The study evaluated the effects of laboratory and discussion methods on the performance and retention of Chemistry students in Senior Secondary Schools in Kaduna State, Nigeria. Six objectives were formulated for the study amongst which were to: determine the pre-test and post-test performance of Chemistry students taught using laboratory method in Senior Secondary Schools in Kaduna state, Nigeria, examine the pre-test and post-test performance of Chemistry students taught Chemistry using discussion method in Senior Secondary Schools in Kaduna state, Nigeria and compare the retention ability of Chemistry students exposed to laboratory, discussion and conventional methods in Senior Secondary Schools Kaduna state, Nigeria. In line with the objectives, six corresponding research questions and hypotheses were formulated for the study. Relevant literatures on the key variables of the study were reviewed. The study was carried out using quasi experimental design with the target population of eighteen thousand, one hundred and thirty eight (18,138) SSII Chemistry students and a sample of two hundred and seven (207) Chemistry students was arrived at using purposive sampling techniques. Data for the study was collected through the administration of pre-test, post-test and retention test using teacher made test tagged “Chemistry Students Performance and Retention Test (CSPART) and the instrument was validated by the researcher‟s supervisors, experts from the field of Chemistry and social science, test and measurement. The data collected were analyzed using statistical package for social science (SPSS) version 20. Demographic variables were analyzed using frequencies and percentages while mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions. Paired sample t-test, independent t-test and one way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to test the hypotheses advanced for the study at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study amongst others revealed that the post test performance of students taught Chemistry using laboratory method was significantly higher than their pretest scores (p-value 0.000<0.05), students taught Chemistry using discussion method performed significantly better in the posttest (p-value 0.010<0.05) also, the retention ability of students taught Chemistry using laboratory method was significantly better than those taught using discussion and conventional method (p-value 0.000<0.05). In view of the findings from the study, conclusion was drawn that laboratory method motivate students to actively participate in the learning activities rather than been passive listeners. Discussion method enabled students to discuss and share ideas with each other. It was also concluded that performance of students taught Chemistry using laboratory method was significantly better than those taught Chemistry using discussion and conventional method, similarly, the retention ability of students taught Chemistry using laboratory method was also better than those taught using discussion and conventional method. Based on these, it was recommended among others that the laboratory method of teaching should be emphasized in the teaching of chemistry ahead of other teaching methods for tangible results and teachers should be encouraged to actively involve students in relevant participatory laboratory activities since it has been found to improve performance in Chemistry.