Comparative Analysis of The Performance of Students in Mock Examination to The Final Examination in Directorate of Non-Nuc Funded Programs, University of Jos, Nigeria

Comparative Analysis of The Performance of Students in Mock Examination to The Final Examination in Directorate of Non-Nuc Funded Programs, University of Jos, Nigeria

Baklit Mukang (B.Sc, M.sc)
Directorate of NNUCFP, University of Jos

DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.47772/IJRISS.2023.7619

Received: 09 February 2023; Revised: 24 May 2023; Accepted: 27 May 2023; Published: 27 June 2023

ABSTRACT

The study compared the performances of students in mock examination against the final examination and  tried to establish if there is a relationship between student’s performances in both mock and the final IJMBE, in Directorate of Non-NUC Funded Programs, University of Jos, Nigeria. Using systematic random sampling technique and a sample size of 100, students were selected at random across four subject areas which include; Government, Chemistry, Christian Religious Studies (.C.R.S) and Economics. It was established that there was a difference in the performance of the students in the final IJMBE compared with their performance in the mock examination in terms of percentage pass. C.R.S recorded 68.00% pass in mock and 84.21% in the final exam, Government recorded 84.21% as against 82.00% in mock, Economics 61.11% as against 56.25% in mock, and Chemistry, 33.33% as against 18.52% in mock. It was also established through the Pearson Product Moment Correlation and t-test statistics that a relationship exists between student’s performance in mock examination and final IJMBE. Most of the students who passed the mock examination also passed the final IJMBE, while very few of them who failed the mock also passed the final IJMBE. Those who failed both the mock and final IJMBE were very few too. It however recommended that the practice of conducting the mock examination should be upheld and the questions for the mock examination be adequately moderated to ensure that they are up to the standard of final IJMB examination.

Key Words: Students, Examination, relationship, and Performance

BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

Education is seen as the bedrock for any meaningful development in a nation. This is because education is the tool through which innovations spring up to engender the necessary growth and development in a nation. Examinations although argued by some as not being the true test of knowledge, still remains a vital tool in assessing the performance of students and determining whether or not learning has taken place.

The Interim Joint Matriculation Board (IJMB) program was first established in the year 1970. It was established under status 5 of the Ahmadu Bello University law. Its function is to conduct the Interim Joint Matriculation Board Examination (IJMBE) for candidates who are seeking admission into undergraduate courses in Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and other institutions within the country (Nigeria), Cambridge A-level examination as well as the curriculum for 100-level in Nigerian Universities. Thus, the program affords prospective students the opportunity for direct entry (DE) into 200-level in any institution of their choice. The exam conducted is mainly for advanced level (A-level) subjects which include; Accounting, Arabic, Biology, Business management, Chemistry, Christian Religious Studies, Economics, Geography, Geology, Government, Hausa, History, Islamic Studies, Literature in English, Mathematics, Physics and Sociology. Notwithstanding, the program is also empowered to conduct examination on two O-level subjects (English and Mathematics) as an equivalent to West African Examination Council (WAEC) or

National Examination Council (NECO), which is applicable to students who have a deficiency in any of these subject and wish to use the IJMB platform to remedy their deficiency.

The examination is conducted annually under the supervision and control of the IJMB governing board, which has the Vice Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria as the Chairman of the Board. Since 1978, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has also played a role in the conduct of the examination by doubling as moderator of the questions and supervisor of the marking exercise, this it does through contracting the services of external moderators from various universities within the country (https://ijmbe.org, retrieved 20^th January, 2023).

Institutions that run the IJMB program (affiliate institutions) range from Colleges of Arts and Sciences which hitherto were created for the purpose of the IJMBE and Remedial studies, Polytechnics, Colleges of Education as well as Universities. These institutions are responsible for the provision of both physical infrastructure (labs and lecture halls) and human capital (lecturers) needed for preparing candidates for the examination under the approval and control of the IJMB Governing Board. As at present, there are over 80 affiliate institutions that run the IJMB Program cutting across different institutions mentioned earlier and spread across the different geo-political zones in the country.

