Exploring the Incoming: a comparative academic achievement study of rpeparatory and reshman origin sophomore Students
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Date
2005-06
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Addis Ababa Universty
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to determine whether or not there exists a
significant difference in academic performance between preparatory origin
and freshman origin high and low achieving students who came together as
regular second year students of the Addis Ababa University (AAU) in the year
2003/ 2004, as measured by a) academic achievement b) pass rate c) dismissal
rate d) withdrawal rate and e) wastage rate with and without controlling
secondary school performance.
Each of these groups took different paths to the second year of the AAU: 423
preparatory origin students entered AAU second year after completing general
secondary education and also completing the first year equivalent preparatory
school courses, whereas 303 freshman origin students entered AAU second
year after completing high school and a freshman year at the university. The
study also aims to see whether or not there exists a statistically significant
difference, in academic achievement, between (a) faculties (b) female and male
students and c) different age groups.
The study showed that, regardless of the path they tool< to enter the AAU
second year, either through preparatory schools or through freshman
year at AAU, students in the high achieving group performed equally well
at the AAU in terms of:
+ First semester CPA
+ Second semester CPA
+ Cumulative CPA
+ Pass rate
+ Dismissal rate
+ Withdrawal rate, and
+ Wastage rate
However, some differences ·were observed in academic performance between
low achieving group of the preparatory origin and the freshman origin
students. "Low achiever" freshman origin students out-performed H/ow
achiever" preparatory origin students at AAU second year on the
following performance measures at p<. 01 level:
• First semester CPA (2.57 versus 2.77)
• Second semester CPA (2.53 versus 2. 79)
• Cumulative CPA (2.54 versus 2.23)
• Pass rate (78.08% versus 63.33%)
• Dismissal rate (8.22% versus 22.38%)
• Wastage rate (73.69% versus 24.76%)
In all the six faculties analyzed, no statistically significant difference was
observed between academic achievement, as measured by CPA, of preparatory
origin female students and freshman origin female students. Nevertheless,
freshman origin female students performed higher (statistically significant), as
a group, than preparatory origin female students in all the three measures
In seven out of nine faculties, preparatory origin male students performed
equally well as their freshman counter mates .In Faculties of Science and
Pharmacy, freshman origin male students performed higher (s tatistically
significant) than preparatory origin male students.
After categorizing students into three age groups: group 7, less or equal to 7 7
years; group 2, between 78 and 79 years inclusive; and group 3, 20 years or
above the two cohorts were compared. Only between age group 2 preparatory
and freshman origin students, a statistically significant difference , in favor of
freshman origin students, was observed.
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Education