Class Size and Mathematics Achievement in Nigerian Basic Schools: A Comparative Study

Concerns on pupils’ achievement in Mathematics in recent times are largely due to class size and other factors. Stakeholders are equally worried on the need to have enabling classroom environment particularly on class size. Consequently, this study investigated the relationship between class size and pupils’ achievement in mathematics in the Nigerian Basic Schools in Abeokuta metropolis of Ogun State. The study was guided by four research questions and two null hypotheses that were tested on a 0.05 level of significance. The study was descriptive research of survey type. Researchers’ designed questionnaire validated by experts was used as instrument for data collection. A total of twenty teachers each were randomly selected from public (108 schools) and private (93 schools) basic schools in Odeda Local Government, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria. Also, a total of 262 pupils from the sampled schools participated. The data collected were subjected to a descriptive analysis using frequency and percentages. Means and standard deviations were used to answer all the research questions. The hypotheses were tested using chi- square. Results indicated that there is a significant difference in the academic performance of pupils from small class sizes (p