 13.17 49.24 13.98 41.15 28.09 46.58 16.78

LAGOS 55.66 10.96 55.09 11.21 41.79 30.55 46.68 15.60

NASARAWA 40.67 13.88 39.65 14.76 42.12 30.71 48.82 15.08

NIGER 47.23 16.91 45.43 15.73 48.67 29.44 49.00 16.48

OGUN 48.44 11.94 45.15 11.75 49.29 30.88 43.99 17.31

ONDO 45.87 14.26 54.02 12.12 45.30 29.98 47.62 14.44

OSUN 51.47 11.30 51.61 11.18 44.69 30.63 45.29 16.15

OYO 44.94 10.70 42.98 11.25 44.37 30.66 45.05 15.52

PLATEAU 38.44 10.37 39.48 11.84 49.91 33.36 50.41 17.99

RIVERS 48.90 11.99 49.54 11.99 40.25 30.13 45.22 17.13

SOKOTO 32.46 6.16 32.80 7.42 47.92 30.91 43.36 14.63

TARABA 35.47 10.12 36.72 9.78 46.11 30.17 47.16 14.47

YOBE 45.16 12.16 45.90 12.72 45.11 30.07 47.33 19.28

ZAMFARA 47.21 15.00 45.36 13.43 45.87 30.69 38.24 15.58

FCT 56.47 12.67 54.37 12.08 46.95 26.70 48.75 16.00

NATIONAL 45.58 13.49 45.79 13.46 46.01 30.31 46.30 16.53

The results in table 9.4 show that learners in urban schools from 20 states and FCT performed

above the national mean while learners in rural school from 19 states and FCT performed

above the national mean on the multiple choice test for their respective groups. The national

mean of urban learners (45.58) was lower than that of rural learners (45.79) in Basic Science

and Technology multiple choice test. The FCT (56.47) had the highest achievement for urban

learners in the multiple choice test while the state with the highest achievement for female

students was Lagos (55.49). On the other hand, the state with the lowest achievement of

urban learners was Sokoto (32.46) while the state with the lowest achievement of rural

learners was Gombe (32.45). Rural learners in eighteen states performed better than their

urban counterparts on the multiple choice test.

Learners from urban school in 18 states and FCT performed above the national mean while

rural learners from 19 states and FCT performed above the national mean on the essay test for

their respective groups. The national mean of urban learners (46.01) was lower than that of

rural learners (46.30) in Basic Science and Technology essay test. Benue (56.28) had the

135

highest achievement for urban learners in the essay test while the state with the highest

achievement for rural learners was Akwa-Ibom (52.99). On the other hand, the state with the

lowest achievement of urban learners was Rivers (40.25) while the state with the lowest

achievement of rural learners was Zamfara (38.24). Rural learners from twenty two states

performed better than their urban counterparts on the essay test.

9.3.3 Achievements in Content Domain

Four content domains were used in Basic science and technology: you and environment,

living and non-living things, science and development and you and energy. Learners‟ achievement in each of these domains are presented in this sub-section.

You and Your Environment

Figure 9.10: Achievement on the Theme ‘You and Your Environment’

Learners in 19 states and FCT performed above the national average; learners in Lagos (63.69), FCT (63.36), Ebonyi (57.97) have the highest mean in you and your environment. Learners in Sokoto (34.62), Gombe (35.00) and Taraba (39.04) had the lowest scores.

136

Living and Non-Living Things

Figure 9.11: Achievement on the Theme ‘Living and Non-Living Things’

1. Learners in 22 states and

FCT scored above the

national average; best

performing states were

FCT (64.76), Lagos

(63.91) and Osun (60.26)

on the theme ‘living and non-living things’.

2. Lowest mean scores

were obtained by

learners from Sokoto

(36.53), Gombe (36.8)

and Taraba (39.96).

137

Science and Development

Figure 9.12: Achievement on the Theme ‘Science and Development’.

1.Nineteen states and FCT


average; best performing

states were FCT (31.37) Lagos

(31.11) and Kano (29.29) on

science and development.

2. Sokoto state had the least

mean of 24.77 on the theme.

3. Achievements on this theme

was exceedingly poor.

138

You and Your Energy

Figure 9.13: Achievement on the Theme ‘You and Your Energy’

National Average: 31.39

Generally, achievement

was Poor

139

Knowledge Domain

Figure 9.14: Achievement on Knowledge Objectives

FCT (53.51), Lagos (52.45) and

Osun (49.34) had the highest

mean scores among the states.

Twenty states and FCT


average.

The states with the least scores

were Gombe (29.38), Sokoto

(29.84) and Taraba (29.84).

Achievement was Fair.

140

Comprehension Domain

Figure 9.15: Achievement on Comprehension Objective

1. Twenty two states performed

above the national average.

2. FCT (60.2), Lagos (60.14) and

Ebonyi (55.51) the highest

mean scores on the

Comprehension Objectives.

3. Sokoto (33.43), Gombe (33.85)

and Taraba (37.49) had the

least mean scores,

4. General achievement on this

objective was Good.

141

Higher Order Domain

Figure 9.16: Achievement on Higher Order Objectives

1. Twenty two states performed

above the national average on

this objective.

2. Learners in FCT (43.57), Lagos

(43.36) and Ebonyi (41.58) had

the highest mean scores.

3. Sokoto (31.16), Gombe (31.66)

and Taraba (33.11) had the

least mean scores among the

states in Higher order

objectives.

4. Achievement on the domain

was Fair.

142

9.4: Relational Analysis This subsection deals with the relationship between the learners‟ contextual variables and

their achievements in Basic Science and Technology. Specifically, how homework assistance


father and mother; means of going to school; distance between learners‟ home and school; number of meal per day; learners‟ possessing textbook on Basic Science and Technology; liking teachers and schools are related to learners‟ achievement in Basic Science and

Technology were discussed.

Level of Assistance in Homework as Related to Achievement

From Figure 9.17, high and low levels of assistance with homework had means of 50.1 and

50.2 respectively. Moderate level of assistance with homework yielded the lowest level of

achievement of 49.5. The variations among the different levels of assistance with homework

were not large.

Figure 9.17: Level of Assistance in Homework as it Related to Achievement in Basic

Science and Technology

143

Home Work Assistance as Related to Achievement in Basic Science and Technology

In Figure 9.18, learners from 17, 22, 20 states performed above the national average for low,

moderate and high levels of assistance with homework respectively. Among the top

performing states were FCT (53.2, 54.3 and 53.5), Lagos (53.2, 53.2 and 52.4) and Delta

(52.4, 50.2 and 51.6) while at the lower end of performance, we have states like Gombe

(44.6, 45.9 and 46.1), Sokoto (46.1, 44.8 and 44.5) and Taraba (46.3, 45.7 and 47) in the

order of low, moderate and high levels of assistance with homework. These values seem to

indicate no variation within states across the different levels of assistance with homework.

Figure 9.18: Home Work Assistance as Related to Achievement in Basic Science and

Technology

144

Availability of Learning Facilities as Related to Achievement in Basic Science and

Technology

From Figure 9.19, at the national level, as level of availability increases, achievement

increases (low=49.4, moderate=49.8 and high=50.7); differences in achievement among

levels of availability of facilities were not substantial. Learners from 25, 23 and 18 states

performed above the national average of low, moderate and high levels of availability of

learning facilities. States at the high level of achievement include Lagos (55.8, 52.6 and

52.9), Imo (53.2, 51.9 and 53.3) and AkwaIbom (52.4, 51.4 and 52.4) while for states not

performing very well we have Sokoto (44.3, 45.0 and 46.4), Taraba (45.8, 46.6 and 45.3) and

Gombe (46.1, 45.5 and 45.2) in the order low, moderate and high levels. The variations

within these states do not show substantial differences among the levels, thus levels of

availability is not related to achievement. Based on these results the need to consider how the

facilities are used is imperative.

Figure 9.19: Availability of Learning Facilities as Related to Achievement in Basic

Science and Technology

145

Levels of Non-Learning Engagement and Achievement in Basic Science and Technology

From Figure 9.20, achievement at low, moderate and high levels of non-learning engagement

were 50, 49.7 and 49.7 respectively. Learners from 23, 21 and 25 states performed above the

national average for low, moderate and high levels of non-learning engagement. While FCT

(54.9, 52.2 and 53.5), Lagos (52.8, 53.5 and 52.7) and Akwa-Ibom (52.6, 51.6 and 51.6)

performed at the higher level, Sokoto (44.6, 44.6 and 45.4), Gombe (44.6, 45.9 and 45.5) and

Kaduna (46.3, 47.6 and 47.2) performed at the lower level of achievement in the order of

low, moderate and high levels of non-learning engagement. Differences among the levels

were not noticed among these states.

Fig 9:20: Levels of Non-Learning Engagement and Achievement in Basic Science and

Technology

146

Occupation of Fathers as Related to Achievement in Basic Science and Technology

Nationally, the achievement of learners whose fathers are into farming/fishing,

business/trading and Worker (public/private) was 49.6, 49.8 and 49.9 respectively. Learners

from 21, 19 and 19 states performed above the national average in the occupational groups of

farming/fishing, business/trading and Worker (public/private) for fathers respectively. On the

top of the performing states were FCT (55.2, 53.1 and 53.7), Cross River (52.3, 50.4 and

50.0) and Lagos (52.2, 53.0 and 53.2) while at the lower end of achievement were Sokoto

(44.6, 45.3 and 44.8), Gombe (46.3, 47.8 and 44.7) and Taraba (46.6, 45.8 and 46.4) in the

order of the occupational groups of farming/fishing, business/trading and Worker

(public/private) for fathers.

