Comparative Study on Academic Achievements of Senior High School Learners in Mathematics ‘Before-and-During’ Pandemic

Abstract

This study investigated the comparative academic achievement and statistical relationship in mathematics performance among senior high school learners at Maigo National High School before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Employing a descriptive-correlational design with an ex post facto comparative framework, the study tracked an intact cohort of 93 learners via cluster sampling and documentary analysis of official institutional records (School Form 10). Data spanning pre-pandemic face-to-face instruction (Grade 10) and pandemic-era modular distance learning (Grade 11) was analyzed using Pearson r and a paired samples t-test. Results revealed that learners predominantly maintained a "Satisfactory" grading scale (80–84) across both periods. A moderate, statistically significant positive correlation (r = 0.49 to 0.55, p < .001) demonstrated that prior academic foundations served as a critical buffer, allowing students to sustain their relative class standing despite the crisis. Conversely, the paired t-test uncovered a statistical paradox: pandemic-era overall averages were significantly higher (M = 83.46) than pre-pandemic averages (M = 82.55, P = .042). The study concludes that while foundational knowledge sustains performance across shifting instructional modalities, the upward shift in grades functions primarily as an artifact of institutional leniency and emergency policy accommodations rather than enhanced cognitive-mathematical mastery.