TREND ANALYSIS OF STUDENTS’ ACHIEVEMENT IN ECONOMICS AT WEST AFRICAN SENIOR SCHOOL CERTIFICATE EXAMINATION FROM 2013–2023 IN PLATEAU STATE, NIGERIA
Keywords:
trend analysis, students' achievement, Economics, Plateau State, gender, school locationAbstract
The study examined the trend of students’ achievement in Economics at the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) from 2013 to 2023 in Plateau State, Nigeria. The study employed an ex-post facto survey research design. The population comprised 133,057 students (91,698 urban, 26,124 rural, with 15,235 students in peri-urban transitional zones not classified into either category; 61,264 males, 56,558 females) from 52 public senior secondary schools in Plateau State who sat for Economics in the WASSCE between 2013 and 2023. The sample consisted of 23,101 students from 12 public senior secondary schools — 15,554 from urban areas and 7,547 from rural areas. The Proforma for WASSCE Economics Results (PROWASER), designed by the researcher, was used as the data collection instrument. Face validity yielded a logical validity index of 0.76, and Cronbach coefficient alpha reliability of 0.84 was obtained. Research questions were answered using time series analysis and percentages, while Chi-square tests of independence were employed to test three null hypotheses at a 0.05 significance level. Findings revealed that the trend of students' achievement in Economics at WASSCE from 2013–2023 was fluctuating in nature, with an overall average of 63.79% achieving credit passes (A1–C6). No significant difference was found in achievement based on gender or school location. Male students recorded a marginally higher average credit pass rate (66.71%) compared to females (64.85%), while urban schools (63.10%) outperformed rural schools (56.94%) by 6.16 percentage points. Recommendations were made to sustain instructional improvement, address gender policy, and provide incentives to attract teachers to rural schools. This study addresses a gap in state-level trend research on WASSCE Economics in Plateau State for the period 2013 to 2023, with specific attention to the roles of gender and school location.
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