Influence of High-Stakes Tests on Students’ Attitude Towards Learning Science in Senior Secondary Schools in Nigeria

The problem of students’ attitude towards learning in the science arm of secondary schools in Nigeria has been a subject of concern and discuss. This study investigated high-stakes tests as determinants of students’ attitude towards learning science in senior secondary schools in Nigeria. Two research questions were raised and answered, and three hypotheses were formulated and tested to guide the study at .05 level of significance. A sample of 6349 students and teachers was utilized for the study. The research instrument used for data collection was the questionnaire titled: High-stakes and Students ’ Attitude Questionnaire (HSSAQ). The instrument was subjected to face and content validity; Cronbach Alpha reliability analysis which yielded 0.84 coefficient. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics, multiple regression and independent t-test statistics. The results using multiple regression revealed that significant influence exists for the independent variable (high-stakes tests, r=0.335, p<0.05). The mean difference in the opinions of the respondents regarding high-stakes tests were higher for teachers ( X̅ =53.63, SD=6.77) than students ( X̅ =


INTRODUCTION
Attitude towards learning science is an essential concept that can also be described as the students' interpretation of knowledge, assessment, laboratory activities and the roles of instructors and students in learning science (Gavin et al., 2019).A learner's attitude relates to all the facets of education.For example, the attitude of a learner towards science will determine the measure of the learner's attractiveness or repulsiveness to science (Sofeme and Hena, 2015).Some research studies have indicated positive correlations between achievement in science courses and positive attitudes toward science (Sofeme and Hena, 2015).Some research journals have also reported attitude and certain characteristics of the classroom environments that include teacher support, use of a variety of teaching strategies, innovative learning activities, and student-centered instructional designs (Gavin et al., 2019).Students who have positive attitudes show increased attention to classroom instruction and participate more in science activities (Jarvis and Pell, 2020).The investigation of students' attitudes towards studying science has been a substantive feature of the work of the science education research community for more than 40 years (Gavin et al., 2019).Development of positive attitudes towards learning science, which has always been a constituent of science education, is increasingly a subject of concern 7 .Some reasons why students develop more negative attitudes towards science as they move through secondary school include students' interests in a number of non-school activities, more emphasis on test results and not much opportunity for students to enjoy science (Cheung, 2018).It follows therefore, that in order to have better students' understanding and application of science concepts, there is need to determine students' attitude to science subjects, and factors that can influence such attitudes.The simplest definition for high-stakes testing is, "A test administered and scored in a consistent or standard manner, and that is administered under standardized or controlled conditions that specify where, when, how and for how long students respond to the questions" (Ekoh, 2012).In high-stakes tests, the questions, conditions for administering, scoring procedures, and interpretations are consistent.Globally, high-stakes examinations are very important to all stakeholders in the educational system including the teachers, students, parents, public examining bodies, and policy makers.High-stake examinations, besides being used to gauge the quality of teaching and learning in schools, they also determine the future career of students; teachers are usually assessed based on the number of students who perform well in the exams, and students are placed in different levels and streams, depending on their performance in the exams to (Ekoh, 2012).High stakes tests have also been described as harmonized examinations, the results of which have significant consequences for schools and other stakeholders (parents/guardians, districts, and so on.)(Ekoh, 2012).A lot of importance is attached to the level of success of candidates in the SSCE.For example, some proprietors of private secondary schools attach promotion and increase in salary of teachers to number of students who do well in the SSCE.Even such schools flaunt their success for all to see.This is because ISSN 2411ISSN -2933ISSN 01-07-2022 International Educative Research Foundation and Publisher © 2022 pg.62 parents will likely send their children to schools that are known to have high success rate in Senior School Certificate Examination (SSSCE).Also, State Governments that control and manage public secondary schools assess the quality of the school system and teachers by the number of students who have five credits and above in these examinations (Adegoke, 2017).In addition, the Electoral Act and the 1999 Constitution (As Amended in 2004) of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Section 65 subsection 2a) requires that all candidates for elective position into legislative and executive arm of government shall be educated up to school certificate level (FRN, 2021).That a candidate shall be educated up to school certificate level has been interpreted to mean that he or she must have a minimum of five passes/credits in five Ordinary level papers including English language and Mathematics.This further underscores the importance of SSCE being conducted by the examining bodies.
Studies have discussed the effects of washback (shaping both what is taught and how it is taught) on various aspects of the classroom, which have generally been categorized as follows: curriculum, materials, teaching methods and feelings/attitudes to learning (Abbas and Sarwar, 2018).Generally, the tests are reported to generate 'an atmosphere of high pressure, anxiety and fear of test results among teachers and students (Fulton, 2016).Teachers feel that the success or failure of their students reflects on them and they speak of pressure to cover the materials for the exam' (Ozturk and Okan, 2019).The pressure on teachers also encourages them to focus more on specific test subjects (and areas) rather than on curriculum standards, and sometimes guides teachers to participate in inappropriate test preparation.Consequently, the pressure and anxiety from tests also make most students lose interest in other aspects of learning which they do not deem necessary for acing said high-stakes tests (Abbas and Sarwar, 2018).So far, there is a dearth of research in the area of high-stakes tests and their effects.There have been some similar studies in Arts and Languages in the Western Europe such as United Kingdom (Savile and Hawkey, 2004) and Greece (Tsagari, 2009), and in Asia such as China (Sulatana, 2018).There is, however, scarcity of empirical studies in the area of science subjects and more importantly there is dearth of literature on the aforementioned concepts in the sub-Saharan Africa, especially in Nigeria.It is against this background that this study would examine the influence of high-stakes tests on students' attitude towards learning science subjects in Nigeria.

