TRENDS ANALYSES OF STUDENTS' MATHEMATICS PERFORMANCE IN WEST AFRICAN SENIOR SECONDARY CERTIFICATE EXAMINATION FROM 2004 TO 2013: IMPLICATION FOR NIGERIA'S VISION 20:2020

Abstract

This study analyzed trends of Students’ mathematics performance in May/June West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (WASSCE) in Nasarawa State, Nigeria from 2004 to 2013. The main objectives were to investigate the pattern of students’ performance for ten (10) years (2004 to 2013) in Nasarawa State, and to infer the implication of the observed and predicted mathematics performance on Nigeria’s vision of 20:2020. The study used secondary data. The WASSCE mathematics results of 302, 225 Students who sat for May/June WASSCE from 2004-2013 were collected from the Education Resource Centre, Ministry of Education Lafia and used for the study. The study mainly employed AutoRegressive (AR) time series analysis. The study revealed that: (i) performance pattern was unstable over time, (ii) the observed and predicted performance rates indicated that less than 50% of the candidates passed at credit level over the reviewed period. The study discovered that mathematics performance in Nasarawa State has been persistently poor over the years reviewed similar to what has been reported for the whole nation and could continue from 2014 to 2020 based on the forecast. It further observed that the Nigeria vision 20:2020 might not be realized as planned unless urgent steps are taken to improve performance in mathematics. This is because mathematics serves critical role in the development of human capital in Science, Technology, Engineering and other key sectors of the economy. Based on the findings, the study recommended among others, that policy makers should review the existing mathematics curriculum and enforce its implementation.