A statistical analysis of performance in examinations of undergraduate students at the University of Dar es salaam, Tanzania

This study aimed at examining personal characteristics, gender, type of school student attended prior to university. A-level performance obtained in form six examinations. A-level subject combination and parental/guardian occupation as factors influencing degree performance in examinations of undergraduate students at the University of Dar es Salaam main campus. The study was done for the 1998/1999 cohort that graduated in 2002. The ordered probity regression model was used to analyse the effect of the selected explanatory variables. The findings suggest that the most important factor that determines the degree performance in examinations for male students is age. The results showed further that, student's A-level subject combination is related to degree performance for male students whose combination was Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics (PCM). It was also found that academic background is negatively related to degree performance in examinations for female students. The findings showed that degree performance is negatively related to degree programme taken by both female and male student who graduated with Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Law. Further more we analysed the determinants of degree performance for students who attended previous government schools. The results show that degree performance is negatively related to previous academic background i.e A-level performance for female students and is influenced positively by degree programme.