Aim and Objectives of the Study
The aim of this study was to assess the influence of high-stakes tests on students' attitude towards learning science subjects in Nigeria.v. examine the significant mean difference between the opinions of teachers and students with regards to high stakes tests factors in senior secondary schools in Nigeria.

Research Questions
The study attempted to find answers to the following questions: i.
What is the level of high-stakes tests factors (washback effect, test pressure, test anxiety) among science teachers and students in senior secondary schools in Nigeria?ii.What is the level of students' attitude towards learning science in senior secondary schools in Nigeria?

Research Hypotheses
This study was guided by the following hypotheses.Ho1: There will be no significant composite influence of high-stakes tests factors (washback effect, test pressure, test anxiety) on students' attitude to learning science in senior secondary schools in Nigeria.

Ho2:
There will be no significant relative influence of high-stakes tests factors (washback effect, test pressure, test anxiety) on students' attitude to learning science in senior secondary schools in Nigeria.

Ho3:
There will be no significant mean difference between the opinions of teachers and students with regards to high stakes tests factors in senior secondary schools in Nigeria.

Methodology
This chapter presented the methodology and procedures employed in the study.It contains information about the population of the study, sample and sampling techniques, research instrument, validity of the instrument, reliability of the instrument, administration of the instrument and method of data analysis.

Research Design
The descriptive-survey research design was adopted for this study.This research design is considered appropriate because the study, "Influence of High-Stakes Tests on Students' Attitude Towards Learning Science in Senior Secondary Schools in Nigeria", involved collection of data to factually describe existing phenomena, without any manipulation or randomization (Kerlinger and Lee, 2000).Furthermore, the research design allowed the researcher to obtain a proper picture of the present situation of the particular phenomena under study.

Population of the Study
The targeted population comprised of all Senior Secondary school science teachers and students in Senior Secondary School who registered for the 2021 West African Examinations Council (WAEC) examination.A total of 6,720 respondents formed the sample for this study.The study sites were mapped based on the six geo-political zones in Nigeria.Multi-stage sampling technique was used to select participants for this study.In the first stage, simple random sampling technique was used to select one state from each geopolitical zone in Nigeria, giving a total of six (6) states.Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, was also included as a separate category because of its peculiarities.In the second stage, four (4) local government areas (LGA) were selected from each state to reflect the urban and rural areas, using simple random sampling technique, making a total of 28 LGAs.At the third stage, purposive sampling was used to select ten (10) secondary schools from each LGA, which have participated in high-stakes tests for at least five (5) years, making a total of 280 schools.In the next stage, purposive sampling was also used to select three (3) senior secondary school science teachers who teach science in selected schools, making a total of 1120 teachers.Stratified random sampling technique was used to select 20 science students in senior secondary schools, who have been registered for high-stakes tests (WAEC, NECO, UTME), making a total 5,600 students.In all, a total of 6,720 respondents, consisting of five thousand six hundred science students ( 5600) and one thousand one hundred and twenty (1,120) science teachers, were used as participants in this study.

Research Instrument
The instrument for this study was a self-developed questionnaire -High-stakes and Students' Attitude Questionnaire (HSSAQ),which was designed and adapted in line with the research questions and hypotheses that were raised for the study.The instrument was used for all categories of respondents (students and teachers).The questionnaire was divided into five sections; A, B, C, D and E. Section A of the instrument focused on the demographic data of the respondent (that is their gender, age, educational qualification, and so on).Section B elicited information on high-stakes tests with respect to SSS3 students and science teachers while Sections C comprise of items on students' attitude towards learning science.
For all sections, the sub-scale was a modified Likert-type scale with four response options rates as follows: Strongly Agree (4), Agree (3), Disagree (2) and Strongly Agree (1).Also, students' and teachers' questionnaire were structured from the aforementioned questionnaire.

