Entry and School-based Assessment Grades as Predictors of Senior School Certificate Examination Grades in Mathematics

The study investigated the extent to which students’ entry grades and scores from their school-based assessment grades (i.e., end of term and mock examination grades) can predict their senior school leaving certificate examination grades in core mathematics. The study employed the exploratory research design to investigate the predictive validity of students’ high school entry grades and their school-based assessment grades in determining their West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) grades. The study involved 989 students in a high school in the Eastern Region of Ghana who took the WASSCE in 2017, 2018 and 2019. A correlation analysis of the data revealed a significant positive and moderate relationship between the core mathematics school-based assessment grades of the students and their senior school leaving certificate examination grades. Also, a multiple regression analysis of the validity of the school-based assessment scores in predicting the students’ senior school certificate examination (SSCE) grades revealed that 44.1% of the total variance in students’ performance in the SSCE are accounted for by three school-based assessment variables (entry grade, end of term scores and mock examination scores) when combined