Efficacy of Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination as a Predictor of First Year Social Science Students’ Achievement in University of Jos, Nigeria

This study investigated the efficacy of Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) as a predictor of first year Social Science students’ achievement in University of Jos, Nigeria. Four research objectives with corresponding research questions were raised to guide the study while four hypotheses were formulated and tested at 0.05 level of significance. The research design used in the study was ex-post facto. The population of the study comprises 1,774 students in department of Economics, Political Science, Psychology and Sociology. The sample size for the study was 326 students which were drawn through the use of Taro-Yamane formula for sample size determination and multi stage sampling procedure was employed to arrive at the sample. The study required the collection and analysis of existing data from official records. The instrument for data collection was a pro-forma which was validated by two experts. Data for the study were collected with the help of a research assistant who was a staff in the registry department, University of Jos. Data collected were analyzed using regression to answer the research questions and to test the null hypotheses. The findings of the study revealed that students UTME scores predicts their CGPA in the four departments (Economics, Political Science, Psychology and Sociology) in University of Jos for 2015/2016 session. Based on the findings of the study, the study concludes that students in the University of Jos in the department of Economics, Political Science, Psychology and Sociology were admitted based on their scores in UTME since there is correlation between their UTME scores and their achievements. The study recommended that admission to prospective students in University of Jos into all departments should be given strictly based on students’ scores in Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).