Method of Data Analysis
Data collected from the field were clean, coded and inputted into a computer system, for statistical analysis using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software, version 21 for mac iOS.The research questions 1 to 4 were analysed using descriptive statistics of mean ( ̅) and standard deviation (SD).
Mean was used to describe the data.A criterion mean ( ̅) of 2.50 was set for the study.In this case, a mean score of 2.50 and above was adjudged moderate, high and very high as the case may be while a mean score below 2.50 was adjudged low (performance) extent.Standard deviation was used to determine how responses of the respondents varied.Hypotheses 1 to 4 were tested using multiple regression while Hypotheses 5 and 6 were tested using independent sample t-test statistics.An alpha level of 0.05 significance was set for the inferential statistics.Vol:-10 No-07, 2022 International Educative Research Foundation and Publisher © 2022 pg.65

Findings/Results
The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of high-stakes tests on students' attitude towards learning science in senior secondary schools, Nigeria.This section presents the results of the analysis of the data collected from all respondents (science students and science teachers) involved in the study.The results are presented on the basis of the research questions and hypotheses formulated for the study.The findings were outlined and discussed accordingly.
The research instrument was dispatched to 6700 respondents with 6349 (94.8%) of the dispatched questionnaire retrieved.

Demographic Profile of the Participants Status of the Respondents
The study sought information on the status of the respondents.Table 1 presents a summary of the status distribution for all the categories.

Gender of the Respondents
The study sought information on the gender of the respondents.Table 2 presents a summary of the gender distribution for all the categories of respondents.

Source: Fieldwork, 2021
Out of the 6349 respondents, 3263 respondents, representing 51.4% of the sample represented male while 3086 respondents, constituting 48.6%, represented female participants.This slight difference may be as a result of gender stereotypes, which have been reported to be part of the major factors contributing to the gender-gap in the field of science 1 .There were however slightly more female science students (2791) than male students (2710), suggesting that there could be an improvement in the number of females opting for science courses from high school level.

Age of Respondents
The study also sought information on the age of the respondents.Table 3 presents a summary of the age distribution for all the categories.For the teachers, majority (31.7%) were aged between 31 and 40 years, and those aged between 41 and 50 years (32.5%).The least age range (3.1%) was between 60 and above, with respondents under this age range originating from private schools.This clearly indicated that many teachers were young and energetic with regards to handling infrastructural matters.Although the older teachers are more experienced and more familiar with instructional issues, they might be tired and might lack 21 st century skills such as information and communication technology (ICT), which is a very vital component of instruction today.The student-respondents were all within the range of 20 years and below.

Professional Qualifications of Respondents
The study was also interested in finding out the professional qualifications of the respondents (teachers).
The data obtained are presented in Table 4 below.This was a positive gesture that human resources with adequate professional qualifications were involved in teaching in our schools.This could be instrumental to effective instructional dissemination.Evans (1999) had posited that the successful 21 st century instructor will need to be very professional, competent, highly trained and a well-motivated individual.Majority of the respondents (39.7%) indicated that first degree was their highest professional qualification while the least indicated qualification (3.1%) were respondents with a PhD.Degree.Hence, this indicated that the respondents had the appropriate academic professional qualifications required to the handle the curriculum.

Teaching Experience of Teachers
The study also sought information on the teaching experience of teachers.Table 5 presents a summary of the data obtained.

School Types of Respondents
The study sought information on the type of school all respondents were related with.Table 6 presents a summary of the school types of respondents.

