DEMOGRAPHIC FACTORS AND ECONOMY ACHIEVEMENT AMONG HIGHER SCHOOL CERTIFICATE (HSC) STUDENTS

The purpose of this study was to identify the differences in economy achievement based on basic economy subject experience, additional mathematics achievement and gender among Higher School Certificate (HSC) students. The study also determined the relationship between the students’ performance in the symbol, graph and economy problem solving items and economy achievement. The sample comprised of 150 students from five national secondary schools in Kedah, which had offered the Economy subject at the six form level. An 18-items test, comprising of six symbol items, six graph items and six economy problem solving items covering Chapters 1-4 and encompassed the microeconomic and macroeconomic areas within the sixth form economy subject syllabus, was used to gauge the students performance. The findings show that there is a difference in economy achievement based on basic economy subject experience and gender, as well as between microeconomic achievement and gender. There is no difference in economy achievement based on students’ performance in additional mathematics achievement. There is also no difference in macroeconomic achievement based on gender among these HSC students. Results of the correlation tests indicate the existence of a moderate positive relationship with economy achievement. The analysis reveals a high positive relationship between graph achievement and problem solving and the economy achievement. The findings implied the need for the economy teachers to devote appropriate attention to items involving graphs and problem solving so as to sustain the students’ competence in the economy subject. The economy teachers should also focus on the aspects of data interpretation given in the graph format to ensure that students could answer the items given in the graph format more effectively.