Even though some scholars and educationists have argued over time that examinations are not often times the true test of knowledge, it still however remains a viable tool in determining whether a student has truly assimilated what he/she has been taught in the classroom and also if he/she is able to apply the knowledge and skill acquired to real life situations.

In a bid to protect the integrity of IJMBE and prevent it from suffering the same fate as its counterparts in other national examination bodies (question leakage), the secretariat of IJMB decided to adopt a different approach in the way questions are expected to be disseminated to respective centers during the conduct of examinations. The new approach entails questions to be sent directly from the IJMB secretariat to the Chief Supervisor assigned to a center through his email address minutes to the commencement of the paper on the said day of the paper. Only the Chief Supervisor can access the questions using a password made available to him by the headquarters to be able to print and produce the required copies of questions and together with his co-supervisors, distribute the question paper to students who are sitting for the paper. This is a laudable approach despite the fact that some hitches may be encountered in the process of the transmission of the question due to poor network; however it still would help to curtail cases of rising exam malpractices during the examination.

In order to ensure that the level of failure in the national examination is reduced to the barest minimum, respective centers (institutions) need to pay keen attention to the conduct of internal examinations in their respective schools. They should ensure that they examinations are handled according to expected guidelines and regulations of the IJMB. This if done, will give a pointer to what the student’s performance at the national examination could be, and also afford respective lecturers/tutors another opportunity to correct the errors they have observed in the student’s mock examination performance.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Failure in the final IJMB could arise owing to the fact that student’s have not been adequately prepared for the exams, They have not been taught or exposed to the nature of the questions to expect as well as the requirement of the marking scheme.

The mock examination or weeding examination as it is also referred to, is meant to prepare students in different institutions (centers) across the country for the final IJMB examination. The quality of such examination as well as the level of preparedness of students for

the final examination rests on the shoulders of both lecturers/tutors as well as the students themselves in the respective institutions.

It is therefore pertinent that the lecturers/tutors in respective institutions ensure that they cover the relevant topics expected of them by the syllabus as well as expose the students to the nature of the final IJMB examination questions through revisions using past IJMB question papers of different years.

From the side of the students, it is their duty to study hard and revise all they have been taught by their respective lecturers/tutors, in order to have a good outing in the final examination. They are expected to ask questions in areas where they feel they need more explanation or clarification as they prepare for their examinations.

Research Questions

1. What influence does the mock examination have on student’s performance in the final IJMB examination?
2. What relationship exists between students performance in both mock and final IJMB examination?
3. How can student’s performance in the final IJMB examination be improved or sustained?

Objectives of the study

1. To determine whether the outcome of student’s performance in the final IJMB examination is affected by their performance in the mock examination.
2. To find out if there is a relationship that exists between students performance in both the mock and final IJMB examinations.
3. To suggest ways in which student’s performance in final IJMB examination can be enhanced.

Research Hypotheses

H1: Student’s performance in mock examination is significantly affects their performance in the final IJMBE

H2: Student’s performance in the mock examination does not significantly affect their performance in the final IJMBE.

LITERATURE REVIEW

The West African Examination Council (WAEC) was established in 1952 to conduct public examination suitable to West Africa and award appropriate certifications. These examinations are conducted in the five Anglophone speaking countries in West Africa; Nigeria, Ghana, Gambia, Sierra Leone and Liberia. The National Examination Council (NECO) was established in 1999. Prior to this time, WAEC had been the only examining body at the secondary school level. It conducts Senior Secondary Certificate Examination both for internal and external candidates just as WAEC, the Junior Secondary Certificate examination (JSCE), for candidates in the Junior Secondary School (JSS 3). They also conduct the National Common Entrance examination (NCEE) for admissions into federal unity colleges within the country as well as Gifted Examination into Federal Academy Suleja. The Gifted Children Program was designed to carter for exceptionally talented children at the primary school level and assemble them together at the secondary school level in the same environment. It is for this reason that the Federal Government established a secondary school called Federal Government Academy in Suleja, Niger State. The National Business and Technical Education Board (NABTEB) was established in 1992 and saddled with the responsibility of conducting examinations and certifications of business and technical or vocational examinations. It also conducts common entrance to all unity schools in Nigeria just as NECO (Agbama Desmond, 2023). The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) was established in 1976 and its role is to administer examination for admissions into Nigerian universities (retrieved from https://exced.ucoz.com on 20^th January, 2023).

