Comparative Analysis of Students’ Performance in English Language and Mathematics in Public and Private Junior Secondary Schools in Edo State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study focused on Comparative Analysis of Students’ Performance in English Language and Mathematics in Public and Private Junior Secondary Schools in Edo State, Nigeria to provide empirical evidence for a field persistently crowded by qualitative descriptive research. The objectives of the study are to examine the level of academic achievement of junior secondary schools in English and Mathematics, investigate whether statistically significant differences exist between public and private junior secondary schools in English and Mathematics, and examine if there is a significant difference between public and private junior secondary school students in Mathematics in the overall academic achievement in the  2024/2025 JSCE in Edo State. The study deployed an ex post facto (comparative) design for a population of 496 schools, a sample size of 300 (162 public and 138 private) and 12, 614 students to examine school-level aggregate achievement scores. The statistical analysis (descriptive statistics, Welch’s Independent Samples t-test and Cohen’s d, Ordinary Least Squares regression) was conducted to derive results for the study. Private schools significantly outperformed public schools in English Language (Cohen's d = 0.82) and Mathematics (Cohen's d = 0.47) at p   < .001. School ownership provided a significant moderate predictor of academic performance, accounting for only variation in (English = 14.5%, Mathematics = 5.6%, Overall = 11.5%). The regression result obviously indicatesthat other factors outside of school type largely influence junior secondary school academic performance. The study concluded that other factors (including supervision, instructional time, institutional quality and accountability) provide differences in efficiency as explored by the education production functions. The study recommended improving training and supervision, enhancing teaching quality, and institutional quality as focal points for addressing improving learning outcomes in English Language and Mathematics.