Assessment of Senior Secondary School Students’ Comprehension and Retention of Economics Texts in Offa Nigeria

Abstract

The ability of students to learn, comprehend and retain texts varies according to several factors. Studies have indicated that this is partly due to students’ lack of knowledge of the contents of the texts. Evidence abounds in literature indicating that students performed poorly in the comprehension aspect of English language. Therefore, this study assessed the senior secondary school students’ comprehension and retention of Economics texts in Offa, Kwara State, Nigeria. The objectives of this study were to assess: (i) the general level of senior secondary school students’ comprehension and retention of Economics texts (ii) the difference in the senior secondary school students’ comprehension and retention of Economics texts based on gender, subjects offered and school proprietorship. The researcher employed descriptive research of the survey type for the study. The sample consisted of 320 SS II students from eight (8) selected schools in Offa. The instrument used for the study was a researcher–designed questionnaire on Test of Comprehension of Economics Texts (TCET). The instrument yielded a test-retest reliability value of 0.76 using Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation procedure. The data collected were analysed using the percentage, independent sample t-test, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Duncan Post-Hoc test to locate the direction of the observed differences. Findings of the study showed that: (i) the level of comprehension of Economics texts by senior secondary school students in Offa was high while their retention was average; (ii) there was no significant difference in the comprehension of Economics texts by senior secondary school students in Offa based on gender; (iii) there was a significant difference in the retention of Economics texts by senior secondary school students in Offa based on subjects offered and based on school proprietorship in favour of private schools. The study concluded that students had a fairly high level of comprehension of Economics texts and average retention level. Gender had no influence on students’ comprehension of Economics texts, while subjects offered, and school proprietorship influenced students’ comprehension and retention of Economics texts. It was recommended among others, that English and Economics teachers should collaborate in devising better innovative methodologies that can help the students comprehend the content learnt effectively.