The Interim Joint Matriculation Board (IJMB) was established in 1978 and its duty is also to conduct examination and prepare candidates for direct entry (200-level) into any Nigerian university. Its activities are also supervised and regulated by JAMB Assessment is the process of gathering data to measure the degree of attainment of course goals. The techniques involved may vary depending on the course goals. Such techniques include; class test, quiz, assignment, oral test, term paper, oral presentation, case studies, lab report, practical and theory exams (Hemakurmar G. and Vijay D. Joshi, 2020). The mock examination is a form of assessment to evaluate student’s level of preparedness for the final IJMBE.

Testing is usually done in schools for the purpose of assessment or assigning grades to students in terms of abilities. It also enhances retrieval practice by aiding retention of retrieved information relative to no testing or even to restudying. Frequent testing of students tends to motivate them to study more and with regularity (Henry L. Roediger et al, 2011).

Olutola, A.T (2019) also identified certain importance of continuous assessment to include;

1. Determining student’s level of knowledge, skill and understanding when the subject or course is on-going.
2. It is used to diagnose students learning problems and difficulties.
3. It helps teachers to know the next instructional step to take when the course is on-going.
4. It assists the teachers to understand the level of mastery in a particular subject.
5. It increases student’s motivation towards a course or subject.
6. It helps teachers to guide student’s occupational choices.
7. It provides a feedback that identifies strengths and weaknesses of students and teacher teaching methods.

The mock examination taken by students prior to the final IJMB examination is aimed at exposing them to what to expect in the final examination.. Just as Olutola (2019) posited, it helps to diagnose students learning problems and difficulties. The examination will actually point out if the student’s actually understood a particular topic they were taught as will be shown by their responses towards questions regarding that topic in the examination.

Anna Svirina, Aleksey Lopatin and Jelena Titko (2021), in a study to check the correlation between the results of Russia’s unified state exam and performance at the university. Their study revealed that the performance of students in the state exam is in-efficient in predicting the scores of students at the university level. Using a sample size of about 4664 students and regression analysis, they were able to reach a conclusion that no relationship exists between student’s performance in the state unified exam and their performance at the university level.

The mock examination in this case is a locally conducted examination; this is because the respective institutions in different states of the country are in charge of the examination proceedings from start to finish without the interference of the national IJMB secretariat. Therefore the quality of the examination is affected only by internal factors. Though Anna Svirina et al (2021) already showed in their study that student’s performance in the state exam in Russia does not affect their performance in the university, this study aims to also try and establish whether or not the performance of student’s in the mock examination influences their performance in the national examination (final IJMB). It will try to establish also whether there is a correlation between student’s performance in the mock exam and their performance in the final IJMB examination. The two examinations though expected to be of the same standard are examined independently of each other, the mock is accessed internally while the final exam in assessed nationally by a team of examiners from different institutions across different states of the country.

A study tried to investigate the correlation between the academic performance of students in continuous assessment and the National Examinations Council in English language in Jos-South, Nigeria (Olutola A.T and Nini F.N, 2020). The study used simple random sampling technique to select 506 students who sat for English language in NECO 2016/2017 academic session in Jos-South. The findings of the study revealed that there is no significant correlation between continuous assessment in English language and English language in NECO. It also established that the performance of student’s in continuous assessment in English language cannot predict their performance in NECO English language. The study used the Pearson Product moment correlation statistic as well as t-test to test their hypothesis which states; student’s academic performance in continuous assessment (CA) and NECO English language examinations will not have significant correlation, of which they argument was upheld by the results obtained. Although Olutola A.T and Nini F.N (2020) study was carried out at the O-level (NECO), this study will also try to investigate if the performance of student’s in mock examination contributes or influences their performance in the final exam using the same statistical technique (Pearson Product moment correlation and T-test) but at the A-level (IJMB).

