Achievement test and academic performance in mathematics of second year high school students in the division of Zambales, Philippines

The study aimed to determine the performance of twelve thousand six hundred twenty-six(12,626) second year students of selected high schools in the Division of Zambales in the National, Regional and Division Achievement Tests in relation to academic performance in Mathematics during the school year 2005-2006 to 2009-2010.The descriptive research design was used in the documentary analysis of the National, Regional, and Division Achievement Test results, and the Academic Grades obtained from the Division Office of the Department of Education. Most of the students who took the test are young adolescent males. The mean academic performance in Mathematics during the school year 2005-2006 to 2009-1010 was 80.02 %, rated Fair. The students obtained Low Mastery (from 2005-2006 to 2008-2009) and Average Mastery (2009-2010) in the National Achievement Test (NAT). Average Mastery was obtained in the Regional Achievement Test (RAT) from school year 2005-2006 to 2009-2010. Average Mastery was also obtained in the Division Achievement Test (DAT) from school year 2007-2008 to 2009-2010. There was no significant difference in the NAT, RAT, and DAT results when grouped according to age and sex of students respectively. There was no significant relationship between academic performance and the NAT, RAT, and DAT results respectively. It is recommended that an assessment of students’ strengths and weakness in the different test areas should be conducted. The teachers should provide intensive and rigorous coaching to students with low academic performance in Mathematics before the National, Regional and Division Achievement Tests.   The teachers should attend seminar-workshops on the use of appropriate teaching methodologies in order to improve their teaching craftsmanship in Mathematics. The teachers should also collaborate with the parents to encourage students’ perseverance, determination, and dedicated practice in learning Mathematics. A parallel study with inclusion of different teaching styles and motivational techniques should be conducted to validate the findings of this study.