Factors Affecting FTSM Students’ Achievement in Statistics Course

In learning a statistics course, students are forced to deal with complicated formula which makes them feel under a lot of pressure and find it difficult to understand certain concepts. Previous researches show that Faculty of Information Science and Technology (FTSM) students’ achievement is only average, nevertheless their attitude towards this course is generally positive. The question is, doesn’t the positive attitude contribute to the students’ achievement in the course? What are the other factors which really contribute towards the students’ achievement in the statistics course? Based on this inquiry, a research is carried out to investigate the factor(s) which may affect students’ achievement in the statistics course. This survey involves first-year students from the 2010/2011 session from the FTSM. The methodology of the survey is using questionnaires. Data collected is analysed using the SPSS software version 18.0. Analysis of research data is made using the chi-squared test. Findings of the research show that demographic factors such as gender and pre-university achievements do not affect the students’ achievement. Race, program of study as well as students’ entrance qualifications are among the factors which influenced their achievement. Although attitude in general does not influence achievement, affective and cognitive components however, do relate to students’ achievement.