Academic Performance Measure

In educational institutions, success is measured by academic performance, or how well a student meets standards set out by the institution itself. Performance is very important in human life and every society has its own goals and aspiration. Students’ success or failure in the school therefore presents a relatively defined criterion of performance. Educational institutions are the areas in which all students are prepared to compete. Performance refers to the attainment of the students in the classroom activities as well as in extra curriculum activities in the school. Campell and Mande (1990) defined performance as the knowledge obtained and skills developed in the school, which is often depicted by test scores. That is, the mark earned by

The reasons for this cannot be farfetched; it provides the singular index of intellectual ability and aptitude on every individual. Gbadura (2010) opined that academic performance serve as the only clear cut measure of student success and adequacy for a life career. Similarly, Hess (1998) emphasised that high and low performance is when a learner does well or poorly in a presented task. It may be said that obtaining scores in an examination best describes what performance is all about: Who stated that examinations are the most useful yard stick in assessing students’ knowledge? She further stated that when the result is good or bad, it serves as guide for deciding who gets promoted to the next class, demoted to a lower class, or who finally gets what job after graduation. This is a pointer to the fact that the issue of performance to learners cannot be under-estimated. Ojo (1997) stated that students’ performance is a measure of how well they have mastered the learning task presented to them. It covers the way they handle controversial issues, pass relevant judgment and the level at which they pass

The recent fall in academic performance of students is a great concern to parents, teachers, government, society, communities, counsellors and administrators. Excellent academic performance is seen as a powerful instrument for the enhancement of growth and development. High or low standard of education in any system can influence high or low academic performance of the recipients of the education (Linder, 2002). Some researchers have attributed this low academic performance to low students’ ability, poor attitude, lack of capacity, interest or low motivation and emotional state of students (Ipaye, 1985; Asonibare, 1985).

Bearing the above in mind, students’ academic performance in school is therefore the main focus in educational institutions. Senior Secondary school certificate examination (SSSCE) results of Nigeria students are used as measures of academic performance because it is a standardised type of summative