The Predictive Power of English Language and Mathematics: Which Better Explains the Other’s Achievement in a National Education Assessment in Ghana?

The study investigated how learners’ English and mathematics proficiencies explained each other’s achievement in a Ghana National Education Assessment. Data from 19,288 primary 3 and 17,113 primary 6 learners across 525 and 500 schools, respectively, were used for this study. A stratified random sampling technique was utilised to gather data and analysed using hierarchical linear modelling. Primary 3 and 6 learners’ English proficiencies explained 0.477 and 0.346 marks of their mathematics achievement variance, while their mathematics achievement explained 0.529 and 0.727 marks of English achievement variance, respectively. Mathematics proficiency explained more variance in English achievement than English proficiency explained in mathematics achievement, signalling that it takes more than a learner’s English proficiency to account for their mathematics achievement. Private schools enhanced the relationship between the achievement of either subject than public schools. The findings underscore the intricate connections between the two subjects and schools’ moderation of these relationships. Hence, schools and teachers must implement inclusive teaching, learning and assessment practices that enable learners to maximise their distinct intelligences and proficiencies in one subject while learning another.