Assessment of Students’ Mathematical Competency, a case Study in Dire-Dawa University

Abstract

Nowadays, no nation can make any significant economic development without technological advancement. In Ethiopia increased attention is given to strengthen science and technology education (Federal Ministry of Education, 2010). On top of this, an adequate supply of young people with strong mathematical skills is needed to effectively exploit advances in science and technology. Mathematics provides people with powerful theoretical and computational techniques to capture the complexity of real life problems which is very essential for individuals and countries to gain a competitive edge in many fields of today's global economy. The assessment of students mathematical competency in Dire-Dawa University indicates that the majority of the students have been joining the university with poor mathematical background. Regarding their attitude, many students are not happy to study mathematics and do not believe in the uses of mathematics. On the other hand, only 14.96% of the students scored above 55% in the achievement test which indicates that many students have poor current performance in mathematics.