Resumen de The causes of re-exam and its role in improving academic achievement of low scoring students at Haramaya University
Re-exam is a form of supplementary assessment designed to provide a second opportunity for students who scored final course marks between 30 and 40. This study employed a survey design that involves both quantitative and qualitative approaches. Questionnaires, interviews and document analyses for collecting data from both primary and secondary sources were designed and executed. 315 students and 15 instructors were incorporated as a sample using stratified random and purposive sampling techniques respectively. The available sampling techniques were utilized to add 10 cluster registrar heads and 18 registrar data managers as a sample.The findings of the study showed that students’ poor academic background, health problems at the time of the exam and deliberately scoring an FX grade were the main causes that exposed students to scoring FX grades. Additionally, it was found that the majority of students scored FX grades in cross-departmental courses rather than home-based courses. The findings further indicated that re-exams play a great role in helping low achieving students to improve their academic achievement, as 43% of the students who scored an FX grade in their first assessment scored C or above after a re-exam. The relationship between study year level and the number of students who scored FX grades (r = -0.92, p < 0.05) is negative and significant. The computed t-test result (t (971) = 1.0, p> 0.05) indicated that males and females do not differ significantly in their achievements in re-exams.
