Impact of Economics Textbooks on Students' Performance in Tanzania National Examinations: A Pre-and Post-Introduction Study

Abstract

This study assesses the impact of the introduction of officially approved Economics textbooks on students’ performance in Tanzania’s Advanced Certificate of Secondary Education Examination (ACSEE). Before 2022, students relied on self-authored materials and imported textbooks, leading to inconsistent teaching and varied performance outcomes. The introduction of Tanzania Institute of Education (TIE)-approved Economics textbooks aimed to standardise resources and improve learning outcomes. By analysing national examination data from 2014 to 2024 for 107,772 students, the trend in performance was evaluated. Additionally, a purposive sample of 71,542 students who sat for the examination from 2019 to 2024 was selected to compare performance before (2019–2021) and after (2022–2024) the textbooks were introduced. Descriptive statistics revealed overall performance improvements, though some topics, such as Public Finance, showed minimal change or even a decline. A paired t-test indicated no statistically significant difference in overall performance between the two periods. These findings suggest that while the textbooks contributed to more consistent teaching practices, their impact on overall student performance was limited but noticeable in topic-specific results. The study underscores the value of standardised educational resources and calls for further research into factors influencing subject-specific performance outcomes.