A WEB-BASED RESULT PROCESSING SYSTEM FOR PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN AKWA IBOM STATE
ABSTRACT
Accurate and timely information is required when decision concerning an individual, people, current operations and future plans are needed. Result is one of the criteria used in measuring individual academic performances in schools. Result processing is a routine activity carried out in every school or institutions of learning. The use of computers in result processing in schools has really aid timely publications and easy access of result by users, the proliferation of applications and their use have become a wide-spread practice presently. This study was carried out with the aim of developing a web-based result processing system for Akwa Ibom State public secondary schools. Five objectives were posed to guide the development and evaluation of the system. This was carried out using WAMP server with extended support for PHP (script writing), MYSQL Database for sorting students’ data and scores. The software operates on windows 7 operating system platform. Based on the evaluation of the system, it is recommended that Akwa Ibom State public secondary schools should adopt the system for accurate and timely publication of students’ results.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Cover Page - - - - - - - - i
Certification - - - - - - - - ii
Dedication - - - - - - - iii
Acknowledgement - - - - - - - iv
Abstract - - - - - - - - v
Table of Content - - - - - - - vi
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.0 Background of the Study - - - - - 1
1.1 Statement of the Problem - - - - - 4
1.2 Purpose of the Study - - - - - - 5
1.3 Significant of the Study - - - - - 5
1.4 Delimitation - - - - - - - 6
1.5 Limitation of the Study - - - - - 6
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Theoretical Framework - - - - - 8
2.1.1 Information System Success Model - - - - 8
2.1.2 Task Technology Fit Theory - - - - - 9
2.1.3 Relational Model - - - - - - 10
2.2 Conceptual Framework - - - - - 11
2.2.1 Concept of Design - - - - - - 11
2.2.2 Concept of Information System - - - - 12
2.2.2.1. Approaches of Information System - - - - 13
2.2.2.2. Purpose of Information System - - - - 14
2.2.2.3 Types of Information System - - - - - 15
2.2.2.4 Benefits of Using Information System - - - 16
2.2.3 Web-based System - - - - - - 17
2.2.4 Web-based Application - - - - - 17
2.2.5 Result Processing System - - - - - 19
2.3 Related Empirical Study - - - - - 19
2.4 Summary of Related Literature - - - - 20
CHAPTER THREE: SYSTEM ANALYSIS AND DESIGN
3.1 Description of Existing System - - - - 23
3.2 Problems of Existing System - - - - - 24
3.3 Fact Finding Method Used - - - - - 24
3.4 Objectives of the Existing System - - - - 25
3.5 Input, Process and Output Analysis - - - - 25
3.5.1 Input - - - - - - - - 25
3.3.2 Output - - - - - - - 25
3.6 Justification of the New System - - - - 26
3.7 Design of the New System - - - - - 26
3.8 The Proposed System - - - - - - 26
3.9 Objective of the New System - - - - - 27
3.10 Software Requirements - - - - - 28
3.11 Software Tools Used - - - - - - 28
3.12 Hardware Requirements - - - - - 29
3.13 Procedure Flow Chart - - - - - 30
CHAPTER FOUR: SYSTEM EVALUATION AND DOCUMENTATION
4.1 Evaluation - - - - - - - 31
4.2 Testing Method - - - - - - 31
4.3 Documentation - - - - - - 31
4.4 User Training - - - - - - - 32
4.5 Program Documentation - - - - - 32
4.6 Execution Procedure - - - - - - 33
4.7 Output Design and Input Design - - - - 33
4.7.1 Input Design - - - - - - - 33
4.7.2 Output Design - - - - - - 33
4.7.2.1 Home Page - - - - - - - 33
4.7.2.2 About Us Menu - - - - - - 34
4.7.2.3 Students Login Menu - - - - - - 35
4.7.2.3.1 Student Registration Page - - - - - 35
4.7.2.3.2 Student Login Page - - - - - - 35
4.7.2.3.3 Student Dashboard Page - - - - - 36
4.7.2.3.4 Student Result Page - - - - - 37
4.7.4 Teachers Menu - - - - - - 38
4.7.4.1 Teachers Registration Page - - - - - 38
4.7.4.2 Teachers Login Page - - - - - - 39
4.7.4.3 Teachers Dashboard Page - - - - - 39
4.7.4.4 Teachers Result Upload Page - - - - - 40
4.7.4.5 Admin Menu - - - - - - - 40
4.7.4.5.1 Admin Dashboard Page - - - - - 41
4.7.5.1.1 Dashboard Section - - - - - - 41
4.7.5.1.2 Main Category Section - - - - - 41
CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 Summary - - - - - - - 45
5.1.1 Restatement of Problem - - - - - 45
5.1.2 Description of the Procedure Used - - - - 45
5.1.3 Educational Implications - - - - - 46
5.2 Conclusion - - - - - - - 47
5.3 Recommendations - - - - - - 48
References
Appendix
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
Result is the consequence of action; the conclusion of a problem or experiment after a period of time (Kanu, 2007). Result is one of the information needed by the society which decision concerning an individual, people, current operations and future plans are based (Ukaoho, 2014). However, It is required that information should be timely and accurate. According to Anulika, Bala and Nyap (2014), students’ result is the criteria for the measuring students’ capabilities in terms of academic performance in the school. It is used to measure a student’s capability in each subject offered by the student and this is very important to the student, parents/guardians, schools and government.
Result processing is a routine activity carried out in every schools or institutions of learning. The end of each academic term or session calls for assessment of student’s performance. The task of result processing with the existing manual method is tedious and time consuming. This in primary schools and secondary schools takes the form of assignment, tests and examination which are computed to get corresponding averages and position for each student in class. Each student in every class has results to be computed for and this is done by various class teachers.