Figure 9.21: Occupation of Fathers as Related to Achievement in Basic Science and

Technology

147

Occupation of Mothers as Related to Achievement in Basic Science and Technology The national means for the learners whose mothers are in the occupational groups

farming/fishing, business/trading, worker (Public/private) and „others‟ were 49.1, 50.4, 49.8 and 49.6 respectively. Learners from 17, 19, 13 and 20 states performed above the national

average for the occupational groups farming/fishing, business/trading, worker

(Public/private) and „others‟ for mothers. Among the best performing states are Yobe (55.5, 50.9, 47.5 and 49.6), Katsina (54.5, 51.4, 46.8 and 51.8) and Osun (52.9, 51.7, 50.6 and 51.7)

and among the states that did not perform very well were; Sokoto (41.9, 44.5, 44.9 and 45.3),

Gombe (44.8, 46.0, 45.7 and 45.7) and Taraba (45.9, 46.6, 47.0 and 48.6) in the order

farming/fishing, business/trading, worker (Public/private) and „others‟. Large differences are noted for some of these states.

Figure 9.22: Occupation of Mothers as Related to Achievement in Basic Science and

Technology

148

Means of Transportation to School as Related to Achievement in Basic Science and

Technology

The national average for learners who walk, use donkey, canoe, okada/bicycle/tricycle,

taxi/bus and family car were 49.8, 51.4, 49.5, 50.2, 50.3 and 49.0 respectively. Number of

states for which canoe and donkey were used was few and they are therefore not used in

further discussion. Among the top scoring states are FCT (54.5, 53.8, 54.5 and 51.7), Lagos

(53.0, 55.0, 52.3 and 49.4) and Ebonyi (52.2, 51.4, 49.8 and 45.1) while among the bottom

scoring states are Sokoto (45.0, 44.5, 45.9 and 43.5), Gombe (46.1, 46.5, 43.9 and 43.5) and

Adamawa (48.8, 49.1, 49.8 and 49.7) in the order walking, okada/bicycle/tricycle, taxi/bus

and family car. No particular sequence is observed with respect to relation between mode of

transportation and achievement.

Figure 9.23: Means of Going to School as Related to Achievement in Basic Science and

Technology

149

Distance to School as Related to Achievement in Basic Science and Technology

Nationally, as distance between Learners school and home increased, achievement increased;

achievement for less than 1km, 1km to less than 2km , 2km to less than 3km and 3km and

above were 49.4, 50, 50.1 and 50.2 respectively. Learners from 24, 20, 15 and 16 states

performed above the national mean for learners, who travel less than 1km, 1km to less than

2km , 2km to less than 3km and 3km and above to school. Among the top performing states

are Benue (56.3, 49.5, 50.0 and 47.8), Ebonyi (54.6, 51.4, 49.9 and 51.5) and Akwa-Ibom

(52.7, 52.2, 50.3 and 51.8) and among the bottom scorers are Sokoto (44.3, 45.3, 46.0 and

46.5), Gombe (45.5, 46.3, 45.5 and 45.9) and Nasarawa (46.4, 49.2, 45.0 and 50.2) in the

order less than 1km, 1km to less than 2km , 2km to less than 3km and 3km and above.

Differences seems to exist among mean values for Benue and Ebonyi only but not for other

states. Thus, the policy of learners not travelling more than 2 km to school may not have been

impactful.

Figure 9.24: Distance between the Home and School as Related to Achievement Number

of Meals a Day as Related to Achievement in Basic Science and Technology

150

The national average for learners who eat once, twice, three times and four times a day were

49.7, 49.5, 49.9 and 50.6. In the FCT, there were no learners who eat once a day and in

Benue state there were no learners who eat four times a day. Among the top performing states

were Enugu (56.7, 51.5, 50.2 and 51.6), Imo (54.9, 51.6, 52.4 and 51.0) and Ogun (53.7,

51.8, 50.1 and 51.8) while among the bottom performers were Rivers (44.2, 51.2, 50.6 and

49.3), Gombe (44.3, 45.2, 46.4 and 45.5) and Sokoto (46.1, 44.2, 45.1 and 45.5) in the order

once, twice, three times and four times a day. Among the top scorers learners who eat once a

day exhibited best performance but no clear trend was observed among low performing

states.

Figure 9:25: Number of Daily Meals as Related to Achievement in Basic Science and

Technology

151

Possession of Textbooks and Achievement in Basic Science and Technology

Nationally, learners with textbooks (50.0) performed better than those without textbooks

(49.7). Learners from 21 and 15 states performed above the national average for learners

without textbooks and those with textbooks respectively. Learners in 20 states with textbooks

outperformed the mean scores of learners with no textbook. Therefore, learners with textbook

perform better than those without textbooks.

Figure 9:26: Possession of Textbooks on Basic Science and Technology as Related to

Achievement

152

Liking the Teacher and Achievement in Basic Science and Technology

From Figure 9.27, learners who like their teachers are found in all states but those who do not

like their teachers are not found in 9 states. The mean for learners who like their teachers is

49.9 and it is greater than the mean of learners who do not like their teachers (48.1). Learners

from 22 states performed above the mean of learners who like their teachers; learners from 11

states performed above the mean for learners who do not like their teachers. Learners who do

not like their teachers initially performed better than those who like their teachers from the

top performing states but the trend changed with those who like their teachers performing

better than those who do not like their teachers.

153

Figure

9.27: Liking Teachers as Related to Achievement in Basic Science and Technology

Liking Schooling as Related to Achievement in Basic Science and Technology

Learners from 22 states performed above the mean of learners who like schooling (49.9)

while Learners in 11 states performed above the mean of learners who do not like schooling

(48.1). Learners who like schooling were found in all states. However, learners who do not

like schooling were found in 9 states. Learners from 11 and 18 states performed above the

national average for learners who do not like schooling and those who like schooling

respectively. Initially, learners who do not like school out-perform their counterparts who like

school when order of best performing states are examined. The trend however changed as we

move down towards low per

154

Figure 9:28: Liking

Schooling and Achievement in Basic Science and Technology


1. The achievement in essay and multiple choice tests were both lower than the expected

transformed score of 50. No learner was within the range of 75 and above for both essay

and multiple choice tests. These show that the learners found both tests difficult and this

calls to question the efficacy of the item characteristics as part of the generation of the

tests.

2. While female learners performed better than the male in the multiple choice test, the male

learners performed better than female learners in essay test; differences were however not

significant. This is possibly indicative of the gender preferences for the two types of tests.

The import is the need to utilise both item types in order to avoid gender bias.

155

3. Learners in urban schools performed better than those in rural schools in both tests,

though the differences were not substantial. This may be due to human and material

facilities available in both situations.

4. The learners got more items correct on living and non-living things, which when looked

at shows it to be within their experiences. They had difficulties with science and

development that in most cases was not within their everyday experiences, though this is

used as part of everyday life.

5. Consistently, learners in FCT and Lagos were on top in terms of achievement on the

content and cognitive domains among the states. Learners in Sokoto in all cases

performed poorly on the cognitive and content domains among the states. The need to

explore what happens in FCT, Lagos and Sokoto become imperative to identify the good

parts to be sustained and what may need to be jettisoned.

6. High level of assistance with homework did not show an improved achievement and thus

assistance with homework may not be of essence but the quality of assistance. In the same

vein, the weak relationship between achievement and available facilities underscores the

need to look beyond the facilities available to how they are being used.

7. The policy of learners not travelling more than 2 km to school may not have been very

impactful. Nonetheless, schools may continue to be located within 2km radius of learners‟ residence.

8. Learners with textbook performed better than those without textbooks and those who

liked their teachers were better in achievement. This was expected and schools should

endeavour to ensure that requisite books are provided, and teachers, on their part, should

display in locus parentis. In the same vein, liking schooling is important and enhances

achievement. Schools should be more learner-friendly through the provision of safety and

basic learning needs to sustain interest in schools.

156

Chapter Ten

Achievement in Social Studies

10.0: Introduction The achievement related results and relational analysis are presented in this chapter. In

particular, the chapter focuses on achievement at national level, geo-political zone and at

state levels. The relational analysis of non-cognitive variables with achievement are presented

as well as observations and challenges arising from the results.

10.1: Achievement at National Level This sub-section present results of essay and multiple choice; range and percentile; group

achievement along gender (male and female) and school location (urban and rural)

achievement along content and cognitive domains were also presented.

10.1.1 National Average

Figure 10.1 shows achievement of JSS3 learners in the multiple choice and essay tests in

Social Studies. On the average learners performed better in multiple choice test (mean score

= 50.15) than in essay test (50.00). The two scores have the same standard error of 0.12.

Figure 10.1 Distribution of Score for Multiple Choice and Essay Tests



standing of an examinee‟s score vis-à-vis scores of other examinees who took the test. The

scores were categorised into five clusters: 0-39(Fail), 40-49(Fair), 50-59(Good), 60-69(Very

good) and 7 and above (Excellent). Figure 10.2 shows the transformed score ranges in the

multiple choice and essay questions. It is observed that the score cluster with the highest

number of learners for both multiple choice test (36.6percent) and essay (28percent) was 50-

59. More than half of the learners got 50 and above in both essay and multiple choice

questions. However, none of the learners was able to score 70 and above in either the

49.9

49.95

50

50.05

50.1

50.15


50

50.15

Sco

re

157

multiple choice and essay tests. The performance on these tests was satisfactory for this

group of learners.

Figure 10.2: Examinees Ranges of Scaled Score in Essay and Multiple Choice Tests

In Figure 10.3, learners who scored 34.96, 42.97, 51.9, 58.31 and 62.19 performed better that

10 percent, 25 percent, 50 percent, 75 percent and 90 percent of all learners who took the

multiple choice test. Similarly, learners who scored 35.16, 41.2, 50.26, 59.31 and 63.84

performed better than 10percent, 25 percent, 50 percent, 75 percent and 90 percent of all

learners who took the essay test. It is observed that at all percentiles with the exception of

25th

and 50th

, the achievement in essay was higher than that of the multiple choice test. Thus

achievement at 10th

and 50th

percentile is indicative that learners found multiple choice easier

to handle than the essay test.

Figure 10.3: Percentile Scores in Multiple Choice and Essay Tests for JS3 Social Studies

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Fail (0 - 39 ) Fair (40 - 49

)

Good (50 -

59 )

Very Good

(60 - 69 )

Excellent (70

- 100 )

16.8

24.2

36.6

22.3

0

18.9

27.5 28 25.5

0

Sco

re


0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70


34.96

42.97

51.9

58.31 62.19

35.16

41.2

50.26

59.31 63.84

Sco

re

Percentile

Multiple choice Essay

158

10.1.3 Group Achievement

Two classifications were used; these are gender (male and female) and school location (urban

and rural).


