Does the high school external examination grades and the type of high school attended impact the academic performance of freshmen university students?
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Date
2024-09-02
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STEM Education
Abstract
There is a general conception that high school academic performance and the type of
school a child attends would determine his/her academic success in the university. In this study, 135
freshmen engineering students were sampled at the Redeemer’s University, Osun State, Nigeria. The
study aimed to determine if the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and the type of
school attended impact on academic performance of students in the first year at the university. The
results showed that there is a significant relationship between UTME scores and the results of
engineering freshmen; that is, students who attended private secondary schools performed somewhat
better than students who went to public secondary schools. Also, statistical analyses showed that the
type of secondary school attended has a significant relationship with UTME scores in favor of
students who attended private secondary schools. This study recommends that the government of
Nigeria should make public secondary school more appealing to students who cannot afford private
secondary schools by putting measures in place to train and employ qualified teachers, and improve
teaching and learning conditions. The study aligns with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
4, to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education for all and lifelong learning.