Falaye and Afolabi (2004), indicated that the performance of student’s in Junior School Certificate Examination (JSCE) in English language and mathematics have high capacity of predicting their performance in Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) English language and mathematics. This study will also try to see if student’s performance in internal examination (mock) can predict their performance in the final IJMB examination.

Examinations are considered important for students, teachers and schools. For the students, the result of the examination may determine their future educational, vocational or life opportunities. While for teachers and the school concerned, their reputation may be affected by the examination performance of their students (retrieved from https://web.worldbank.org on 20^th January, 2023). In order to minimize the failure rate in the final IJMBE in the directorate, it is very essential that the students are adequately prepared for the examination and one of the ways of preparing them is subjecting them to an examination equal in standard with the final exam (mock). The lesser the failure rate in the national exam, the more protected is the reputation of the institution.

METHODOLOGY

Data utilized for the study was derived directly from students examination records obtained from the examination office of the IJMB in the Directorate of NNUCFP, University of Jos. Secondary data was however obtained from articles and journals on education and examination. The IJMB Program ran by the directorate is made up of 5 departments which are; humanities, social sciences, arts, languages and sciences.

Systematic random sampling technique was used to select four subjects under four of the units which are; Government (Humanities), C.R.S (Arts), Economics (Social Sciences) and Chemistry (Sciences). These subject areas are considered to have high number of student subscription compared to other subjects in their respective departments. The languages department was left out because of very low student enrollment.

According to available record, there were about 315 students for sat for the final IJMBE in the 2020/2021 academic session. The actual names of student’s were not used in the study; the names used in the study were assigned at random concealing the true identity of the student. The record of student enrollment in the selected subject areas for the academic session under consideration is presented in table 1 below;

Table 1: Number of Student enrollment in the four selected subjects

Source: Field survey, 2023

A sample size of 100 students was adopted thus representing about 32% of the entire population (315). The figure 444 exceeds the total number of students who sat for the IJMBE in the 2020/2021 academic year. This is so because the IJMB program is based on combination which involves three A-level subjects. There are certain combinations that involve two of the subjects as such the students were counted twice. For instance there is a combination that includes Government and C.R.S as well other combinations that include Government and Economics. Systematic random sampling technique was then used in order to determine the number of students to be selected in each of the four subjects. The sample size selection was calculated as shown in Table 2 below.

Table 2: Sample Size Selection

Source: Field Survey, 2023

Data obtained for the study was presented in the form of text using Microsoft Word (MS Word) and presented in the form of tables and bar graphs using Microsoft Excel. Results were also presented using simple percentages.

The Pearson product moment correlation statistic test and t- test for two tails was used to test if indeed there is a correlation between student’s performance in internal examination as well as the final IJMBE.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Students performance in Internal Examination (Mock)

The mock examination is conducted to prepare students for the final IJMBE by exposing them to the standard nature of questions they are to expect in the final IJMBE. It is also conducted in order to stimulate reading in the students as they get closer to writing the final IJMBE, which is the reason for conducting the examination close to the commencement of the final IJMBE. The exam is also expected to point out areas of weakness in the students as they attempt the mock examination, the lecturer/tutor concerned is expected to address these weakness and shed more light as well as corrections in the period of revision prior to the commencement of the final IJMBE.

Students performance in Government

The record of student performance in government in the 2020/2021 session revealed the record presented in Table 3. Out of the 38 students who were sampled only 7 of them had and F, which has a grade point of 0, representing about 18% of the sampled population. Six other students had an E, which has a grade point of 1, thereby representing about 16% of the sampled population. Two students had a D, which has a grade point of 2, and represents only about 5% of the sampled population. Twelve students had a C, which has a grade point of 3, and they represent about 32% of the sampled population. Six others also had a B, which has a grade point of 4, representing about 16% of the sampled population again. The remaining five students had an A, which has a grade point of 5, and they represent about 13% of the sampled population. From the data presented  it can be seen that 31 students passed government with different grades and they represent about 82% of the sampled population, whilst only seven of them which represents about 18% failed government in the mock examination for the 2020/2021 academic session. There is always a bonus 1 point for students who pass all three subjects making the total possible obtainable points in the IJMBE 16.  For a student to be said to have performed averagely in an examination, is expected that such a student should have had a C across all his /her 3 A –level subject combination. At least 32% of the sampled population scored a C which represents the higher percentage of points obtained in comparison with the other passing grades of A,B, D and E.

