Influence of COVID-19 pandemic on the mathematics performance of students in senior secondary school

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mathematical performance of high school students in the Obio-Akpor area of Rivers State. Analytical survey research design was applied in this investigation. 360 students were selected at random for the research. Information was collected with the use of the Promotional Mathematics Performance Score Sheet (PMPSS). To determine PMPSS's reliability coefficient, we used the test-retest method in conjunction with Pearson's Product Moment Correlation (PPMC). This investigation was guided by three hypotheses and six questions. The t-tests for paired and independent samples were used to test the hypotheses, and mean and standard deviation were calculated to answer all the study’s questions. Results revealed that students' mathematical performance was very high before the COVID-19 pandemic but dropped drastically during the pandemic and slightly improved after the pandemic. There was a significant difference in students' mathematical performance before and during the COVID-19 pandemic but there was no such difference in performance during and after the outbreak. In addition, there was no obvious difference in performance between the sexes during the pandemic. The study recommended among others that Mathematics teachers should work harder in instructional delivery and also employ diagnostic and remedial instructional strategy to improve the performance of students which has been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.