Figure 10.4 shows that female learners performed better than the male learners in the multiple

choice test but male learners performed better than female learners in essay test. However,

there is no substantial difference between the achievement of male and female learners. The

achievement of male learners (49.90) was slightly lower than that of the female learners

(50.42) in the Multiple Choice test. On the contrary, the achievement of male learners (50.25)

was higher than that of female learners (49.74) in the essay test.

Figure 10.4: Achievement in Essay and Multiple Choice by Gender

Figure 10.5 shows that learners in rural schools performed better than the learners in urban

schools in the two tests. However, there is a slight difference between the achievements of

learnersin rural and urban schools. The achievement of learners from urban schools in essay

was 49.98 while that of rural schools was 50.04. The achievement of learners in rural schools

(50.21) was slightly higher than that of the learners in urban schools (49.97) in multiple

choice test.

Figure 10.5: Achievement in Essay and Multiple Choice by School Location

49.4

49.6

49.8

50

50.2

50.4

50.6

Mutiple choice Essay

49.9

50.25 50.42

49.74

Sco

re

Male Female

49.8

49.9

50

50.1

50.2

50.3


49.97 49.98

50.21

50.04

Sco

re

Urban Rural

159

10.1.5 Achievement in Cognitive Domain

Learners in Figure 10.7 displayed the best achievement on items measuring higher order

component (66.34) followed by knowledge (64.5) and finally items at the comprehension

level (56.27).


10.2: Achievement at Geo-Political Zones In this section, achievement in both essay and multiple choice tests are considered as well as

group achievements based on gender and school location for the different geo-political zones

10.2.1: Achievement in Essay and Multiple Choice Tests

From Figure 10.8, the achievement in essay (North Central = 49.86, North East = 49.87 and

North West = 50.27) was higher than that in multiple Choice (North Central = 49.19, North

East = 44.34 and North West = 47.60) for the Northern Zones while the achievement in

multiple choice test was higher for Southern Zones (South East = 54.45, South South = 52.25

and South West = 53.23) than inthe essay test (South East = 50.01, South South = 49.92 and

South West = 49.99). In fact learners in North east scored lowest in multiple choice test

(44.34) while those in South east scored highest in the same test (54.45). However, learners

from North West scored highest in essay test (50.27) while those in North Central scored

lowest in the same test (49.86). In the Southern Zones, learners from South East were on top

in both multiple choice and essay (54.45 and 50.01 respectively). In the same vein, learners

from North West were top in achievement in the essay test (50.27) while in the multiple

choice tests, North Central exhibited the best achievement (49.19).

50 55 60 65 70

Knowledge

Comprehension

Higher Order

64.5

56.27

66.34

Score

160

Figure 10.7: Learners’ Achievement across Geo-Political Zones

10.2.2: Group Achievements across the Geo-Political Zones

Table 10.1 shows that there are no large differences in the male and female learners‟ achievements across the geo-political zones, in both multiple choice and essay tests. In the

North Central zone, male learners showed superiority in both multiple choice test (49.76) and

essay tests (50.25) over the females (48.60 and 49.47 respectively). In other zones, the male

learners were superior in one of the two tests and not both. For essay test, female learners

(50.33) showed dominance in only the North West zone while the male learners were

dominant in the other four zones. North Central and North West were the only zones where

female learners had a lower achievement in multiple choice tests than the male learners (and

by a small margin) while the male learners performed better in the remaining four zones.


Choice and Essay Tests for Geopolitical Zones by Gender

ZONES Gender

MULTIPLE

CHOICE ESSAY

Mean SE Mean SE

NORTH

CENTRAL

MALE 49.76 0.47 50.25 0.44

FEMA

LE

48.60 0.49 49.47 0.46

NORTH EAST

MALE 44.07 0.37 50.40 0.38

FEMA

LE

44.67 0.42 49.23 0.43

NORTH

WEST

MALE 47.89 0.33 50.24 0.33

FEMA

LE

47.20 0.41 50.33 0.42

SOUTH EAST

MALE 54.32 0.37 50.43 0.42

FEMA

LE

54.58 0.36 49.62 0.41

SOUTH

SOUTH

MALE 51.98 0.37 49.96 0.43

FEMA

LE

52.51 0.38 49.89 0.44

SOUTH WEST

MALE 53.04 0.33 50.20 0.39

FEMA

LE

53.40 0.31 49.80 0.38

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

North

Central

North East North West South East South South South West

49.19 44.34

47.6

54.45 52.25 53.23 49.86 49.87 50.27 50.01 49.92 49.99

Sco

re

Muliple choice Essay

161

Table 10.2 contains the achievements of learners in urban and rural schools across the six

geo-political zones in the multiple choice and essay tests. Learners in rural schools performed

better than those in urban schools in all zones with the exception of North West. In the North

West, learners in rural schools had a mean score of 47.15 while those in the urban schools

had a mean of 47.74; the difference was not substantial though. In the essay test, urban

learners performed better than rural learners in North West (50.49 and 50.21), South East

(50.38 and 49.57) and South South (50.07 and 49.63). Rural learners performed better than

urban learners in North Central (50.48 and 49.53), North East (50.21 and 49.59) and South

West (50.25 and 49.79).

Table 10.2: Distribution of Mean and Standard Error of Achievement in Multiple

Choice and Essay Tests for Geo-Political Zones by Location

ZONE Location MULTIPLE CHOICE ESSAY

Mean S. E. Mean S. E.

NORTH CENTRAL URBAN 48.67 0.47 49.53 0.44

RURAL 49.32 0.50 50.48 0.48

NORTH EAST URBAN 44.13 0.36 49.59 0.38

RURAL 44.60 0.43 50.21 0.43

NORTH WEST URBAN 47.74 0.37 50.49 0.38

RURAL 47.15 0.37 50.17 0.37

SOUTH EAST URBAN 54.20 0.36 50.38 0.42

RURAL 54.70 0.38 49.57 0.42

SOUTH SOUTH URBAN 52.04 0.39 50.07 0.43

RURAL 52.42 0.37 49.63 0.45

SOUTH WEST URBAN 53.03 0.31 49.79 0.36

RURAL 53.51 0.33 50.25 0.42

10.3 Achievement at State Level

Introduction

This section presents learners‟ achievement in essay and multiple choice at state level. The

group achievements in terms of gender (male and female), school location (urban and rural)

and type of school were also presented.

Achievement in Essay and Multiple Choice Test

The national average on the multiple choice test was 50.15. Ebonyi, Osun and Lagos topped

the chart on the mean scores in the multiple test (57.12, 56.12 and 56.72) respectively.

However, the states with the least mean scores include Gombe (38.69), Taraba (41.88) and

Benue (43.63). The national average for Essay test was 50.0. Twenty states and FCT

performed above the national average; top fliers among the states were Kogi (51.79), Katsina

(51.39 and Benue (51.34). Sixteen states performed below the national average. States that

were at the bottom of the achievement were Niger (48.40), Bauchi (48.45) and Nasarawa

(48.50).

162

Figure 10.8: Mean Score in Social Studies Essay and Multiple Choice Tests

Note:

i. Learners‟ score in Multiple Choice are out of the parentheses

ii. Learners‟ score in Essay are in parentheses

53(50)

44(50)

50(51

48(48)

54(49)

49(49

51(51)

57(50)

50(49)

56(50)

49(5

44(50)

45(50) 48(49

46(4

39(50)

42(49) 49(52) 54(50)

50(50)

55(51)

54(50)

50(5150(49)

46(49)

46(51)

47(51) 44(51)

54(50)

54(51 57(51)

52(49)

52(50)

57(50)

53(50)

44(51

54(49)

National Average

Score= 50(50)

163

10.3.2 Group Achievements across the States

Male learners from 15

states didn‟t score up to the national average

while female students

from 19 states failed to

reach the national

average. The national

average of male (49.90)

in comparison to that of

female (50.42) in Social

Studies multiple choice

test was lower. It was

further observed that the

state with the highest

achievement of male

learners in the multiple

choice test was Osun

(57.25) while the state

with the highest

achievement for female

learners was Ebonyi

(57.68). On the other

hand, the state with the

lowest achievement of

male learners was

Gombe state (38.74)

while the state with the

lowest achievement of

female learners was

Cross River state

(49.86).

Figure 10.9: Distribution of Mean Scores in Multiple Choice based on Gender

164

In Table 10.3, the average scores for the essay and multiple choice tests in Social Studies by

location are presented. National mean scores of learners in Urban and Rural schools in

multiple choice test are 49.97 and 50.21 respectively. On the other hand, the national average

scores for essay for urban and rural schools were 49.98 and 50.04 respectively. Thus learners

in rural schools performed better in both multiple choice and essay tests. Learners from rural

schools in twenty one states performed better in multiple choice test than those in urban

schools. In the same test, learners in urban and rural schools from seventeen states and the

FCT each performed above the national average. In the essay test, learners in urban schools

from eighteen states performed better than those from rural schools. Learners from urban

schools from twenty states performed above the national average while learners in rural

schools from sixteen states and FCT performed above the national average on the same essay

test.

