Lately, basic school pupils have performed poorly in the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) as well as in their end of term examinations and this necessitated an enquiry into the phenomenon. The study used the cross-sectional study design. The sample size was 195. The study collected data using a questionnaire. Data analysis involved using descriptive statistics. The study found that largely pupils from academically performing and nonacademically performing schools have similar perceptions about causes of poor academic performance. Again, the combined effect of home and school environmental factors emerged as the major contributor to poor academic performance. The study recommends that providing a conducive home environment for the pupils, tackling pupil and teacher related factors, would help to ensure that poor academic performance is a thing of the past.

The study examined the effects of curriculum planning activities of heads of senior high schools on students’ academic performance in Ghana. The cross-sectional survey design was used in the study. The sample size was 445. The proportionate stratified random and purposive sampling techniques. Data were collected using questionnaire, interviews and focus group discussions. Analysis of data involved the use of binary logistic regression, cross-tabulation and thematic analysis. It was found that of the eight predictors of high academic performance, four predictors emerged as significant. Thus, the study concludes that the curriculum leadership roles played by heads of schools contribute to the academic performance of their students directly. The study recommends that only competent and committed people should be appointed as heads of schools.