Marital Status of Teachers
The study also obtained information on the marital status of respondents.The data obtained is presented in Table 7 below.responses.Also, the table revealed that item 1 had the highest mean of 3.4139 while the least mean was that of item 4 with a mean score of 2.7477.This result implies that the grand mean score of 3.118 indicated that the level of washback effect on science teachers and students in secondary schools in Nigeria is on a high extent.Therefore, the level of washback effect on science teachers and students in secondary schools in Nigeria is on a high extent with the grand mean score of 3.118.Table 8b showed that each of items 1 to 6 on the level of test pressure to science teachers and students, influenced by high stakes tests, obtained a mean score above 2.50.The above results implied that the respondents rated the influence of test pressure on science teachers and students as high.The grand mean score was 3.232, which was above the criterion of 2.50 set for the study, while the standard deviation was 0.734, indicating that the respondents were not far from the mean and from one another in their responses.Also, the table revealed that item 2 had the highest mean of 3.3341 while the least mean was that of item 4 with a mean score of 3.0499.This result implies that the grand mean score of 3.232 indicated that the level of test pressure on science teachers and students in secondary schools in Nigeria is on a high extent.
Therefore, the level of test pressure on science teachers and students in secondary schools in Nigeria is on a high extent with the grand mean score of 3.232.Table 8c showed that each of items 1 to 7 on the level of test anxiety to science teachers and students, influenced by high stakes tests, obtained a mean score above 2.50.The above results implied that the respondents rated the influence of test anxiety on science teachers and students as high.The grand mean score was 3.129, which was above the criterion of 2.50 set for the study, while the standard deviation was 0.771, indicating that the respondents were not far from the mean and from one another in their responses.Also, the table revealed that item 1 had the highest mean of 3.4324 while the least mean was that of item 3 with a mean score of 2.6774.This result implies that the grand mean score of 3.129 indicated that the level of test anxiety on science teachers and students in secondary schools in Nigeria is on a high extent.Therefore, the level of test anxiety on science teachers and students in secondary schools in Nigeria is on a high extent with the grand mean score of 3.129.Table 9 showed that each of items 1 to 16 on the level of students' attitude towards learning science obtained a mean score above 2.50.The above results implied that the respondents rated the level of students' attitude towards learning science as high.The grand mean score was 3.086, which was above the criterion of 2.50 set for the study, while the standard deviation was 0.799, indicating that the respondents were not far from the mean and from one another in their responses.Also, the table revealed that item 1 had the highest mean of 3.2826 while the least mean was that of item 5 with a mean score of 2.8849.This result implies that the grand mean score of 3.086 indicated that the level of students' attitude towards learning science in senior secondary schools in Nigeria is on a high extent.Therefore, the level of students' attitude towards learning science in senior secondary schools in Nigeria is on a high extent with the grand mean score of 3.086.

Hypotheses
The hypotheses tested below were used to establish whether the independent variable of high stakes tests has significant relationship with students' attitude to learning science.This was done using multiple regression and analysis of variance (ANOVA) at .05 level of significance.The correlation matrix of the variables was first presented in a table to reveal the degree of inter-correlation among the factors of the independent variable in the study.The opinions of science teachers and students were equally tested using t-test to know whether there are significant differences or not in the opinions/responses.H o 3: There will be no significant mean difference between the opinions of teachers and students with regards to high stakes tests factors in senior secondary schools in Nigeria.The independent sample t-test was used in testing the opinions of teachers and students regarding highstakes tests in senior secondary schools in Nigeria.The hypothesis, which sought the significant composite influence of high-stakes test on the attitude of science students towards learning science in senior secondary schools in Nigeria, revealed that there existed a composite influence of all the variables on the attitude of science students towards learning science.From the result of hypothesis one, it was clear that significant composite influence of all the factors of the independent variables on students' attitude existed.This means that the factors of high-stakes tests jointly influence the attitude of science students towards learning science in senior secondary schools.This result is in tandem with a scholar who posited that certain factors, including testing and classroom management elements, have an influence on the way teachers teach and the how students learn (Adegoke, 2017).The evaluation of hypothesis two, which sought the significant relative influence of the individual independent variable factors on students' attitude towards learning science, revealed a positive result.This means that high-stakes tests factors have particular and individual influences on the attitude of science students towards learning science subjects in senior secondary schools in Nigeria.This is in tandem with scholars who posited that students of this century are the most tested set of students, with said tests influencing the learning circle of students (David, 2016;Adegoke, 2017 andCheung, 2018).They went further to state that if students are not interested in science, they tend not to make an effort to learn and understand the meaning of concepts being taught to them.Hypothesis three, which sought the opinions of respondents regarding high-stakes tests in senior secondary schools in Nigeria, revealed that majority of the respondents agreed that high-stakes tests influence teaching and learning in senior secondary schools.From the result of hypothesis three, it was clear that no significant mean difference existed in the opinions of the two groups of respondents regarding high-stakes tests in senior secondary schools in Nigeria.This means that high-stakes tests play a significant role in determining the way teachers teach, and how students learn.This is in agreement with a scholar who posited that highstakes tests cause instructors to 'teach to the test', focusing mostly on areas that would come out in said tests (examination) and neglecting other aspects of the curriculum (also known as washback) (Wray, 2016).This also confirms a position that both teachers and students experience a lot of stress and pressure as a result of high-stakes tests, explaining that both teachers and students are pressured due to the repercussions of students failing such tests (Fulton, 2016).Whilst another author reported concerns on the impact of testing on students' well-being (Simpson, 2016), another author has described the current emphasis on testing as being out of control and calling todays' students "the most tested generation in history", with the many negative consequences looming with potential harm to the educational system (Abeles, 2015).The general consensus of the respondents could therefore be related to the aforementioned posits, since respondents implied that they verily experience washback, anxiety and pressure relating to test preparation.