Table 3: Students performance in Government

Source: Field Survey, 2023

Students performance in Christian religious Studies (C.R.S)

There were 19 students who were sampled and out of this figure, six of them had an F in the mock examination, constituting about 32% of the sampled population. Only one candidate had an E which represents about 5% of the population sampled. Three other students had a C, which represented about 16% of the population. Five of the students had a B, which represents about 26% of the sampled population. The remaining four students had an A and they represent about 21% of the sampled population. For C.R.S the grade that represented the greater percentage of pass is B which comprises of 26% of the sampled population. It can be observed that while in government, the higher percentage of pass was those who had a C, in C.R.S it seem to have moved to a higher grade which is a B. Suffice it to say that the performance in C.R.S in the mock examination was better than the performance in government in the 2020/2021 academic session.

Although in terms of the pass and failure percentages, C.R.S has a record of about 32% fail and 68% pass, compared to government which has a record of 82% pass and only 18% fail. However, in terms of the level of pass, the performance in C.R.S is better compared to that of government. Table 4 below shows the names of the students and the grade/points they obtained in C.R.S in the mock examination

Table 4: Students performance in C.R.S

Source: Field Survey, 2023

Students performance in Chemistry

It has been observed with dismay over the past few years that students performances in the sciences has been very poor. This might be due to several factors which could be investigated. However for the purpose of this study, it was observed that out of the 27 students sampled, only 5 of them comprising of about 18.52% of the study population, passed chemistry in the said academic session (2020/2021). The remaining about 81.48% (22 of them) failed chemistry. There was no student with an A or a B. Only a candidate got a C and he represents jus about 3.70% of the population, another candidate also got a D which represents 3.70% also. The remaining 3 got an E and they represent about 11.11%. The summary of their performance is presented in Table 5 below. Compared to the Arts and social sciences, the performance of students in the sciences can be described as woeful. An assumption for this high failure rate can be tied to student’s inability to defend their grades which they obtained in their O-Level (WAEC/NECO e.t.c). Possibly they wrote their O-level exams in centers where the malpractice was highly aided and abated. Nevertheless, students who were able to pass the mock examination are also likely to pass the final IJMBE as would be investigated in the course of the study. It goes to say that, those students who were able to pass chemistry at A-Level are possibly those who studied hard to pass their WAEC/NECO with their own effort. That is to say that the internal examination would help the teacher to identify knowledge gap in the students and also stimulate them to read as Henry et al (2011) identifies as benefits of testing. The internal examinations are like a wake-up call for students who might have performed badly in the examinations to tighten their belts and prepare better for the final IJMBE. It is also a measure of their strength and level of understanding as well as preparedness to sit for the final IJMBE.

A serious student is one that is always determined to excel no matter the odds; as such failure in the internal examination would not deter such student from working harder towards the final examination. Although, there might be a certain level of correlation which is yet to be established, that a student who passed the internal examinations is guaranteed of passing the final IJMBE.

Table 5: Students performance in Chemistry

Source: Field Survey, 2023

Students Performance in Economics

From the sampled respondents, 7 of them failed which accounts for about 43.75% of the sample population. There was no candidate who got an E. 5 students got a D, accounting for about 31.25%, 3 students a C, accounting for about 18.75%, no candidate with a B and only a candidate got an A, representing only 6.25% of the sampled population. The summary of the student’s performance is presented in Table 6 below. From the record obtained it reveals that about 56.25% of the sampled population passed economics in the internal examination. Nothing much can be said about this performance except  to place it side by side with their performance in the final IJMBE to see if there is a difference in the performance as well as a possible correlation in their performances.

