ABSTRACT
This study seeks to investigate the relationship between continuous assessment (C.A.) scores and examination performance among students in J.S.S. in Plateau State. Five hundred and seven (507) students were randomly selected and tested from thirteen schools in nine of the thirteen Education Inspectorate Zones of Plateau State. Their C.A. scores for three years were computed and compared to test the following null hypotheses: i. there is no significant relationship between C.A. scores and examination scores in J.S.S. in Plateau State; ii. gender does not affect performance of students in art in junior secondary schools; iii. there is no significant differences in the C.A. performance of students in urban, semi urban and rural schools. Pearson Product Moment Correlation (P.P.M.R.) was used to test hypothesis 1. A correlation of 0.394 higher than the table value of 0.88 was obtained at 505 degrees of freedom. The probability level of significance was 0.05 (P<0.05), inferring that significant difference exists between C.A. scores and examinations. The hypothesis that there is no significant relationship between continuous assessment and examination scores is therefore rejected. To determine if gender affects performance t-test was used for comparison of the two variables. A t-value of 3,32 at 505 degrees of freedom was obtained while the table value was a.96 at same degree of freedom with probability level of significance of 0.05 (P<0.05). The hypothesis that gender does not affect performance in art in junior secondary schools is therefore rejected, implying that significant difference exist in gender performance with the males performing better. Analysis of variance was used to test hypothesis 3. The finding reveals significant differences in the students' mean performance according to location ranked as follows: urban 63,5769, semi urban 57,4032 and rural 50,7393, implying that location affects C.A. performance in the arts. The hypothesis is therefore rejected. These findings generated the following recommendations: i. Periodic research of this nature should be organized to identify C.A. problems to check cases of subjective assessment ii. Sufficient staff in quality and quantity should be employed to check excess work-load while adequate materials and work-space be provided to ensure uniform learning conditions in all schools.