Table 10.3: Distribution of Mean Scores in Multiple Choice and Essay Tests based on

Location

State




ABIA 52.84 0.76 51.58 0.93 49.34 0.95 47.55 1.04

ADAMA

WA

46.06 1.08 47.27 1.04 51.33 0.98 51.01 1.01

AKWA-

IBOM

50.17 0.81 50.36 0.69 50.19 1.10 48.64 0.91

ANAMB

RA

53.85 0.91 54.10 0.77 52.15 0.94 49.89 0.77

BAUCHI 46.33 0.89 46.59 0.91 48.28 0.97 48.62 1.10

BAYELS

A

49.66 1.05 = = 50.44 1.29 = =

BORNO 46.56 0.88 46.24 1.34 51.13 0.89 50.37 1.35

BENUE 43.63 1.70 = = 51.34 1.64 = =

CROSS

RIVER

50.06 1.05 50.68 0.89 49.42 1.08 50.04 0.94

DELTA 53.67 0.91 54.01 0.86 49.40 1.02 50.26 1.04

EBONYI 56.60 0.80 58.03 0.68 51.37 1.01 50.02 1.01

EDO 53.33 1.05 53.94 0.97 50.47 1.14 50.14 1.26

EKITI 52.16 0.77 52.50 0.72 50.05 0.88 49.75 0.87

ENUGU 53.11 0.79 55.54 0.76 48.94 0.86 48.86 0.90

GOMBE 39.36 0.67 38.06 0.72 49.97 0.90 51.00 0.85

IMO 55.01 0.75 54.17 0.96 50.67 0.90 51.52 0.97

JIGAWA 45.56 0.72 44.92 0.89 50.75 0.83 50.07 1.05

KADUN

A

45.29 1.03 44.10 0.74 50.84 1.06 50.23 0.74

KANO 49.82 1.43 48.34 1.34 50.85 1.35 49.74 1.24

KATSIN

A

49.69 0.96 49.48 0.96 51.62 0.98 51.20 0.93

KEBBI 53.32 0.96 53.44 1.02 49.74 1.19 50.12 1.17

KOGI 47.66 1.51 50.17 1.24 52.09 1.24 51.56 1.11

165

KWARA 53.13 0.79 53.11 0.92 48.85 0.89 50.12 1.10

LAGOS 56.73 0.66 56.70 0.73 50.30 0.82 49.99 1.00

NASAR

AWA

46.69 1.32 44.81 1.40 48.24 1.48 48.81 1.38

NIGER 48.00 1.01 48.58 0.98 47.62 1.23 49.03 1.12

OGUN 50.87 0.84 51.94 0.83 48.89 1.02 52.82 1.05

ONDO 52.65 0.63 51.49 1.96 49.35 0.74 54.21 2.14

OSUN 56.98 0.45 56.76 0.41 52.25 0.95 49.09 0.91

OYO 49.00 0.83 49.61 0.79 48.53 0.89 49.39 0.99

PLATEA

U

43.68 0.92 45.34 1.10 50.32 0.89 50.77 1.12

RIVERS 53.81 0.77 54.17 0.75 50.65 0.85 49.45 0.97

SOKOTO 43.86 1.00 43.84 0.93 50.91 0.94 49.76 0.96

TARAB

A

40.97 0.66 43.67 1.07 48.46 0.88 51.01 1.17

YOBE 47.70 0.95 47.73 0.98 49.03 0.98 49.34 0.97

ZAMFA

RA

49.67 0.75 49.77 0.91 49.14 0.92 49.85 1.01

FCT 56.68 1.25 55.49 1.43 48.31 1.25 52.97 1.25

NATION

AL

49.97 0.16 50.21 0.17 49.98 0.16 50.04 0.17

*Not applicable

166

People and the Environment

Figure 10.10: Achievement on the Theme People and the Environment

Learners in Ebonyi State had the

highest mean score 68.85. They

were followed by learners in Lagos

(67.81) and FCT (67.57).

Gombe and Taraba were at the

bottom with scores of 43.07 and

46.78 respectively.

167

Culture

Figure 10.11: Achievement on the Theme Culture

Learners in 19 States and FCT

scored above the national

average of 65.80

Ebonyi (75.61), Osun (74.59)

and FCT (74.19) topped the

chart in the theme culture.

Gombe (50.59), Taraba (54.20)

and Benue (57.48) had the least

achievement on the chart.

Overall achievement was Very

Good on the theme.

168

Social Issues Problem

Figure 10.12: Achievement on the Theme Social Issues and Problems

18 states and FCT scored above the

national average. Top achievers were

Osun (85.68), Ebonyi (84.75) and Lagos

(84.42).

The low performers were Gombe

(45.73), Taraba (53.19) and Sokoto

(56.73).

Achievement on the theme was

Excellent.

169

Science, Technology and Society

Figure 10.13: Achievement on the Theme Science, Technology and Society

17 states and FCT scored above the

national average. Top achieving states:

Ebonyi (84.54), followed by Lagos

(81.48) and Osun (81.21).

The least achievers were Gombe

(43.91), Taraba (50.96) and Benue

(52.58).

Achievement on the theme was

Excellent.

170

Communication

Figure 10.14: Achievement on the Theme Communication

17 states and FCT scored

above the national average.

Top are Ebonyi (74.90),

Osun (74.70) and FCT

(73.94).

The least score of 40.11 was

obtained by learners from

Gombe State.

Achievement on the theme

was Very Good.

171

Figure 10.15: Achievement on the Theme Family I and Family II

Learners in Osun State had

the highest score of (93.13)

they were followed by

learners in Lagos (92.95)

and Ebonyi (92.78).

19 States and FCT scored

above the National average

of 82.90 percent.

3. Learners in 34 states had

excellent scores on the

theme.

172

Figure 10.16: Achievement on the Theme School Community

Learners in Lagos State (76.58)

scored more items in this theme.

They were followed by learners in

Ebonyi (75.56) and Osun (75.16).

Learners in Oyo (59.91) and Akwa-

Ibom (58.41) scored close to the

national mean of 66.89.

Learners in Gombe State scored

least (34.20) in items relating to

school community. Benue and

Taraba were also close to the

bottom of the league table with

scores of 44.52 and 41.35

respectively.

173

Storage

Figure 10.17: Achievement on the Theme Storage

1. 16 States and FCT scored above the national average.

2. Learners in Ebonyi State had the highest mean score of 84.07. They were followed by

learners in Lagos (82.83) and Osun (82.78).

3. Learners in Gombe State had the least score of 49.19percent.

4. Achievement on the theme was Excellent.

174

National Economy

Figure 10.18: Achievement on the Theme National Economy

Learners in 16 states and FCT scored above the national average; mean score of 62.62percent.

They were followed by learners in Ebonyi (62.21percent) and Lagos (61.67percent). Gombe,

Taraba and Kaduna had the least scores of 27.82percent, 32.77 percent and 35.02percent

respectively.

175

Relational Analysis

This subsection explained the relationship between learners‟ contextual variables and achievement in Social Studies. It focused on how assistance with homework, available

learning facilities, occupation of mother and that of father, means of going to school, distance

from home to school, number of meals per day, possession of textbooks on Social Studies by

the learner, liking teacher and school affect achievement in Social Studies.

Home Assistance with Homework and Achievement

Assistance with homework in Social Studies was a composite of what was provided by

parents/guardians, home lesson teachers and siblings. The assistance was categorised into

three categories – low assistance, moderate assistance and high assistance after they had been

scored in a dichotomous way. The summary of the mean scores of learners as well as the

corresponding levels of assistance they received in their exercises in Social Studies is

presented in Figure 10.23. The figure shows the variation in achievement with amount of

assistance with homework provided to the learners. Nationally, substantial differences were

not noticed (50.1, 50.1 and 50 for low, moderate and high levels of assistance respectively).

Eighteen states performed above the national average for low assistance; seventeen states for

the moderate assistance and sixteen states for the high level of assistance. Among the top

performing states, were FCT (54.6, 52.1 and 53.7), Osun (54.2, 53.1 and 54.0) and Kebbi

(53.9, 51.3 and 51.2) while among the bottom performing states, Gombe (44.1, 44.4 and

45.0), Taraba (45.2, 47.1 and 44.1) and Sokoto (45.7, 47.7 and 46.9) in the order low

assistance, moderate assistance and high assistance with homework. The variation within

these states across the levels of assistance showed no large difference and therefore level of

assistance may not be important but the quality of assistance.

176

Figure 10.19: Homework Assistance as Related to Achievement in Social Studies

177

Availability of Learning Facilities and Achievement

Figure 10.20: Availability of Facilities as Related to Achievement in JS 3 Social Studies

Figure 10.24 shows the variation of

achievement with available learning

facilities. At the national level, differences in

achievement among the levels of available

facilities was not substantial (49.8, 49.9 and

50.5 for low, moderate and high levels

respectively). Learners from 21, 20 and 16

states performed above the national average

for low, moderate and high levels of

available facilities respectively. Among the

top performing states were; Anambra (60.3,

52.6 and 52.1), Lagos (55.7, 52.3 and 54.1)

and FCT (55.5, 53.7 and 52.5) while among

the low performing states were; Gombe

(43.6, 44.5 and 45.5), Plateau (44.8, 47.6 and

47.5) and Borno (45.1, 49.2 and 47.1)

performed in the order; low, moderate and

high levels. In all, available facilities cannot

be said to affect achievement. It is likely that

the use of the facilities is what actually

matters.

Low

Moderate

High

178

Non-Learning Engagement and Achievement

In Figure 10.25, the national average for low, moderate and high levels of non-learning

engagement were 50.1, 50.1 and 50 .0 respectively. Learners from 19, 17 and 20 states

performed above the national average for low, moderate and high levels of non-learning

engagement respectively. Among the top performing states: Osun (53.2, 53.8 and 53.6), Lagos

(53.0, 53.9 and 53.8) and Imo (53.0, 52.9 and 52.5) while at bottom were: Gombe (41.9, 45.1

and 44.4), Niger (42.7, 49.1 and 47.2) and Benue (46.0, 49.9 and 46.4) performed in the order

low, moderate and high levels of non-learning engagement.

Figure 10.21: Non-Learning Engagement as Related to Achievement in JS 3 Social

Studies

Low

Moderate

High

179

Occupation of Fathers and Achievement

Figure 10.22: Occupation of Fathers as Related to Achievement in Social Studies

In Figure 10.26, nationally, the

achievement of learners whose

fathers are in different occupations

was within a narrow range of 49.6 to

50.4. Learners from nineteen, twenty,

ten and six states performed above

the national average for fathers who

farm/fish, do business/trade, Work

(private/public) and ‘others’ respectively.