Table 6: Students performance in Economics

Source: Field Survey, 2023.

4.2 Students Performance in Final IJMBE

Having looked at the performance of the students in the mock examination, let’s now look at their performances in the final examination, upon which we will later establish whether there is a relationship between their performances in the two examinations or the diagnostic evaluation (mock examination) helped in reducing the rate of failure in the final IJMBE.

4.2.1 Student’s performance in Government

The summary of the performance of students in the 2021 IJMBE final examination is presented in Table 7 below. From the data presented, it shows that only 6 students failed government, which accounts for about 15.79% of the sampled population. 4 of them had an E, accounting for about 10.53%, 5 of them had D’s, accounting for about 13.16%, 11 of them had C’s, accounting for about 28.95%, another 11 of them had B’s which accounted for about 28.95% also, while just a candidate had an A, and accounted for only about 2.63%. The total percentage pass in government in the final IJMBE is put at about 84.21%.

Table 7: Students performance in Government

Source: Field Survey, 2023

 Students Performance in C.R.S

In the final IJMBE examination for 2021, only 3 of the sampled  C.R.S students failed and they account for about 15.79%, another 3 of them had E’s and they represent about 15.79% also, 2 of them had a D and constituted 10.53%, 3 of them again had C’s, representing another 15.79%, 6 of them had B’s, which accounts for about 31.58%. The remaining 2 students had A’s and they accounted for another 10.53%. Therefore, the total percentage pass for C.R.S in the final examination is put at 84.21%. The summary of their performance is presented in Table 8 below.

Table 8: Students performance in C.R.S

Source: Field Survey, 2023

Students performance in Chemistry

For chemistry, only two candidates had a C in the final IJMBE of the sampled population, and they represented only about 7.41% of the sampled population. Another 2 also had D’s constituting about 7.41% also. 5 of them had E’s accounting for about 18.52%. 18 of them failed chemistry and they accounted for about 66.67%. There was no record of an A or a B. The overall performance of the sampled students in terms of passing is put at about 33.33%. The summary of the results is presented in Table 9 below.

Table 9: Students performance in Chemistry

Source: Field Survey, 2023.

Students Performance in Economics

There was no candidate who had an A, only 1 candidate had a B and tht accounted for about 6.25%, 3 of them had C’s accounting for about 18.75%, 2 of them had a D accounting for about 12.50%, 3 other students also got an E accounting for about 18.75% also. The remaining 7 students had an F and they constituted about 38.89%. The summary of the results is presented in Table 10 below. From the available data, it shows that the percentage of pass is put at about 61.11%

Table 10: Students performance in Economics

Source: Field Survey, 2023.

Comparison of students performance in both Mock and Final IJMBE

Government

In Figure 1 below, a visual comparison is made by placing student’s performance in the mock examination side by side with their performance in the final IJMBE. It can clearly be observed by looking at the bars. The distribution of grades as shown by the bars indicates that there were more B’s and D’s in the final IJMBE than there were in the mock examination in government. There was however a reduction in the failure as indicated by the F bar. The total percentage pass in the mock examination was put at about 81.58%, while the percentage pass in the final IJMBE is put at 84.21%.This record clearly shows that there is a slight improvement in student performance as no decline in percentage pass was recorded. In terms of individual student performance, 27 of the students who passed the mock examination also passed the final examination and they accounted for about 71.05% of the sample population, 5 of them who failed the mock examination but passed the final IJMBE and they accounted for 10.53%, 4 of them who passed the mock examination but failed the final IJMBE and they accounted for 10.53%, 3 of them who failed the mock examination also failed the final examination, and they accounted for 7.89%. It there goes to say that the mock examination really served as a diagnostic evaluation as Olutayo A.T (2019) put it that assessments are meant to correct weakness and diagnose students learning problems and difficulties. This can be said because of the students who failed the mock examination (5) but passed the final IJMBE. The tempo to some extent moving toward the final examination was  good in the sense that 27 of the students (71.05%), passed their final examination.

Figure 1: Grades obtained by the students in Government in both Examinations.

