A comparative study of academic performance between public and private primary school leavers at kenya certificate of secondary education (KCSE) in selected secondary schools in Kericho county, Kenya

Mixed and unpredictable performance of pupils taught in private and public primary schools both at Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) and Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exams is still a challenge in Kenya despite documentation that private primary schools produce better school leavers than public primary schools. This study was set to compare academic performance of private and public primary school leavers at KCSE in Kericho County. Two County schools; (a girls’ and a boys’ school) were randomly selected out of six County schools. A total of 337 students; 170 boys and 167 girls were selected for the study. Out of the 170 boys, 81 and 89 came from private and public primary schools respectively, while out of 167 girls, 89 and 78 came from private and public primary schools respectively. KCPE and KCSE results were obtained from school documents containing students records and were subjected to descriptive and inferential statistics using Statistical Package for Social Sciences, (SPPS) version 17.0.Results indicated that public primary school leavers performed better than those from private primary schools at KCSE; however, further comparative analysis using independent t- test showed that there was no significant statistical difference. Regression analysis showed a positive relationship between KCPE marks and KCSE points, while Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient was used to find the effect of KCPE marks on KCSE points showed that for public primary school leavers it was weak while for private primary school leavers it was moderate. The study therefore concludes that performance at KCSE depends on KCPE but not much influenced by the private or public primary school background. There is need for education stakeholders to harmonize teaching approaches and other co-curricular activities in both private and public primary schools for better performance at KCSE.