Farming

Business/Trading

Worker

Others

180

Occupation of Mothers of Learners as Related to Achievement

In Figure 10.27, learners whose mothers have occupations classified as others had the highest

achievement while those ones whose mothers are workers and farmers/fishers had the least

achievement. Learners whose mothers are into trading/business, workers (public/private),

farming/trading and „others‟ obtained national average of 50.4, 50.0, 50.0 and 50.6 respectively. Among the top performing states, Lagos (54.0, 53.6, 53.3 and 53.7), Ebonyi

(54.0, 53.3, 55.2 and 53.2) and Osun (53.1, 54.7, 52.9 and 54.6) while the low performing

states, Gombe: (44.4, 45.4, 44. 9 and 43.2), Nasarawa (46.7, 53.0, 47.7 and 48.0) and Plateau

(47.3, 48.9, 46.7 and 44.9) performed in the order farming/fishing, business/trading, worker

(public/private). Differences among the occupational groups do not seem to exist within states

were not significant. Therefore, it is not definitive as to which occupational group had the best

achievement.

Figure 10.23: Occupation of Mothers of Learners as Related to Achievement across

States

Farming

Business/Trading

Worker

Others

181

Transportation to School as Related to Achievement

In Table 10.4, the mean score of modes of transportation as related to achievement in Social

Studies are presented. The national averages were 50.09, 47.88, 48.06, 51.12, 50.24 and 50.16

for walking, donkey, canoe, okada/bicycle/tricycle, taxi/bus and family car respectively. The

number of states for which we have learners commuting to school by Donkey and Canoe were

quite few and they are therefore not considered in further discussion in this section. Learners

from 20, 17, 14 and 15 states performed above the national average for learners who go to

school by walking, okada/bicycle/tricycle, taxi/bus and family car respectively. Among the

top performers were Lagos (53.9, 52.87, 51.9 and 52.84), Ebonyi (53.7, 54.33, 58.04 and

52.84) and Osun (53.63, 53.67, 52.78 and 56.01) while among the low performers were

Gombe (44.85, 43.66, 45.58 and 43.75), Taraba (45.65, 46.48, 47.0 and 45.7) and Sokoto

(46.4, 47.79, 48.32 and 48.17) in the order walking, Okada/bicycle/tricycle, taxi/bus and

family car. An examination of the scores across the states did not reveal a definite direction of

influence.

Table 10. 4: Mode of Transportation as Related to Achievement

State Walking Donkey Canoe

Okada/

Bicycle/

Tricycle

Taxi/Bus Family Car

Mean SE Mean SE Mean SE Mean SE Mean SE Mean SE

ABIA 50.33 0.51 = = = = 50.28 2.11 51.42 1.41 49.49 3.40

ADAMAWA 49.18 0.54 = = = = 48.06 1.77 47.87 3.13 48.25 2.85

AKWA-

IBOM

49.84 0.49 = = = = 51.59 1.16 48.20 3.55 47.65 2.32

ANAMBRA 52.48 0.54 = = = = 52.40 1.37 50.83 1.15 53.63 1.51

BAUCHI 47.45 0.49 = = = = 48.42 2.88 45.30 2.37 49.11 4.52

BAYELSA 50.36 0.88 = = 54.88 1.98 52.30 2.49 * * 54.22 7.16

BORNO 48.41 0.57 = = = = 48.93 3.16 52.11 3.39 48.01 1.10

BENUE 47.48 2.26 = = = = * * 47.19 1.75 51.25 4.17

CROSS

RIVER

50.17 0.50 = = = = 49.95 2.32 48.45 2.13 51.09 2.16

DELTA 51.79 0.60 = = 58.20 0.00 50.08 2.62 48.20 3.05 53.72 1.30

EBONYI 53.70 0.46 52.55 0.00 = = 54.33 1.09 58.04 1.47 56.13 2.60

EDO 51.91 0.61 51.09 5.57 = = 51.41 2.19 * * 53.46 2.18

EKITI 51.07 0.48 = = = = 54.92 1.28 50.38 1.58 49.57 1.64

ENUGU 51.72 0.43 = = = = 52.01 1.14 53.31 2.05 49.55 1.07

GOMBE 44.85 0.46 = = 44.49 1.46 43.66 1.05 45.58 1.93 43.75 0.84

IMO 52.60 0.51 = = = = 52.62 1.83 51.68 1.98 56.85 1.91

JIGAWA 48.18 0.47 37.56 0.00 = = 45.19 1.39 48.28 2.41 47.50 2.04

KADUNA 47.53 0.51 = = 40.71 0.00 45.85 1.32 49.37 2.29 47.07 2.56

KANO 49.36 0.74 = = 44.49 0.00 50.41 1.74 54.59 3.29 * *

KATSINA 50.37 0.57 = = = = 51.40 1.63 49.07 2.19 54.08 4.38

KEBBI 51.45 0.62 = = = = 52.42 1.46 47.44 3.93 53.20 2.11

KOGI 51.02 0.74 = = = = 44.21 3.02 49.75 1.42 49.36 2.68

KWARA 51.45 0.47 = = = = 49.44 1.41 49.45 1.79 53.10 1.83

LAGOS 53.90 0.52 = = 55.27 2.49 52.87 0.82 51.90 1.23 52.84 1.80 NASARAWA 46.63 0.82 = = = = 48.44 2.78 * * 52.36 1.91

NIGER 48.41 0.64 41.20 4.91 = = 45.81 2.56 51.89 2.35 49.68 3.04

OGUN 51.17 0.56 = = = = 52.43 1.17 48.13 2.56 45.00 3.96

ONDO 51.10 0.52 = = = = 51.95 1.55 55.70 1.14 47.02 1.58

OSUN 53.63 0.39 = = = = 53.67 1.64 52.78 0.92 56.01 1.56

OYO 49.72 0.60 = = 54.07 0.00 44.90 1.52 48.14 1.33 49.99 0.94

PLATEAU 47.49 0.59 48.40 0.00 = = 51.66 1.40 46.29 2.22 46.90 1.99

RIVERS 51.99 0.47 = = = = 54.51 1.65 51.72 1.54 49.38 1.67

182

SOKOTO 46.40 0.57 = = 38.58 0.00 47.79 2.41 48.32 2.24 48.17 2.05

TARABA 45.65 0.50 = = = = 46.48 1.80 47.00 2.74 45.70 1.40

YOBE 48.52 0.55 = = = = 47.96 1.77 47.24 2.04 48.53 1.99

ZAMFARA 49.85 0.55 = = = = 49.74 1.42 49.78 0.45 42.80 1.95

FCT 53.46 1.01 = = = = 53.13 1.68 51.89 1.24 52.21 1.61

National 50.09 0.13 47.88 2.84 48.06 2.73 51.12 0.41 50.24 0.51 50.16 0.48

*Not applicable

Number of Meals per Day as Related to Achievement

The highest achievement in Figure 10.31 was obtained by learners who had three meals a day,

followed by those who had one meal and two meals. The lowest achievement was displayed

by learners who had four meals.

Figure 10.24: Number of Meals per Day as Related to Achievement at the National Level

In Figure 10.32, learners from 19, 18, 18 and 17 states performed above the national average

for learners who ate once, twice, thrice and four times a day. Among the top performing

states, Lagos (54.4, 53.0, 51.9 and 53.8), Osun (54.0, 53.6, 53.1 and 56.1) and FCT (53.9,

52.1, 50.8 and 52.7) while among the low performing states, Gombe (44.6, 44.5, 46.3 and

44.2), Taraba (45.7, 45.3, 46.1 and 45.2) and Plateau (47.1, 52.0, 48.4 and 45.7) exhibited

performance in the order once, twice, thrice and four times a day. The scores showed little

variation except in Plateau State where learners who had two meals per day out-performed

learners in other categories.

183

Figure 10.25: Number of Meals per Day as Related to Achievement for Learners across

States

One meal

Two meals

Three meals

Four meals

184

Possession of Textbooks as Related to Achievement

In Figure 10.33 the national average for learners with textbooks was 50.3 which was higher

than that for learners without textbooks (49.9). Among the states, learners without textbooks

from 20 states scored above their national average while learners with textbooks from 19

states performed above the national average for learners with textbooks. Though, in addition

to the little difference between Me National average for both categories, there were little

variations between states, suggesting a weak relationship between the possession of textbooks

and achievement in Social Studies.

Figure 10. 26: Availability of Recommended Textbooks as Related to Achievement

Non possession of textbook on Soci

Possession of textbook on Social Stu

185

Chapter Eleven

Major Findings Implications and Recommendations

In this chapter, the major findings are indicated, the implications articulated and

recommendations made. The findings are based on the results as presented in Chapters three

to ten.

11.1 Results

11.1.1 Chapter three

1. The dominant occupation for the fathers was working in public and private sectors, while

that of the mothers was business/trading.

2. Majority of the learners lived with their parent.

3. The modal number of children in the families was 4-6.

4. The predominant number of siblings participating in each of primary, secondary or tertiary

levels of education was 0- 3.

5. More than 60 percent of the learners ate three meals a day.

6. At least 80 percent of the learners had one pair of school uniform.

7. English studies had the largest number of learners that owned textbooks which was closely

followed by Mathematics.

8. More than 50 percent of learners spent 1 hour on homework daily.

9. Assistance with homework was provided by parents, siblings, paid tutors and guardians.

10. The most prevalent educational facilities in the homes were TV and radio; however video

and reading materials were available to at least 40 percent of the learners.

11. The distance between home and school for about 70 percent of the learners was less than 3

km.

12. Among the learners, 79 percent walk to school, while the remaining learners go to school

with other means of transportation.

13. The predominant co-curricular activities were games and sports, cooking, and farming.

11.1.2 Chapter four

1. More than 70 percent of the principals were aged between 50-59 years and more than 90

percent are married.

2. About 80 percent of principals had teaching qualification and were graduates with

teaching qualification.

3. There were more male teachers than female teachers.

4. Majority of the teachers were less than 50 years old and a majority of them were married.

5. More than 80 percent of the teachers were professionally qualified to teach in junior

secondary schools.

6. About 60 percent of the teachers had taught for between 1- 10 years.

7. More than 55 percent of principals had attended conferences/seminars/workshops within

the last 5 years.

8. The training programmes, most patronised by teachers were; teaching subject method,

classroom management and Guidance and Counselling.