Source: Field Survey, 2023

C.R.S

The performance of students in C.R.S in the final IJMBE shows a slight improvement also from their performance in the mock examination. This can be observed as shown by Figure 2 below.

Figure 2: Grades obtained by the students in C.R.S in both Examinations

Source: Field Survey, 2023

The total percentage pass for C.R.S in the mock examination was about 68.00% while it rose to 84.21% in the final IJMBE, this gives an increase of about 16.21%. Although there was a reduction in the number of students who had A’s, from 4 candidates in the mock examination to 2 candidates in the final IJMBE, there was a 50% decline in the number of students who had an F, from 6 in the mock examination to 3 in the final IJMBE. The percentage of those who had a C remained unchanged as can be observed in figure 2 above. There was also an increase in the number of candidates with E’s, from 1 candidate in mock to 3 candidates in the final IJMBE. There was no record of a D in the mock examination; however, 2 candidates had D’s in the final IJMBE. The number of students who passed the mock examination and also the final IJMBE is 12, and they account for about 63.16%, 4 of them failed the mock examination but passed the final examination and they account for about 21.05%, 1 candidate passed the mock examination but failed the final IJMBE and he accounted for about 5.26%, while the remaining 2 students failed the mock examination and also failed the final examination and they represent about 10.53%.

Chemistry

As established earlier that the performance of science students in both internal and external examinations has been dismal, the study reveals a slight improvement in student’s performance in the final IJMBE as against their performance in the mock examination. In the mock examination, there was a record of just about 18.52% pass, while in the final IJMBE; it rose to about 33.33%. Figure 3 below shows clearly the improvement in student’s performance as indicated by the bars. Only 3 of the candidates passed chemistry in both mock and final IJMBE and they represent about 11.11%, 4 of them failed chemistry in the mock examination but passed in the final IJMBE and they represent about 14.81%, 2 of them passed in the mock examination but failed in the final IJMBE, accounting for about 7.41%. The remaining 18 of them failed chemistry in both mock and the final IJMBE and they constitute about 66.67% of the sampled respondents. There were no candidates with an A or B in both examinations, the number of those with a C rose from just a candidate to 2 candidates, the number of E’s also rose from 3 to 5 candidates and the record of F’s dropped from 22 in the mock examination to 18 in the final IJMBE.

Figure 3: Grades obtained by the students in Chemistry in both Examinations

Source: Field Survey, 2023.

Economics

Surprisingly, from the sample of students selected in economics, the number of failure and number of those who had C’s in both examinations remained the same. There were 7 of them who failed the mock examination, and the same number (7) also failed the final IJMBE accounting for about 43.75%. The 3 of them who passed with a C in both mock and final IJMBE constitute about 18.75%. While there was no record of an E in the mock examination, about 3 students had an E in the final IJMBE and they constitute about 18.75% also, the same goes for B of which there was no record of in the mock examination, however, a candidate was able to get a B in the final IJMBE and accounted for only about 6.25%. The number of students with D’s declined from 5 in the mock examination to 2 in the final examination, and there was no record of an A, although one candidate had an A in the mock examination. Those who passed economics both in the mock and final examination were 9 in number and they constitute about 56.25%,  There was no candidate who passed the mock examination but failed the final examination, and no such candidate who failed the mock but passed the final IJMBE. Those who failed both the mock and the final IJMBE are 7 in number and they represent about 43.75% of the sampled population. In summary, the general performance in economics in both the mock and final examination rose from 56.25% in the mock to about 61.11% in the final IJMBE. The summary of the grades obtained by the students in both examinations in presented in Figure4 below.

Figure 4: Grades Obtained by the Students in Economics in both Examinations

Source: Field Survey, 2023

Relationship between Students Performance in Both Examinations

The Pearson Product Moments Correlation statistic, using Microsoft Excel, and t-test for two tail was used to test whether there is a relationship between student’s performance in both mock examination and the final IJMBE. Just 20 students out of the sampled 100 were selected at random with 5 students drawn from each subject to test the hypothesis

Table 11: Pearson Product moment statistic test

Source: Field Survey, 2023

Mock examination was used as the dependent variable while the final IJMBE was used as the independent variable. That is to say that passing final IJMBE is dependent on a student passing his/her mock examination, and passing the final IJMBE is independent on whether or not a student passed the subject in his/her mock examination.

