ANALYSIS OF SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL COMPETENCIES IN GENERAL

MATHEMATICS OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCE STUDENTS

A Project Paper Presented to

The Faculty of the Graduate School

University of St. La Salle

Bacolod City

In Partial Fulfillment

Of the Requirements for the Degree

Masters in Education Major in Mathematics

MARVIN D. SEMILLANO

September 2021
Rationale

Mathematics is commonly perceived to be difficult (e.g., Fritz et al. 2019).

Moreover, many believe “it is ok—not everyone can be good at math” (Rattan et al.

2012). With such perceptions, many students stop studying mathematics soon after it is

no longer required of them. Giving up learning mathematics may seem acceptable to

those who see mathematics as “optional,” but it is deeply problematic for society as a

whole. Mathematics is a gateway to many scientific and technological fields. Leaving it

limits students’ opportunities to learn a range of important subjects, thus limiting their

future job opportunities and depriving society of a potential pool of quantitatively literate

citizens. This situation needs to be changed, especially as we prepare students for the

continuously increasing demand for quantitative and computational literacy over the

twenty-first century (e.g., Committee on STEM Education 2018).

A major challenge facing students today as they pursue a postsecondary degree

is a lack of academic preparedness for college-level math, evidenced by high rates of

referral to developmental math and low rates of college math completion, particularly at

2-year colleges. Examining referral to developmental education by subject, Bailey,

Jeong, and Cho (2010) found that 59 percent of incoming community college students

are referred to developmental math compared to 33 percent to developmental English.

Among students who started at a 2-year college in 2003, only 40 percent of students

completed an introductory college math course and 9 percent completed an advanced

math course as their highest math course after six years; the rest of the 2003 cohort

completed only a developmental math course (21 percent) or no math course at all (30

percent) (Chen & Ho, 2012).

 It is in the premises above that the researcher would like to analyze the Senior

High School competencies in General Mathematics of Humanities and Social Sciences

Students in Ramon Torres National High School. The purpose of this study is to

determine the readiness of students in preparation for college, identify the least learned

skills which will be used as basis for designing an intervention material.

Statement of the Problem:

This study aims to analyze the Senior High School competencies in General

Mathematics of the Humanities and Social Sciences Students of Ramon Torres National

High School.

Specifically, the study seeks to answer the following questions:

1. What is the profile of the Grade 12 Humanities and Social Sciences students

when grouped according to:

a. Sex;

b. Socio-Economic Status;

c. Academic Honors and

d. Parent’s Educational Attainment

2. What is the level of Senior High School Competencies in General Mathematics of

the Grade 12 Humanities and Social Sciences when taken as whole and

according to:

a. Sex;

b. Socio-Economic Status;
 c. Academic Honors and

d. Parent’s Educational Attainment

3. Is there a significant difference between the level of Senior High School

competencies in General Mathematics of the Grade 12 Humanities and Social

Sciences students in Ramon Torres National High School when grouped

according to:

a. Sex;

b. Socio-Economic Status;

c. Academic Honors and

d. Parent’s Educational Attainment

Hypothesis

Below is the null hypothesis of the study:

1. There is no significant difference between the level of Senior High School

competencies in General Mathematics of the Grade 12 Humanities and Social Sciences

students in Ramon Torres National High School when grouped according to:

a. Sex;

b. Socio-Economic Status;

c. Academic Honors and

d. Parent’s Educational Attainment

The independent variables are the student’s profile such as age (ratio), sex (nominal),

economic status (ratio), academic honors (ordinal), parents educational

background (ordinal) and Senior High School competencies in General

Mathematics (nominal). The dependent variable is the readiness in Senior High

School competencies in General Mathematics.

Null: There is no significant difference between the level of Senior High School

competencies in General Mathematics of the Grade 12 Humanities and Social Sciences

students in Ramon Torres National High School when grouped according to:

a. Sex;

b. Socio-Economic Status;

c. Academic Honors and

d. Parent’s Educational Attainment

Alternative: There is a significant difference between the level of Senior High School

competencies in General Mathematics of the Grade 12 Humanities and Social Sciences

students in Ramon Torres National High School when grouped according to:

a. Sex;

b. Socio-Economic Status;

c. Academic Honors and

d. Parent’s Educational Attainment

Methods:

All data will be analyzed using Frequency, Percentage, t-test, Mean and ANOVA.

For problem 1 which aims to determine the profile of the Grade 12 HUMSS in

Ramon Torres National high School in terms of sex, socio-economic status, academic
honors, parent’s educational attainment the frequency count and percentage will be

used.

For problem 2 which aims to determine the level of Senior High School

Competencies in General Mathematics of the Grade 12 Humanities and Social

Sciences when taken as whole and according to sex, socio-economic status, academic

honors, parent’s educational attainment the frequency count and percentage and mean

will be used. The mean score is interpreted as follows:

Numerical Scale Descriptive Rating

96-100 MASTERED
86-95 CLOSELY APPROXIMATING MASTERY
66-85 MOVING TOWARDS MASTERY
36-65 AVERAGE MASTERY
0-35 LOW MASTERY

For problem 3 which aims to determine the significant difference between the

level of Senior High School competencies in General Mathematics of the Grade 12

Humanities and Social Sciences students in Ramon Torres National High School when

grouped according to sex, socio-economic status, academic honors, parent’s

educational attainment the t-test and ANOVA will be used.