9. About 50 percent of the principals documented disciplinary actions as part of school

records and about the same number of principals discussed the issues with the parents.

10. Between 40-50 percent of the principals had full freedom in making decisions about

specification of minimum requirements before learners can progress to the next level, and

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use of learners‟ achievement test. About 40percent of the principals indicated they have no

freedom at all in selection of topics for teaching.

11. Teachers had freedom to take decision on all issues and majorly on selection of

instructional materials, use of learners‟ achievement and amount of homework to be assigned.

12. More than 85 percent of the principals reported that they were satisfied with their jobs.

13. Audio visual materials (e.g. films or tapes) were used by less than 40 percent of the

teachers.

14. Teachers used objective tests, Open ended or essay type questions, Oral tests, Project

work or pupils‟ written reports and Homework handed in as part of assessment practices. 15. Identifying appropriate teaching activities, developing techniques for teaching in large

classes and overcoming difficulties encountered in providing excursions outside the

classroom were areas of need indicated by less than 40 percent of the teachers.

16. Subject teachers did not need help in almost all the instructional materials and evaluation

practices examined.

17. The pressing problems frequently encountered by the classroom teachers were lack of

instructional materials, learners‟ lack of interest in class/school, and lack of basic

infrastructure.

11.1.3 Chapter Five

1. More than 75 percent of the schools ran morning shift only.

2. More than 80 percent of teachers indicated that the learners lived within a radius of 3km

from the school and more than 75 percent were of the opinion that the learners walked to

school.

3. About 93 percent of the schools actually had PTAs; PTA met as the need arose in more

than 45percent of the schools and termly in more than 30 percent of the schools.

4. More than 75 percent of the parents had attended PTA meetings.

5. Assistance was rendered by more than 50 percent of the parents to schools in finance,

instructional materials, security, co-curricular activities and teachers‟ welfare while assistance with respect to buildings was very minimal.

6. More than 50 percent of teachers indicated that the relationship between schools and the

community was excellent.

7. About 70 percent of the principals indicated that the schools were fenced, while about

75percent indicated that security personnel were engaged.

8. About 70 percent of principals indicated that the school compound was „well defined, secured from encroachment and large enough for buildings, playgrounds and gardens‟.

9. Almost all of the states, with the exception of Bauchi, had more than 70 percent of

classrooms needed.

10. Facilities such as staff room, weather station, school garden/farm and lockable storage

space were not very adequate.

11. There was a great shortage of toilets of all types for the teachers and learners.

12. Teachers‟ Guide, syllabus and curriculum modules were not available in more than 40

percent of the schools.

13. All of the curriculum materials were assessed as adequate by less than 50 percent of the

principals.

14. Instructional materials mainly available in schools were textbooks.

15. The most predominant source of water was well water and borehole water

16. Facilities for football, handball and athletics were available in less than 40 percent of the

schools.

17. Less than 26.0 percent of the schools had the facilities for refuse disposal.

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11.1.4 Chapter Six

1. About 92 percent of the learners indicated that they are liked by their parents.

2. Mathematics and English Studies were the two most liked school subjects by the learners

while mathematics and Basic Science and Technology were two subjects also indicated as

not liked by (-percent).

3. About 93 percent of the learners indicated that they liked their teachers.

4. About 90 percent responded that they liked schooling.

5.

11.1.5 Chapter Seven (English Studies)

Results here are presented under two main headings, namely cognitive and relational.

11.1.5.1 Achievement

National Achievement 1. National average of learners‟ achievement in English Studies multiple choice test was

50.0 and 49.83 percent in the essay test.

2. The range (of transformed scores) of learners showed that more than half of them (52.8

percent), scored between 50-74 percent in the multiple choice test while 39.6percent

scored between 40-49percent.

3. The achievement in percentile showed that scores of 64.16 and 63.75 of the learners in

the essay and multiple choice tests respectively, were obtained by 90percent of learners

who took the tests; thus essay test was easier for the learners.

4. Group achievement of learners by gender was not significantly different in both the

multiple choice (male = 49.72; female = 50.30) and essay (male = 49.71; female = 49.96)

tests.

5. Similarly, group achievement by location was also not significantly different in both

multiple choice and essay tests between the urban and rural learners. Multiple choice test:

urban = 49.99 and rural =50.01; Essay test: urban = 49.70 and rural= 49.98.

6. Learners performed best in Reading (65.50 percent) with respect to content domains and

least in Grammatical Accuracy (48.10 percent).

7. Learners‟ achievement in the cognitive domain was highest in Comprehension (61.17

percent) and lowest in Knowledge (45.7 1 percent).

8. Analyses by geo-political zones revealed that learners

Scored lower than the national average of 49.83 in two zones [South West and

North West] and higher in four zones [South East, North East, North Central and

South South] in the essay test.

The three southern zones (South South, South West and South East) scored above

the national average of 50.0 in the multiple choice test and the three northern zones

(North East, North West and North Central) scored below the national average.

9. Group achievement in the geo-political zones by location showed that :

Achievement of the female learners in the essay test was better than that of male

learners in five zones of North Central, North East, South East, South South and

South West.

Similarly, the achievement of the female learners in the multiple choice test was

better than their male counterparts in four geo-political zones of North West, South

East, South South and South West.

10. Group achievement in the geo-political zones by location showed that :

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Learners in rural schools performed better in the essay test than their counterparts

in urban schools in four zones (North Central, North West, South East, and South

South), while there was near parity in the score of learners from the South West.

Similarly, Learners in rural schools performed better in the multiple choice test

than their counterparts in urban schools in four zones (North Central, North East,

North West, and South South), while the urban learners were better in two zones

(South East and South West).

State Level Achievement

11. In the Essay Test:

Male learners in 18 states scored above the national male average of 49.71 while

the female learners in 20 states and the FCT scored above the national female

average of 49.96.

Female learners in 22 states and the FCT performed better than their male

counterparts.

12. In the Multiple Choice Test:

Male learners in 18 states and the FCT performed better than the female learners

while the female learners performed better than their male counterparts in 18

states.

Male learners scored above the national average for males in 18 states while the

female learners scored above the national average for females in 19 states and the

FCT.

Achievement in the Content and Cognitive Domains

13. At the national level, learners performed above 50 percent in Reading. Learners from

South East, South West and South South had the highest achievement at 70 percent

and learners from North East and North West had the lowest achievement which was

below the national average in Reading. Learners from the southern geo-political zones

performed better than the learners from the northern geo-political zones in reading.

14. Achievement in Grammatical Accuracy was relatively low; however some geopolitical

zones performed a little above the national average. North West learners had the

lowest achievement of 36.78 percent which has an outstanding variance from the

national average, while South West learners had the highest achievement of 54 percent

which is higher than the national average of grammatical accuracy.

15. The national achievement of learners in writing was above 50percent, learners in

South East answered correctly about 67 percent of the items on writing which was the

highest among the geopolitical zones while learners from North East answered

correctly about 51percent of the items on writing which was below the national

average of writing.

16. However, literature was on the average, learners at the national level scored 50percent

in literature, the disparity among the geo-political zones are not far apart. South East

learners had the highest achievement of 58 percent followed by South West learners at

57 percent and North East learners had the least achievement at 39.9 percent followed

by North West learners at 44.1 percent in the literature items

11.1.5.2 Relational Analysis

1. There was no significant difference between learners with high assistance and low

assistance; however learners with low assistance performed higher.

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2. Learners who liked their teachers performed better in English language items than

learners who did not like their teachers.

3. Learners with high level of facilities and materials available to them scored higher than

those where facilities and materials were both low and moderately available.

4. Learners in 17 states that engaged in low out-of-school non-teaching activities scored

higher than learners that are of moderate and high out-of-school non-teaching

engagement. Learners in only 7 states had the least achievement in relations to out of

school non-teaching engagement.

5. Those with low out of school non-teaching engagement at the national level performed

best across the nation.

6. Learners whose mothers were business women/traders and private or public workers

performed better than other learners whose mothers were engaged in „other things‟ across the nation.

7. Learners who used taxi/bus as a means of transportation to school performed higher than

other learners in English Studies across the nation. However, learners that used

Okada/bicycle/tricycle as a means of transportation in 15 states (such as Anambra, Cross

River and Benue) performed better than learners that used other means of transportation

to school, while learners that used donkey and canoe as a means of transportation to

school were the least performers.

8. Learners in 10 states among which are Adamawa, Akwa-Ibom, and Benue whose

distance is less than 1kilometre from home to school scored high in the English Studies

while learners in 10 states among which are Borno, Ebonyi, and Ekiti whose distance

from home to school was more than 3kilometres scored high in the English Studies across

the nation.

9. Learners from 14 states, e.g. Bauchi, Delta, Edo, Imo and Kano who ate four times daily

performed better than other learners who ate less than four times daily.

10. Learners in 22 states such as Akwa-Ibom, Enugu, Yobe, etc who had English language

textbooks performed better than other learners.

11. Learners in 25 states such as Abia, Cross River, Borno, Ekiti and Lagos who liked

schooling scored higher in English test items than other learners.

11.1.6. Chapter Eight (Mathematics)

11.1.6.1. Achievement

National Level

1. The national average of learners‟ achievement in mathematics multiple choice test was 50.17 and 49.84 in the essay. This implied that learners performed better in the

multiple choice test than in the essay test.

2. The national range of transformed scores of learners showed that 63.10 percent and

43.50 percent of the learners scored 40-49 in the essay and objective tests respectively.

3. Learners who scored 65.1 and 65.4 on multiple choice and essay tests respectively

performed better than 90 percent of all learners who took the respective tests.

4. Male learners scored higher in the multiple choice test than the female learners but

female learners performed better in the essay test than the male learners, although the

differences were not substantial.

5. Group achievement of learners showed that learners in rural schools performed better

than those in urban schools in the two tests, although the differences were not very

large.

A. Geo-Political Level

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6. Group achievement of learners indicated that learners performed better in the Multiple

Choice Test in the political zones except in North East where learners performed better

in the Essay Test.

