A Comparative Study of University Admission Cutoff Z-Scores within the Physical Science Stream in Educationally Advantaged and Disadvantaged Districts in Sri Lanka with a Specific Emphasis on Engineering, Physical Science, Computer Science, and Applied Science Disciplines

In Sri Lanka, assurance of fair educational opportunities remains a prime concern in university admissions from both educationally advantaged and disadvantaged districts. This study discusses whether the prevailing university admission process, along with cutoff Z-score calculation, the District Quota System (DQS), and the Preference Matrix, efficiently bridges the prevailing disparities, initially focusing on students’ admission to the main degree programs in the Physical Science stream. It was tested whether there is any significant difference in the cutoff Z-scores between these two district categories. The study seeks to investigate whether there is any difference in university admission disparities based on four major degree programs: Engineering, Physical Science, Computer Science, and Applied Science. Descriptive statistics, with cutoff Z-score records from University Admissions Handbooks, 2017–2023 were used in the analysis. Weighted averages and statistical tests were conducted to investigate the relationship between cutoff Z-scores, district classifications, universities, and academic years. The findings showed no significant difference in the cutoff Z-scores for the Engineering and Computer Science degree programs, meaning fair opportunity. However, large differences were recorded in Physical Science and Applied Science degree programs, where the Z-scores for the advantaged districts were higher. Also, there were no significant differences across the four-degree programs when considering changes across the academic years, indicating that temporal factors have not impacted on the existing disparities or consistencies. From these results, while fairness is attained under the current system in some degree programs, targeted interventions are needed in other degree programs where inequalities persist. Evidence also suggests that there is a gradual increase in merit-based selection for streams such as Engineering and Computer Science, supplemented by efforts to improve educational facilities in disadvantaged districts.