Conclusion
High-stakes tests are critical to the success and progress of the teaching and learning process in both developed and developing countries, including Nigeria.On the basis of these research findings, the study has proven that the high-stakes tests factors have a strong relationship with students' attitude towards learning science in senior secondary schools in Nigeria.It was observed that science teachers and students in terminal classes concentrate mostly on passing upcoming high-stakes examinations rather than actually

Table 1 :
Demographic Characteristics of Respondents Status Source: Fieldwork, 2021Out of the 6349 respondents, 5501 respondents representing 86.6% of the sample represented the science students while 848 respondents, which constituted 13.4%, represented the science teachers.

Table 2 :
Demographic Characteristics of Gender * Respondents Status Cross Tabulation

Table 3
Demographic Characteristics of * Respondents' Age Respondents Cross Tabulation

Table 4
Demographic Characteristics of Teachers' Professional Qualifications

Table 5 :
Demographic Characteristics of Teachers' Teaching Experience

Table 6
Demographic Characteristics of Respondents' School Types Table6shows that 3915 respondents were from public schools, representing 61.7% of the total sample, while 2434 respondents (38.3%) were from private schools.

Table 7 :
Demographic Characteristics of Teachers' Marital Status

What is the level of high-stakes tests factors (washback effect, test pressure, test anxiety) among science teachers and students in senior secondary schools in Nigeria
?Table8(ac) below will be used to answer research question 1.

VHE: Very High Extent (3.50 and above); HE: High Extent (3.00 -3.49); ME: Moderate Extent (2.50 -2.99); LE: Low Extent (Below 2.50) Source: Fieldwork, 2021
influenced by high stakes tests, obtained a mean score above 2.50.The above results implied that the respondents rated the influence of washback effect on science teachers and students as high.The grand mean score was 3.118, which was above the criterion of 2.50 set for the study, while the standard deviation was 0.782, indicating that the respondents were not far from the mean and from one another in their Vol:-10 No-07, 2022International Educative Research Foundation and Publisher © 2022 pg.69

: What is the level of students' attitude towards learning science in senior secondary schools in Nigeria?
Thus, the level of washback, test pressure and test anxiety in senior secondary schools in Nigeria is on a high extent.Vol:-10 No-07, 2022 Table 9 will be used to answer research question 2. Table 9 Descriptive Statistics on Students' Attitude towards Learning Science

Table 10 :
Correlation Matrix of Independent and Dependent Variables

H o 2: There will be no significant relative influence of high-stakes tests factors (washback effect, test pressure, test anxiety) on students' attitude to learning science in senior secondary schools in Nigeria.
Table11bshows the regression correlation (R) between high-stakes tests and students' attitude towards learning science in senior secondary schools in Nigeria.The results show that the regression correlation (R) is .335,R square equals .113and Adjusted R square equals .112.This implied that the combination of high stakes test factors contributed 11.2% to the variation in students' attitude towards learning science in senior secondary schools in Nigeria.Further verification using analysis of variance (ANOVA) produced F (1, 6347) equals 804.619; p<.05.This implied that the linear relationship among the combined variables and students' attitude towards learning science is significant.This also means that there is a significant composite relationship among the factors of high-stakes tests on students' attitude towards learning science in senior secondary schools in Nigeria.

29.213, t= 43.776; p<.05.
Table12presents the coefficients that indicate the relationship between the factors high-stakes tests and students' attitude towards learning science in senior secondary schools in Nigeria.The results show contribution of the variables factors indicated by standardized Beta (B) weights in order of magnitude; high-stakes tests contributed most to students' attitude towards learning science with B= The analysis of the result shows that the independent variables of high-stakes tests have significant influence on students' attitude towards learning science.

tailed) Equal Variances Assumed 1.322 .250 -2.704 6347 .007 Accept Not sig. High Stakes Tests Equal Variances Not Assumed -2.926 1195.187 .004
The null hypothesis of no significant mean difference in the opinions of teachers and students with regards to high-stakes tests in senior secondary schools in Nigeria is therefore upheld.Thus, there is no significant mean difference in the opinions of teachers and students regarding high-stakes tests in senior secondary schools in Nigeria.Discussion of Findings This section presents discussion on the findings of the study with respect to the influence of high-stakes tests on students' attitude towards learning science in senior secondary schools inNigeria.Vol:-10 No-07, 2022