Browsing by Author "Nshemereirwe, Connie"

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Investigating the Comparability of A' level Subjects as a Basis for University Selection in Uganda
(West African Journal of Education, 2015-01-01) Nshemereirwe, Connie
In order to gain access to universities in Uganda, all students sit a national examination at the end of A ‘Level, the scores of which determine their selection. For most university degree programmes, entry is determined based on the A ‘Level scores irrespective of subject, essentially implying that the same scores in the different subjects are comparable. In order to investigate this comparability, a generalised partial credit item response model was fit to the A ‘Level examination results data for the years 2009 and 2010. As was expected, it was found that science subjects were relatively more difficult than non-science subjects; however, it was also found that science and non-science subjects load on two separate dimensions of the latent ability scale, and that further, science subjects generally provided more information on student ability, especially for the higher end of the ability scale. Conversely, some humanities subjects like Art and Kiswahili were not only relatively easier, they also provided very little information on the ability scale underlying all the A ‘Level subjects. These findings present a challenge to the justifiability of using A ‘Level scores indiscriminately in the university selection process, and advocates for the integration of information on subject difficulty in an enhanced weighting system.
Socioeconomic Status and Access to Higher Education in Uganda
(2016-01-01) Nshemereirwe, Connie
In Africa, transition to a more sustainable life cannot occur without the otherwise marginalised. Governments, including Uganda’s, have taken steps to better the lot of the disadvantaged by widening access to basic education through programmes like Universal Primary Education; however, access to higher education is still low, in part as a result of selection procedures that favour students of higher socioeconomic status (SES). Measures such as quota system have been introduced for admission to public universities, but there are concerns that not enough has been done. This study was carried out at four universities in Uganda, and aimed at investigating how equitable access to higher education is given existing admission procedures. On one hand, it is well known that national examinations in Uganda disadvantage students of lower SES, and yet performance in these examinations is still the main criterion for selection to university. On the other hand, it is not clear that performance in these national examinations is a significant predictor of success at university, which raises a question about the justifiability of this entry mechanism. Disadvantaging low SES students further, the study found a larger than average school effect operating at entry, where the number of students selected tended to come from a disproportionately small number of high performing secondary schools.