Effect of Parental Involvement on Students’ Test Scores in Secondary Schools in Rivers State, Nigeria

For decades, school administrators have been at variance with parents on whose role it is to improve on the academic life of the learner and the academic performance of the student has remained at the center of this debate with some students getting worse-off. This study therefore investigates the effect of parental involvement on students’ test scores in secondary schools in Rivers State, Nigeria. Three research questions were raised and answered in the study as well as two hypotheses tested at 0.05 level of significance. Survey design was adopted while the target population was 40,047 senior secondary school students in the State out of which 396 students were sampled using stratified random sampling technique. A structured questionnaire and the test score of the students in English Language and Mathematics were used for data collection while the data gathered were analyzed using mean, standard deviation, Ordinary Least Square regression analysis and z-test at 0.05 level of significance. The result of the study showed that the provision of learning materials was the major way parents got involved in the education of their children. The hours of assistance provided by parents and their level of education were the two major determinants of students’ test score. Time constraint was identified as the major reason why parents are not fully involved in the academics of their children and the male and female students did not differ in their opinion on how parents were involved and challenges to their involvement in their academics for improved test scores. The study recommended that parents should increase the number of hours they engage with their children on educational issues. Keywords: Academics, Education, Parental Involvement, Students, Test Score DOI: 10.7176/JEP/16-13-08 Publication date: December 30th 2025