Influence of the Z-Score system in the entrance to the university arts stream

Abstract

In Sri Lanka, for university entrance students are allowed to select three subjects from several subject combinations in each stream. The problem of scoring in each subject due to different level of hardship of subjects was a big issue. This leads to find a new solution to rank the students to select them for university qualification. To overcome this issue the Z-score system was introduced since the individual Z- Score for every subject relies on its weight or hardship. This statistical system has made its effect much on Arts and Management & Commerce streams effectively when compared to Biological and Physical science stream. This paper attempts to prove through example that Z score system has done well to overcome the issue different hardships of subjects. For this study, a batch of 152 South Eastern University Arts Faculty undergraduate’s G.C.E A/L results wereanalyzed. These students sat for three ofthe following subjects for the university entrance: Geography, Economics, Logic, Islam, Political science and Tamil. Results of the analysis shows that even though there are differences in grades obtained for different subjects, there were no significant difference in their Z scores of the undergraduates due to their different subject combinations (P < 0.000). This resultsdisproves theconventional belief that one has to select easy three subjects to get into the university.