7. Learners in North West, South East and South West performed above the National

average (50.17) in the Multiple Choice Test, while Learners in North Central, North

West, South East and South West performed above the national average (49.84) in the

Essay Test.

8. Female learners performed better in essay test in four zones (North East, North West,

South South and South West), while male learners performed better in essay test in

only two Zones (North Central and North East).

9. Female learners in three Zones- North Central (50.58), North West (50.58) South

South (49.85) performed better in Multiple Choice Tests than the other Zones.

10. The achievement of learners in rural schools was better than that of learners in urban

schools except in North Central and North West in the Essay Test. Similarly, the rural

schools performed better than the urban schools in the Multiple Choice Test except in

North East and North West.

State Level

11. Learners in Akwa-Ibom state led the other states in Multiple Choice Test, while Benue

State led the other states in the mathematics essay test.

12. Kebbi state, with a mean score of 60.81, performed better than the other states and the

FCT in the Multiple Choice Test, while Ebonyi state, with a mean score of 51.73,

performed better in the Essay Test than other states and the FCT, although the

differences were not substantial.

13. Female learners performed better in both tests than their male counterparts with a

national average achievement of male and female learners at 50.09 and 50.29 for the

Multiple Choice and 49.80 and 49.89 for the Essay Test respectively.

14. Learners achieved more in items that required comprehension behavioural objective

(48.51 percent) than knowledge (45.51 percent) and higher order categories (40.97

percent).

15. Learners scored more on items in topics related to the theme algebraic process (50.46

percent) than in items covering the theme number and numeration (48.67 percent) and

basic operations (41.33 percent).


1. Moderate assistance with homework yielded a high level of achievement by learners

(48.20).

2. Increase in the availability of learning materials decreased achievement.

3. Learners with high level of out of school non-learning engagement (48.70) performed

better than learners with low and moderate level of out of school non-learning

engagement (48.30 and 47.60 respectively).

4. Learners whose fathers were into business/trading (48.40) performed better in

mathematics than those whose fathers worked in the private/public sector (48.20) and

learners whose fathers were farmers/fishermen (47.90).

5. Learners whose mothers were businesswomen/traders and working in other sectors

performed better (48.30) than learners whose mothers were in the public/private sector

(48.0) and learners whose mothers were farmers/fisherwomen (47.20).

6. Learners who came to school on taxi/bus performed better (48.40) than other means of

transportation.

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7. Learners who travelled more than 3km to school (48.30) performed better than others.

8. The learners who ate once a day (50.2) performed better than those who ate more than

once a day.

9. Learners who liked textbooks ((48.20) performed better than those who possessed

textbooks (48.10).

10. Learners who did not like their teachers (52.20) performed better than those who liked

their teachers (48.0).

11. Learners who did not like schooling (49.60) performed better than those who liked

school ((48.0).

11.1.7 Chapter Nine (Basic Science and Technology)

11.1.7.1: Achievement

National Level

1. The national range showed that 49.8 percent and 48.5 percent of learners scored 50-74

in the essay and multiple choice tests respectively.

2. Learners in rural schools performed better than the learners in urban schools in the two

tests, although the differences were not large.

Geo-Political Level

3. Male learners performed better than the female learners in the Essay Test in four geo-

political zones (North Central, North East, South South, and South West respectively),

while female learners performed better than the male learners in Multiple Choice Tests

in all the Geo-political Zones.

4. Learners in urban schools performed better than learners in rural schools in four Geo-

political Zones (North West, North East, South South, and South East) in both tests,

while male learners from two Zones (South West and North Central) performed better

than their female counterparts for both Essay and Multiple Choice Tests.

5. Learners performed better (52.58) in items relating to living and non-living things than

in the other themes of the content domains.

6. Learners from South East performed better than learners from other Geopolitical

Zones in all the themes while learners from North East had the lowest scores among

the Geopolitical Zones.

State Level

7. Learners in FCT performed better than the other states with a mean of 58.43.

8. Male learners in the FCT performed better in the multiple choice tests with a mean of

59.11 while female learners in Benue performed better in the essay with a mean score

of 54.03.

9. In the Multiple Choice Test, the highest mean score for the rural and urban schools

were from Lagos state and the FCT respectively, while the highest mean score for

essay is from AkwaIbom (52.49) for rural schools and Bauchi (50.49) for urban

schools in the Essay Test. On the other hand, Kwara state had the lowest mean score

(41.15) for rural schools and Ekiti (42.18) for the urban schools in the essay test.

10. Learners in urban schools performed better than learners in the rural schools.

11. Learners in Lagos state had the highest mean score in You and Your Environment

(63.69) and You and your Energy (37.37).

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12. Learners in the FCT recorded the highest mean score in the themes „Living and non-

Living Things‟ (64.76) and „Science and Development‟ (31.37).


1. Low level of assistance to learners with their homework yielded highest level of

achievement of 50.20.

2. Learners with high level of available learning materials (50.70) performed better than

others.

3. Learners with low level of after school non-learning engagement (50.0) had the

highest mean scores.

4. Learners whose fathers were workers in the public/private sector performed better than

learners whose fathers were businessmen/traders, farmers or fishermen.

5. Learners whose mothers were traders had better achievement than learners whose

mothers were either farmers/fisherwomen or work in the public/private sector.

6. Learners who go to school with donkey had a higher achievement than those with

other means of transportation.

7. Learners who walked more than 3km recorded higher score than others who walked

less than 3km to school.

8. Learners who ate four times daily performed better than learners who ate less than four

times daily.

9. Learners who had textbook performed better than learners with no textbook.

10. Learners who liked their teachers recorded higher achievement than those who did not

like their teachers.

11. The scores of learners who did not like schooling were higher than those who liked

schooling.

11.1.8 Chapter Ten (Social Studies)

11.1.8.1. Achievement

National Achievement

1. The national average of learners‟ achievement in the multiple choice test was 50.15

and 50.00 in the Essay Test.

2. At the 90th

percentile, the learners‟ achievement was higher in the essay test than in the multiple choice test.

3. Male learners performed better in the essay test than their female counterparts, but the

female learners scored higher in the multiple choice test than the male learners.

However, the differences were not substantial.

4. Learners in rural schools performed higher than those in urban schools in the two tests.

However, the differences in the achievement of learners in both setting were not

significant.

State Level

5. The achievement level of learners in multiple choice test was higher than their

achievement in essay test.

6. Ebonyi, Osun and Lagos States were on top of the achievement chart of States on the

mean scores in the multiple choice test.

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7. 16 States (Abia, Akwa-Ibom, Bauchi, Cross river, Delta, Ekiti, Enugu, Kebbi, Kwara,

Nasarawa, Niger, Ondo, Oyo, Taraba, Yobe, and Zamfara scored below the national

average in the Social studies essay test while 18 States (Adamawa, Borno, Benue,

Bauchi, Gombe, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kogi, Katsina, Kano, Nasarawa, Niger, Oyo,

Plateau, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe, and Zamfara) scored lower than the national average in

multiple choice test.

8. Learners from Osun State recorded the highest achievement in the multiple choice test

in urban schools while the highest achievement in rural schools was from Ebonyi

State.

9. Learners from Osun State also recorded the highest achievement in urban schools in

the essay test while the highest achievement in rural schools was from Ondo State.

10. Male learners from Gombe State and female learners from Cross River State, on the

other hand, had the lowest score in the multiple choice test; while learners from Niger

and Abia States recorded the lowest achievement for urban and rural schools.

Geo-Political Level

11. Learners from all Northern geo-political zones scored lower than the national mean,

while those from the Southern zones scored above the national average. Learners from

the South East zone had the highest average achievement (54.45), while learners in the

North East had the lowest average score in the social studies multiple choice test.

12. Four zones (North Central, North East, South South and South West) performed lower

than the national average score (50.0) while North West and South East scored above

the National mean. North West had the highest score of 50.27 in the essay test.

13. Male and female learners in all the Northern zones scored below the national average

in the Multiple Choice test, whereas, the male and female learners in the Southern

zones scored above the national average.

14. Female learners performed better than the male learners in all the zones except North

Central and North West, where the male learners performed better in the multiple

choice test.

15. In the essay test, female learners performed better than the male learners in the South

East and South west zones but male learners performed better in the remaining four

zones.

16. In the essay test, the achievement of the learners in public schools was better than that

of learners in private schools in North East, North West, South East and South West

zones.

17. The variation with respect to location was mainly in favour of rural location.

Cognitive Domain

18. Learners in Osun State scored higher on items relating to Social Issues and Problems

(85.68 percent), Family i and ii (93.19 percent) and National Economy (62.64 percent)

while learners in Ebonyi State scored higher on items in Science, Technology and

Societies (84.54 percent), People and Environment (75.61percent), Culture (75.61

percent) and Communication (74.90 percent).

19. The Southern zones had a mean score above the national average for all the themes

covered.

20. No northern zone recorded a mean score equivalent to or above the national mean

score for items under Knowledge, Comprehension and Higher order objective.

21. Learners performed better in higher order objective items than in knowledge and

comprehension.

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11.1.8.2: Relational Analysis

1. Learners who received low and moderate levels of assistance in home work performed

best followed by those who received high level of assistance.

2. Learners with high level of out-of-school non-learning engagements did not perform

better than those that had low and moderate levels of after-school non-learning

engagements.

3. Learners who had high level of available facilities scored higher than those with

moderate or low level of available facilities.

4. The learners whose fathers were public/private workers performed better than those

whose fathers belonged to the other occupations.

5. Learners whose mothers had occupations classified as „others‟ had the highest achievement above learners whose mothers belonged to the other categories of

occupation.

6. Learners who went to school by donkey performed more than learners who went to

school by walking.

7. Learners who trekked more than 3km scored higher than those who trekking less than

3km while those who trekked 1kilometre to 2kilometres had the least achievement.

8. The learners who had 3 meals daily performed better than those who had two or one

meals in a day.

9. Across the nation, the achievement of learners without textbooks was higher than that

of learners with textbooks, though the difference was not substantial.

11.2: Implications for Policy and Practice This section examines the implications of the results from this study with respect to policy and

practice.

