Comparative Analysis of South West Students’ Performance in National Mathematics Olympiads Competitions in Nigeria

Abstract

The main purpose of this study was to carry out a comparative analysis of the performance of South West students in the mathematics Olympiads competition organized annually in Nigeria by National Mathematical Centre, Abuja. Secondary data of the results of students for 2015, 2016 and 2017 Olympiads examinations in the six states of South West, Nigeria was collected and analyzed. Frequency count, percentage, mean and standard deviation were used to answer the three raised research questions while t-test and ANOVA were used to test the two formulated hypotheses. Results of the study showed that South West students’ performance for the three years was largely poor. The result also showed that male students performed better than their female counterparts. It was recommended among others that the National Mathematical Centre, Nigeria should make preparatory textbooks and other materials available and accessible to participating students to get them well prepared and perform better in the Olympiads.

Keywords: Olympiads, National Mathematical Centre, Abuja