A Study of Aptitude in Physics among Selected Self-Financing Higher Secondary School Students of Trivandrum
Abstract: This study investigates the relationship between physics aptitude and academic achievement among senior secondary science students in Trivandrum, Kerala. The research addresses a critical gap in localized psychometric research within self-financing educational institutions, where student aptitude is rarely prioritized during the stream selection and admission process. Employing a descriptive survey research design, data were gathered from a randomly selected sample of 600 Class XII English-medium science students (300 male and 300 female) during the 2020-2021 academic year. Participants were evaluated using the investigator-developed Physics Aptitude Test Battery (PATB)- which measures seven primary cognitive and psychomotor dimensions-and their academic performance scores from the standardized state pre-public physics examination. Quantitative data analysis was conducted using Mean, Standard Deviation, Critical Ratio (t-test), and Chi-square (χ2) tests of independence. The empirical findings reveal that the majority of students possess average levels of both physics aptitude (68%) and academic achievement (67.3%), with no statistically significant differences observed between male and female cohorts (t = 1.28 for PATB; t = 0.08 for achievement, p > 0.01). Crucially, Chi-square evaluations demonstrated a highly significant association (χ2 = 127.1, p 2 = 53.17) and female (χ2 = 75.51) subgroups. These outcomes underscore the foundational role of specialized cognitive components in pedagogical outcomes, suggesting that structured environmental interventions designed to nurture physics aptitude can directly enhance scholastic performance and minimize human resource wastage in science streams.
Keywords: Physics Aptitude, Academic Achievement, Senior Secondary Students, Self-Financing Schools, Physics Aptitude Test Battery (PATB), Chi-Square Test, Gender Analysis
How to Cite?: Saalinraj S., Evangeline Supriya, "A Study of Aptitude in Physics among Selected Self-Financing Higher Secondary School Students of Trivandrum", Volume 15 Issue 10, October 2026, International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR), Pages: 874-877, https://www.ijsr.net/getabstract.php?paperid=SR261013223729, DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.21275/SR261013223729