CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1       BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

            The Consistent of business failure of most secondary school leaves in May/June examinations conducted by Junior WAEC prompted the Federal Government to set up the panel to investigate the failure of students in the 2007 Junior Secondary Certificate examination (JSCE) of all the candidates who sat for the 2007 May/June JSCE, 84% failed (information on Nigeria Education, 2007). The impact of this on the candidates’ failure and the nation’s manpower development should be a cause for concern for the country’s leaders, stake holders in the education industry and the nation as a whole.

            However, different researchers have identified different factors adduced as being responsible for the consistent poor performance of students in Business Study. These include among others lack of proper digestion and utilization of research findings by Business Study teachers, Sex Stereotyping, transfer of poor attitudes of order students to the younger ones and poor self-concept towards Business study.

            The instructional/classroom characteristics, societal factors and school factors (Nwoji, 1999), teacher’s characteristics (Onocha and Okpala, 1985), anxiety, motivation, reasoning ability, problem solving skills and instructional strategy (Udousoro, 2000). From the foregoing, certain key factors emerge which seen to contribute more to the problem of poor achievement in Business study.

1.2       STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

            The essence of using test and other evaluation instruments during the instructional process is to guide, direct and monitor student’s learning And progress towards attainment of course objectives (Alonge 2004, Kolawole 2010). The Utilization of periodic testing in the teaching, learning process involve breaking up the subject matter content or course into smaller hierarchical units for instruction, specifying objectives for each units, designing and administration of validated periodic test, offering a group remediation in area where students are deficient before moving to another units and then administration of summative test on completion of all units.

            The breaking up of subject or course into small units make for adequate preparation for the test by the students. Moreover, such frequents testing enables the students to get more involved and committed to the teaching and learning process thereby enhancing performance.

            The periodic evaluation is useful to both the students (as a way of diagnosing students’ learning difficulties and the presentation of alternative remedial measure) and to the teacher (as means of locating the specific difficulties’ that the student are experiencing writhing subject matter content and forecasts summative evaluation result).

            According to Gronland and Linn (1990), periodic evaluation serves three specific uses namely;

        i.            To plan corrective action for over coming learning deficiencies

      ii.            To aid in motivating learners.

    iii.            To increase retention and transfer of learning.

According to them, students response to a periodic test could be analyses to reveal group and individual errors needing correction. Hence, periodic testing is a strategy designed to identify learners; learning difficulties with a view to providing remediation measure to enhance the performance of majority of students.

The operations of the school are legally defined and structured around inflexible units of time as a result of the examination system that operated. This corroborated the position and opened that the busy routine of teacher in the discharge of their deities does not permit the luxury of the ideal ones to one observation of the students.

1.3       PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

            The purpose of the study is to find out the interactive effect of periodic test and cognitive styles on students learning outcomes in Junior Secondary School. Basic science found that analytical students exposed to periodic test with remediation perform and significant higher in composite concept attainment at classification and formal level than global students. However, in a study carried out o continuous assessment as predictions of students grades Junior WAEC Basic Science. Oluwatayo (2007) reported that periodic test (continuous assessment scores) are weak predictors of excellent grades in Junior WAEC. On these, the researcher will draw a destination between the positive and negative impacts and further give suggestions that will help learners to gaudily explore the benefit of periodic test which avoiding misuse or reject of periodic test.

1.4       SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

            At the conclusion of this study, the researchers hope that it will have far-reaching importance for the learners and other members of the society at large. Some of the periodic help the student toward their academy.

            The result of investigation into the extent to which cognitive entry characteristics and periodic evaluation measured students academic performance among Senior Secondary undergraduates show that periodic evaluation has the highest predictive strength to academic achievement out of all variables that is, certificate worth. 

1.5       SCOPE OF THE STUDY

            Due to inadequate financial materials and limited time factor, the study will be limited to Abeokuta area of Ogun State.

            The study will cover only selected sample from Salawu Abiola Comprehensive High School, Osiele, Abeokuta. The only opinions and response from the selected sample will be considered this study.

1.6       CONCLUTION OF THE TERMS

            Common to all these studies is the fact that periodic test allows for a diagnoses of the learners? Learning difficulties. However, there are variation in the efficiency of the strategies are less applicable because of some obstacle inherent in mastery learning.

            The present study therefore is an attempt to investigate the effect of periodic test and gender on students achievement in Junior Secondary School Business Study.

1.7       RESEARCH QUESTION

            The following research questions are formulated to guide this study.

        i.            What are the effects of periodic test on students’ achievement?

      ii.            Why do the teacher prefer periodic test most?

    iii.            What are the benefits of periodic test on students?

    iv.            What are the problems associated with periodic test?

      v.            What are the issues to consider when engaging in periodic test?

    vi.            What are the impacts of periodic test on students?