Comparative Performance of Science, Arts and Business Subject Combinations in Tanzanian Advanced Certificate of Secondary Education Results: 2004 to 2010

Abstract

Science knowledge is acknowledged to be one of the key economic development indicators in a country. Performance in science subjects has been one of the challenges in many developing countries. The objective of this is to explore the performance in science subject combinations in relation to the arts and business subjects. The paper used the performance of students in advanced secondary education in Tanzania. It shows that performance in science subject combinations is poorer than that in arts and business, and performance has deteriorated over time. This is based on the Tanzanian Advanced Certificate of Secondary Education (ACSE) results from 2004 to 2010. Science subject combination was defined as any subject combination that contained physics, chemistry or biology. Arts was defined as any subject combination that contained at least one language, while business was defined as subject combination that contained economics as one of the subjects. The study recommends a critical look at the syllabus as well as the way examinations are set and marked. The paper identifies areas for further studies.