A comparative study of gender performance in the core subjects of the senior secondary school certificate examination (2001-2005)

Abstract

This project is based on the results of candidates who sat for the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (SSSCE) conducted by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC). The main objective of this project is to determine whether performance in SSSCE core subjects namely Core Mathematics, Integrated Science, English Language and Social Studies for the five-year period from 2001 to 2005 depended on sex. The data were obtained from the West African Examinations Council for this research. Preliminary analysis was conducted on the data using frequency tables, percentages and multiple bar charts. In order to establish concrete statistical evidence, the cM-square ( 2) test for independence was used and the results revealed that for the five-year period in all the four subjects, the males performed better than the females.