Readiness of GAS (General Academic Strand) Senior High School Students in Biology Aptitude Test: Basis for Learning Material Development

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CRUZ 2012, “students opting to choose the General Academic Strand (GAS) will be minimally prepared to enter higher education. They will still have problems qualifying for certain majors. For example, they cannot go into a STEM-type college course, because they will not have Calculus. They cannot go i nto Accounting, because they would not have had the introductory accounting subjects of the ABM Strand.”

The academic readiness in Biology of the General Academic Strand (GAS) learners was the focus of the study, Biology Aptitude test was the basis in developing a supplemental learning material.

The study aimed at determining the academic readiness of Grade 12 General Academic Strand ( GAS) students in taking Biology Aptitude Test if they are decided to study in college Biology related courses: BS Biology, BS Nursing, BS Laboratory Science, BSEd Biology and the like. It further ascertained the learning materials developed for them to be prepared to the aptitude test specifically in Biology Aptitude Test.

Using descriptive-survey research design, it intended to look into the

Grade 12 General Academic Strand ( GAS) academic readiness through Biology Aptitude Test. It further aims to determine how the ( GAS) General Academic Strand learners were ready in their tertiary education specifically in choosing college Biology related courses like that of BS Biology, BS Nursing, BS Laboratory Science, BS Radiologic Technology and the like. It further ascertained the level of readiness of the General Academic ( GAS) learners in Biology Aptitude Test and study was conducted in one of the schools in Iloilo Province. The Biology Aptitude Test was based on the curriculum guide of General Biology I and General Biology 2 of the STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics) strand subjects.

Generally, the Grade 12 GAS (General Academic Strand) learners if taken as a group, they are unprepared given the Biology Aptitude Test. As the results revealed, topics on Climate change, Protein Synthesis, Non Mendelian Genetics, and Cellular Respiration they are unprepared. Only the unprepared result was revealed in this study. This means that generally, the Grade 12 GAS l earners are unprepared on the following topics: Climate Change, Protein Synthesis, Photosynthesis, Non- Mendelian Genetics, and Cellular Respiration. In addition, the supplementary learning material was based on these unprepared topics by the Grade 12 (GAS) General Academic Strand learners in the subject of the study. (