Objective vs. Subjective Performance: Do Factors Such as Language Proficiency and Subject Knowledge Affect Exam Scores?

What if your strongest Social Studies student explains everything perfectly in writing—but still loses marks in MCQs?

This action research explored whether language proficiency, subject knowledge, and explicit vocabulary instruction influence Grade 5 students’ performance in objective vs subjective assessments, and whether targeted support can improve overall exam scores.

PROBLEM IN
CONTEXT

What the Data Revealed

At Beaconhouse Cantt Campus Primary, Grade 5 students showed a noticeable pattern in Social Studies: many performed confidently in subjective questions, yet their objective scores fluctuated—even when they understood the topic. While some students could explain ideas in writing, they struggled with MCQs and recall-based questions that required quick recognition of key facts and terms.

Why it Mattered

This gap mattered because it raised concerns about content mastery and assessment fairness. If a student understands the subject but cannot perform consistently on objective items, it signals missing vocabulary, weak retention, or gaps in concept clarity. Since CAT scores guide academic support and student categorisation, the school needed clearer evidence of what truly influences performance—and how teaching strategies can reduce these learning gaps.

This challenge raised an important question for the teaching team: if students understand Social Studies concepts, why do they still lose marks in objective assessments? To explore this systematically, the teacher used action research to examine whether explicit instruction of subject-specific vocabulary could strengthen students’ objective performance—and whether language proficiency and content knowledge could explain differences between objective and subjective outcomes.

A performance target was established — students would show improved achievement in CAT 3 objective scores after targeted vocabulary instruction — highlighting the role of content literacy and structured reinforcement in improving exam performance.

Research Question

Do factors such as Language Proficiency & Subject Knowledge affect CAT (Common Assessment Task)/Exam Scores?

Objective 01

Compare Objective vs Subjective Performance Patterns

To examine how students perform differently in MCQs/short objective items versus written, explanation-based subjective questions in Social Studies, and identify consistent trends or gaps.

Objective 03

Examine the Role of English Language Proficiency

To explore how students’ reading comprehension, vocabulary, and written expression influence their ability to score well in subjective responses, even when content knowledge is present.

Objective 02

Measure the Impact of Subject/Content Knowledge

To determine whether stronger understanding of Social Studies concepts and facts leads to higher scores—especially in objective sections where recall and accuracy are critical.

Objective 04

Use Findings to Improve Teaching and Support Strategies

To apply insights from the data to strengthen classroom instruction, refine assessment design, and introduce targeted supports (such as vocabulary scaffolds and practice tasks) to improve overall performance.

INTERVENTION TIMELINE AND ACTIVITIES

Week 1 – Baseline Data Collection

  • Recorded CAT 1 and CAT 2 objective + subjective performance patterns

Weeks 2–4 – Targeted Intervention

  • Introduced key Social Studies vocabulary list

  • Explicit teaching of meanings + context

  • Reinforcement through short quizzes and class assignments

  • Practice of terms during regular lesson time (no extra tools)

Week 5 – CAT 3 Assessment

  • Conducted CAT 3 and compared performance changes against baseline

Week 6 – Analysis & Reflection

  • Compared objective vs subjective results

  • Examined links between content knowledge, English proficiency, and CAT performance

FINDINGS AND IMPLICATIONS

Subject Knowledge Drives Objective Scores

Students’ Social Studies subject knowledge had a strong, statistically significant impact on CAT 3 objective performance (β = 0.407, p = 0.005, R² = 0.534, N = 20)—showing that objective marks rose consistently as content mastery increased.

English Proficiency Shapes Subjective Responses

Students’ English language proficiency significantly predicted CAT 3 subjective Social Studies scores (β = 0.279, p = 0.013, R² = 0.296, N = 20)—highlighting that written responses depend heavily on comprehension and expression.

Objective Performance Was More Content-Dependent Than Language-Dependent

The objective model explained over half the variation in scores (R² = 0.534), while the subjective model explained around one-third (R² = 0.296)—suggesting content knowledge influenced objective success more strongly than language alone influenced subjective success.

Students Were Already Scoring High, but Gaps Still Mattered

Even with relatively high averages (Objective mean = 8.15/10, Subjective mean = 8.35/10), score differences still appeared across learners—showing that some students understood concepts but struggled with MCQ-style recall and vocabulary recognition, making targeted support necessary.

If you’re interested to learn more about the intervention, methodology, resources or the results, click on the relevant button below to access the full research report.

Beaconhouse Employees – Open Internal Report with BSS Login
Non-Beaconhouse Users – Access Report by Requesting on Google Forms

Here’s the report podcast if you’re interested.

Sarwat Raza

Teacher

Driven by a passion for meaningful learning, Sarwat serves as Social Studies Subject Lead at Cantt Campus Lahore and teaches Grades 4 and 5. She is dedicated to creating engaging and purposeful learning experiences for her students.

As a researcher, she found the process highly insightful, enabling her to reflect critically on the factors influencing student performance. Research empowers her to refine her teaching strategies, make informed decisions, and enhance student understanding and overall learning outcomes effectively.