Comparative study of the performance in the core subjects by students who completed in 3 and 4 years in the 2013 WASSCE at Asuom Senior High School

Abstract

This study examined the possible relationship between the academic performance in the Core Subjects of the 3rd and 4th year students who sat for the 2013 WASSCE in Asuom Senior High School. The design used by the researcher for the study was a comparative research design which adopted the quantitative approach to analyse the data. The test results for the performance of students in Social Studies indicated that the number of years spent by a candidate in school has an association with the performance in the subject. Even though the test results for English Language, Mathematics and Integrated Science showed no association between number of years a candidate spent in school and the performance in these three subjects. The study results for gender also indicated that with the exception of English Language which saw a relatively better performance of both genders, the boys performed better than the girls in the rest of the core subjects. The test results for Social Studies indicated that there is an association between grade obtained and the gender of candidates. This was also true in Integrated Science and Mathematics where the boys’ performance was better than the girls. Meanwhile, the test results in English Language showed no association between boys and girls. In general, the performance of girls in English Language was better compared to the boys. Finally, on the residential status of students the study results indicated that there were no association between the students’ residential status and their performance in English Language and Social Studies, but there was an association between students’ residential status and their performance in Mathematics and Integrated Science with the boarders performing better than the day students. Implications from the results suggest a need to include gender sensitivity training for teachers, increased mathematics support for girls’ students.