PERSONALIZED LEARNING AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT: AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF HIGH, AVERAGE, AND LOW ACHIEVING SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS

Abstract

Personalized learning seeks to tailor instruction to students’ individual needs, goals, and skill levels; therefore, examining its effect on secondary school students’ academic achievement is of critical importance. This study aimed to investigate the effect of personalized learning on the academic achievement of high, average, and low achievers. A true experimental pretest–posttest equivalent group design was employed. The population comprised 9th-grade students from Govt. Madrissa Millia Islamia High School, F-Block, Satellite Town, Rawalpindi. Following the pretest, students were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. A Subject Achievement Test (SAT), developed from three Mathematics chapters using a standardized questionnaire, was administered as both pretest and posttest. The experimental group was taught using personalized learning strategies based on the Essential Elements Model (Learner Profile, Student Agency, Flexible Learning Environment, Personal Learning Path, and Individual Mastery), whereas the control group received instruction through traditional teaching method. Both groups were taught by the same teacher over eight weeks. Results indicated that personalized learning significantly enhanced the academic achievement of high achievers (M = 38.65, SD = 13.73), while average achievers (M = 21.54, SD = 6.18) and low achievers (M = 9.67, SD = 1.44) showed comparatively limited gains. One-way ANOVA revealed statistically significant differences among the three achievement groups (F = 14.433, p = .000). Post hoc LSD tests confirmed that high achievers significantly outperformed both average and low achievers, whereas the difference between average and low achievers was not statistically significant. The findings of the study revealed that personalized learning significantly improved the academic achievement of secondary school students. The impact of personalized learning was particularly notable among high achievers, while average and low achievers also demonstrated measurable improvement in their academic performance. The results indicate that personalized learning provides opportunities for students to progress at their own pace, address individual learning needs, and enhance engagement in the learning process. In conclusion, personalized learning proved to be an effective instructional approach for enhancing academic achievement among secondary school students across different achievement levels. By accommodating individual differences in learning pace, style, and ability, personalized learning creates a more supportive and responsive learning environment. It is recommended that secondary schools integrate personalized learning strategies into classroom practices to support diverse learners. Additionally, teachers should receive continuous professional development to effectively implement personalized learning and provide appropriate scaffolding for students with varying academic abilities.