Many schools have their own way or method to manage student’s profile and assessment. The common practice entails the manual recording of student information in result books (Griofa and Ruairc, 2013). Students’ information is obtained from the registration form completed by parents/guardians when registering their children/wards for the first time in school. Several assessments are prepared to evaluate student performance in Akwa Ibom State public secondary schools. Types of assessment that are common to all the secondary schools are assignment, 1st, 2nd, 3rd tests and examination. Considering the large influx in the numbers of students admitted in these public secondary schools because of the free and compulsory education policy in the State.
Errors associated with the existing manual method of processing of students’ result in Akwa Ibom State public secondary school makes it not only desirable but imperative that computerized approach be used to record students’ academic progress. The manual methods being employed suffer a number of set-backs, which make the process to be time consuming and inaccurate as these set-back lead to untimely processing of examination result.
Teachers in these schools have to go through this tedious nature of manual result processing for 50 students in each subscripted arm of a class, where one teacher is to handled 3 subscripted arms housed in one classroom (senior secondary one; SS1 A1,A2 and A3 ). This is 150 students to process result for, at the short period after terminal examination. Hence the case of a teacher processing result for 2000 – 5000 students from various classes with the manual method. In order to determine the final result; averages (subject average and class average) and position, the teacher will have to compute each average separate before being able to get position for each student. The teacher then enters all the result in the result/record booklets for each student and also create a broad sheet called the Master sheet to record the result for future references. These processes are carried out every academic term/session, putting the teachers in a continuous and ever demanding cycle.
Investigation revealed that the manual method adopted in results processing pose some problems in most secondary schools in Akwa Ibom State (FME, 2010). These problems include; poor security of result/record books, untimely processing of results and production of inaccurate results. These problems, therefore give rise to finding a method of processing result that would be sufficiently accurate and reasonably timely, hence the need to design and implement an effective and efficient web-based system to capture registration and examination result processing within the state.
A web-based system is a system that can be accessed through the internet using a web browser (Antonellia, 2013). The new generations of web-based system are known as cloud based. Cloud based systems is just an efficient way to manage and utilize hard drive space allocating it as needed. web-based application are user based, as users can download some part of the application to view it on the desktop, but cannot make any kind of change to the viewed information (Ridge, 2016). This web-based result processing system would provide the teacher or administrative staff who will serve as the admin that will input the data and do the processing. This system can be accessible on computers, laptops and smart phones, where authorized users can have access.
All efforts in this research work is geared towards the gathering of sufficient information that would help in making useful suggestions to alleviate the manual method of processing results in public secondary schools, considering the processing speed, storage and retrieve of information facilities, to provide the management with a tool to process results for evaluations in a more faster and better way. Result will be processed and presented at the click of a button. Hence computer becomes indispensable in results processing.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Problems posed by manual methods of result processing are enormous. The situation in Akwa Ibom State public secondary schools in the effort expended in the process of registering of students and computation of examinations result is tedious. This manual (paper) result processing can be accessed by unauthorized users, is inaccurate and prone to error, time consuming and in case of fire incidence or water the copies of student’s result could be totally lost or damage. Addressing these problems, there is need to develop a system that is accurate, error free and that can run on the web (using real time) in order to give students, parents/guardians, government and other authorized users access to results as at when needed. It is against this background that this study sought to design a web-based result processing system for public secondary schools in Akwa Ibom State.
1.3 Purpose of the Study
The main purpose of this study was to design and evaluate a web-based result processing system for public secondary schools in Akwa Ibom State. Specifically this study sought to:
1. Enable registration/authentication of users that will use the system.
2. Enable computation of student averages
3. Enable determination of student’s position in class.
4. Enable storage of academic record of students for future references and
5. Enable updating of students’ academic records.
1.3 Significant of the Study
The study would be of immense benefits to the teachers, students, parents/guardians and to the state government.
The system will help teachers to prepare accurate and timely result. It will aid the computation of the final result speedily with ease and also help keep continuous records of student for assessment and evaluation purposes.
Students will be able to access the result; since student’s result is needed by student who has finished either SS1 programme to determine whether the student is qualified or not for the next class or the Secondary School Certificate Examination (SSCE) and wishes to further studies into the university, polytechnic or college.
The system would enable parents/guardians quick and easy access to their children/wards result at any time anywhere, since the system is web-based; can be access on smart phones, computers and laptops to use it for decisions making.
The web-based result processing system would give Akwa Ibom State government direct access to choose students and schools based on their performances for public competitions and representations.
1.4 Delimitation
The study would be delimited to design and evaluation of result processing system for senior secondary section of Akwa Ibom State public secondary schools. The study would only take into consideration; registration and authentication of users, computation of students’ averages and position, storage of student’s academic records and updating of student’s records in senior secondary school sections (A case Study of Community Secondary School Aka Offot, Uyo).
1.5 Limitation of the Study
The followings are some problems/challenges encountered during the study:
i. High cost of modem and data subscription; the researcher was faced with the challenge of souring for fund to be able to acquired a modem and for data subscription.
ii. Incessant power outage in the State of the researcher; the high cost of buying fuel to power generating was also a challenge. During coding process the researcher had to purchase a certain amount of fuel that cost much to fuel the generator in other to maintain steady power supply for some hours of coding.
iii. Short duration given for research work in Universities; the period of three month duration and sometimes putting it along side with other academic activities is not enough time for students to carried out this kind of project.
.