AN EVALUATION OF CLASS SIZE AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN BIOLOGY

ABSTRACT: The study looked at the class size as it relates to academic performance of students in biology in Ojo Local Government of Lagos State Nigeria. The study population was total number of students in all secondary schools in both public and private secondary schools in the LGA of the state while a study size of 100 respondents was randomly selected from the 4 schools in Ojo Local Government of Lagos State. One validated instrument Students’ Class Size Questionnaire (SCSQ) was used for data collection. Two hypotheses were formulated and tested. Data were analyzed using simple percentage. The result showed that there was significant difference in the academic achievement of students in biology in small and large classes from private schools. There was also significant difference between performances of students from public large and small classes. It was recommended that policy makers and government should ensure that more classrooms are built and number of students in a class should not be more than 30. The Parent Teacher Association (PTA), philanthropist and other charitable organizations are also implored to compliment the effort of the government to boost the performance of students in SSCE by building more class rooms and buildings.