Bilkisu Musa Dauda
Abstract
This study investigated the effect of periodic testing on academic performance and retention in Economics among senior secondary school students in Gombe Education Zone, Gombe State, Nigeria. The study adopted a quasi-experimental design. A sample of 112 students was selected from a population of all 835 SS2 students offering Economics in six public senior secondary schools in Gombe Education Zone. The study involved experimental and control groups. The experimental group was assessed using periodic testing while the control group was exposed to the same concept using conventional testing method. Economics Performance Test (EPT) was the instrument used for data collection. The instrument was validated and had a reliability coefficient of .846. Hypotheses were tested using t-test at 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed that there was a significant effect of periodic testing on academic performance, and retention. The results also showed that male and female students in the experimental group differed significantly in their performance, and retention level. It was concluded that periodic testing significantly boosted academic performance and retention among secondary school students in Economics. It was therefore recommended among others that secondary school Economics teachers should employ periodic testing in teaching all concepts in Economics.