The correlation coefficient (r), of Pearson Product moment returned a value of; r = 0.6445. This value indicates some form of correlation, as a correlation coefficient ranges from  0 to 1, between 0 to 5 is a weak correlation and 1 is a perfect correlation.

Using a significance level of 0.005, the t-test was carried out using the t-test formula for correlation statistic given by;

t = r-1/√1-r² and Degree of freedom (DF) = n-2 = 20 -2 = 18

Where; r is the Pearson Product moment correlation coefficient

               1 and 2are constants and

               n is the number of observations

Substituting into the t-test formula we have;

t   =        1- 0.6445/√1- (0.6445)²

     =            0.3555/√1- (0.4154)

   =         0.3555/√0.5846

   =         0.3555/0.7646

   =         0.4649

Tabular-T under degree of freedom 18 has a value of 2.88, and since the calculated-T is less than the tabulated-T, we accept the null hypothesis and conclude that there is a significant relationship between student’s performance in mock examination and final IJMB examination.

It can therefore be concluded that a relationship exist between student performance in mock examination and their performance in final IJMBE.

DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS

The findings of the study reveal that there is a significant relationship between student’s performance in the internal exam (mock) and their performance in the final IJMB examination. This however does not seem to agree with Afolabi A.T and Nini F.N (2020) whose study indicated that there was no correlation between student’s performance in continuous assessment and their performance in a national examination (NECO) in English language. The mock examination is an internal assessment in this case aimed at preparing students for the national examination (final IJMB), and was seen to have an effect on the performance of student’s in the final exam.

Nevertheless, the performance of the students in the mock examination can help in predicting the performance of students in the final examination. This is because most of the student’s who passed the mock examination also passed the final examination and a few of them who failed the mock examination also failed the final examination, only very few of them failed the mock examination but passed the final examination. This however agrees with Falaye and Afolabi (2004) who posited that performance of students in JSCE can help in predicting their performance in SSCE.

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

The study tried to investigate whether or not there is a correlation between student’s performance in mock examination and their performance in final IJMB examination in the Directorate of Non-NUC Funded program, University of Jos, Plateau State.  It was able to come to a conclusion that indeed some form of relationship exists between the performances of students in both examinations.

The study was also able to come to the conclusion that student’s performance in mock examination is indeed an indicator of their performance in the final exam.

Recommendations

I would therefore wish to recommend the following:

1. The practice of conducting the mock examination/weeding examination should be upheld.
2. Adequate preparation towards the mock examination should be made by the management of respective institutions (IJMB Centers), in terms of providing the necessary examinations materials needed for the production of questions as well as finances to cover for other logistics.
3. The mock examination questions should be properly moderated by the examination committee in order to ensure that they conform to the standard nature of final IJMB questions.
4. Revision classes should be held with students after the mock examinations to address areas of weakness or difficulties that were spotted in the mock examination.

REFERENCES

1. Agbama Desmond (2023): History of Examinations in Nigeria.
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3. Excellence and Education Network, Examination Boards in Nigeria, Retrieved from https://exced.ucoz.com/index/examination_boards_in_nigeria, on 20^th January, 2023
4. Falaye, B.A and Afolabi, ERI (2004): Predictive validity of Osun state Junior Secondary Certificate Examination. Electronic Journal of Research in Educational psychology, vol 3, no.1 pp. 131-144.
5. Hemakurmar G, Vijay D. Joshi (2021): A Review on Examinations Reforms in New Education Policy-2020, NOESIS International Scientific Research Journal, Volume 1, Issue 1.
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9. Olutola A.T (2019), ‘Continuous Assessment as a strategy for enhancing Teaching and Learning in Schools in AD Kankai, OL Badaki and MU Sanda (eds), A Guide to Teaching Practice, pp, 264-274. Ndahi Printing and Publishing Company Nigeria, Kaduna
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