1. The results with respect to number of meals taken by learners and its effect on

achievement are important; lack of good and nutritious meals could distract the learners‟ attention and hamper their retention during lessons, just as it can also make them lose

interest in the school, resulting into truancy. The existing policy on school feeding by the

Federal Government is a welcome development. However, as it does not cover all the

states in the country at the moment, the government should intensify its provision for the

school feeding programme across the states and ensure that the funds allocated for school

feeding are judiciously used. The state governments should also consider initiating their

own feeding programmes, especially in schools located in places that record low

enrolment or low-income areas. Parents should ensure that the children are well fed, as

this will facilitate their concentration in the school.

2. School uniform gives identity to the learners and ensures that they fit into the school

system. Thus, not wearing a decent set of uniform might portray the learners badly,

suggesting lack of affection from their parents and or poverty; and could possibly lead to

low self-esteem among such learners. The net consequence is loss of confidence and poor

achievement in the school subjects. Luckily, the results in this study show that a large

number of the learners have at least two pairs of uniform. To ensure that uniforms are

available to all learners, policies should be in place to support parents who cannot afford

to provide uniforms for their children. There could be regular provision of uniform at a

subsidised rate, especially in low-enrolment and low-income areas as well as encouraging

learners on graduation to donate their uniforms to the school for the use of those who

cannot afford to buy.

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3. From the report, more than 60 percent of the learners did not possess the required

textbooks. Possession of textbooks, especially in the core subjects, is the only way

learners could meaningfully participate in classroom activities. Any learners without the

required textbooks will, definitely not be able to effectively engage in homework given in

the school or study on their own. Though the results found in this study are mixed with

respect to effect of textbooks possession on achievement, effort should be made to make

available the requisite textbooks to all learners in the country. Policies can be enacted to

encourage experts in the different subject areas to publish relevant and affordable

textbooks. Such policy as where UBEC provides textbooks to states for distribution to

school should be sustained. The governments should equally promote the development of

the library system in the schools and within the communities, as this will greatly avail

learners whose parents cannot afford to buy all the textbooks access to the required ones.

Teachers should be encouraged to assist learners to develop note-taking skills in order to

fill in the gap created by shortage of the needed textbooks.

4. The availability of educational resources in the home for the use of the learners, in

addition to the facilities in school, can complement the effort of the teachers and greatly

enhance learners‟ academic achievement. These may include the computer, Internet access

anda good library. However, due to the earning capacity of majority of parents, not all

learners could have such valuable learning support resources in their homes. Simple and

functional educational resource centres could be developed in the communities for the use

of the learners, particularly those in rural and low-income areas through community

involvement.

5. More than 75 percent of the learners lived within a radius of 3km to the school. Thus the

current policy of sitting schools close to the learners‟ home appear to be implemented.

Though learners who travel more than 3km exhibited the best achievement in some cases,

the policy should be sustained because of the difficulties emergent from having to travel

long distances to the school. In this way, lateness and loss of effective participation in

lessons could be avoided. In states where there are organised mass transit buses that ply

the major roads, a workable system should be developed that specifically caters for the

learners during school hours as is the case in Edo State where learners in school uniform

are transported to and fro schools free of charge.

6. A large number of the learners indicated that they are liked by their parents. A warm

affection between parents and their children also translates into love, confidence, good

behaviour and positive achievements for the learners. This should be sustained through

encouraging local communities in particular to embrace their children and support them at

all times, as this will greatly promote their development and endanger learning

achievement. There should be a sustained effort to sensitise the parents using different

platforms, such as community organisations, the PTAs and the media both print and

electronics.

7. Co-curricular activities are very important to learners, because they help in their overall

development. Sporting centres in all neighbourhoods, especially in the urban areas, for the

use of the learners can go a long way in enhancing participation in extra-curricular

activities and get learners and youngsters engaged.

8. Existing teaching force and their principals are ageing. A replacement should be put in

place to minimise deficiencies that might arise with the loss of experienced teachers and

principals. In order to have meaningful improvement in teaching and learning in the

country, all subject teachers must be qualified teachers. The result from this study shows

that the country is not lacking in this regard. Requisite qualification and certification for

employment and promotion of all categories of teachers and principals should be the

guiding principle in their employment and promotion. A conscious mentoring policy for

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younger and newly employed teachers should be put in place so as to ensure that there is

no vacuum at any time in schools following the retirement of their teachers or principals.

9. Teachers need to regularly attend professional development programmes, in order to

update their knowledge and skills in order to keep abreast with the latest developments in

their different disciplines. One way to ensure and sustain the tempo for teachers‟ participation in their professional development is to compel them to become members of

their professional organisations. State Ministries of Education and the schools have the

duty to ensure compliance.

10. The most pressing problems the teachers often faced in the school were lack of

instructional materials and basic infrastructures. For others, it was lack of interest in

teaching. Low salary and poor services. It is very essential for these resources to be

available in schools and for authorities to continually monitor their utilization in addition

to improved salary and working condition for teachers. Governments should enforce the

policy of regular and periodic inspection of the schools and compel school leadership to

discuss reports submitted by the Quality Assurance officers, as well as take appropriate

action to address any lapses observed.

11. The most pressing problem the teachers encounter with the learners, as contained in the

survey report, was lateness to school. Others included truancy, absenteeism, lack of

interest in class and stealing. Parents have a key role to play. However, their regular

participation in P.T.A. meetings to discuss their issues and proffer solutions to them would

go a long way in improving the health of the institution and thereby creating a learner-

friendly environment to enhance achievement.

12. With respect to assessment, school heads must encourage their teachers to adopt the

assessment patterns that best suit their situations, while integrating proper implementation

of continuous assessment into their schools. Teacher development programmes should

also focus on the different assessment patterns available and adopt those that are best for

their learners. Managing learners is very important as it allows the teacher to use available

time for more constructive activities. School guidance and counselling programme should

be invigorated in order to provide effective guidance and counselling in schools.

13. Community support to schools is an age old tradition that should be encouraged at all

times, they support with finances, instructional materials, buildings, security, co-curricular

activities and even teachers‟ welfare. All parents and other well-meaning Nigerians should

be involved in contributing to the development of schools in the country.

14. Attitude of parents/guardians towards their children/wards is important and should be

encouraged to affection to them. They should equally be educated about the consequences

of neglecting their parental roles. Teachers should also be encouraged to portray good and

positive attitudes towards their learners. Teachers‟ use of humanistic and innovative teaching methods can encourage the learners to develop interest in every subject. This can

be easily achieved through their regular participation in teacher development programmes.

The development of a child friendly environment in all schools is imperative and this can

be achieved through the provision of secure in school environment, good compounds, and

toilets for both male and female learners and teachers.

15. Learners performing better on higher order objectives in some subjects could be an

indication that teachers are emphasising critical thinking skills in teaching. This is a

positive trend and should be encouraged. The fact that assistance with homework did not

provide the same trend across the different subject areas is worrisome. Consequently

attempt must be made to go beyond mere assistance to looking at the quality of the

assistance itself. Parents should be informed that only those who possess the requisite

knowledge base should render assistance to the wards.

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16. No matter the occupation of parents, school should evolve a strategy to inform and

encourage parents to constantly show interest in their children‟s education in interacting with them. Parental involvement may increase the children‟s achievement in English,

Mathematics, Basic Science and Technology and Social Studies as studies have shown.

11.3 Recommendations

Based on the results from this study, some recommendations are germane.

1. Uniforms should be provided for all learners because lack of it may have adverse

consequences on the learners‟ psyche and eventual performance. 2. Although learners that did not like schooling performed better than those that liked

schooling, there is need to address factors that are responsible for the lack of interest in

schooling, such as bullying, poor management of learners especially those with health

challenges, inadequate classrooms, lack of support or motivation from teachers, irregular

attendance to class by teachers, teachers not teaching well, among others. Infrastructural

facilities should be provided while the school environment should be made more learner-

friendly. Teacher-learner positive relationship should be encouraged and properly nurtured

as teacher‟s positive attitude and teaching pattern could enhance learning.

3. The findings revealed that learners who did not have textbooks, particularly Mathematics

and Social Studies, performed better than those who had. Though there is need to

investigate this further, the lack of textbooks and instructional materials could pose a

serious challenge to effective teaching and learning. This is a problem that should be given

serious consideration by stakeholders and government at all levels. It is therefore

recommended that learners should have textbooks in at least the core subjects.

4. Although the majority of teachers have participated in one form of staff development

programmes or the other, the gains of these programmes do not seem to have been

effectively utilised in the classroom going by the poor achievement of learners in

knowledge, higher order, grammatical accuracy and everyday statistics among others.

Thus, the content of the staff development programmes should be restructured to make

them more sensitive to the pedagogical skills needs of teachers at basic education level.

5. There is the urgent need for UBEC to ensure that the strategic plans for teachers‟ professional development submitted to her by the SUBEB are properly scrutinized to

ensure that they cover the identified areas of teachers‟ needs. Similarly, Nigerian

Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC), National Teachers Institute

(NTI), National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), and other agencies

responsible for teachers training and curriculum development should evolve means of

ensuring that this inadequacy is addressed.

6. The learners‟ relatively higher achievement in reading than grammar suggests that schools

need to pay greater attention to grammar than hitherto, considering the importance of

grammar in writing and speaking. Deliberate effort needs to be taken by the schools to

enhance the learning of grammar.

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7. The learners‟ lower achievement in higher order objectives which included the skills of

expressing themselves in writing and in speech suggests that schools also need to pay

more attention to the development of higher order skills.

8. The relationship between most of the contextual variables and learners‟ achievement was ambiguous, for example, the result on the relationship between the level of assistance with

homework and learners‟ achievement. What seemed to have mattered most was the quality

of assistance. There were little variations within states on the influence of the variables in

question. However, between states there were large differences. The purpose of relational

analysis was to examine how variables relate to achievement within the state. There is the

need for further investigations on some of these findings.

9. The finding showed that states performed lowest in the higher order objectives, whereby

learners had difficulty applying and creating solutions to Mathematical problems. This

deficiency could ultimately affect how they learn Mathematics and related science

subjects at secondary school level and even beyond.

national assessment of learning achievement in...

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