Persistent Gaps in Conceptual Mastery: Assessing Grade 11 Learners’ Competency in General Chemistry

Abstract

Mastery of chemistry learning competencies is a key indicator of students’ academic achievement; however, many learners continue to experience difficulty in understanding core chemical concepts and applying them to practical contexts. This study examined the level of mastery of Grade 11 learners in the assessed chemistry learning competencies. A descriptive research design was employed using a conceptual understanding test covering Matter and Its Properties, Atomic Structure and the Periodic Table, Chemical Reactions, Gases and Gas Laws, Solutions, Acids and Bases, Thermochemistry and Chemical Kinetics, Nuclear Chemistry, Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, and Chemistry in Everyday Life and the Environment. The results showed that the majority of learners obtained scores ranging from 11 to 17, with a mean score of 13.80 and a median of 14. Among the 445 participants, only five learners (1.12%) achieved a passing score, while 440 learners (98.88%) did not meet the mastery criterion. Overall, the learners attained a mean percentage score of 20.3%, indicating a low level of mastery, with error frequencies ranging from 71% to 84% across the assessed competencies. These findings highlight persistent challenges in students’ conceptual understanding of chemistry and underscore the need for targeted instructional interventions to improve mastery of essential learning competencies.