ABACUS, Pages 24 – 33, Vol. 32, No. 1, 2007 AN INVESTIGATION INTO MATHEMATICS PERFORMANCE OF SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN SOKOTO STATE GALADIMA, I. & YUSHA’U, M.A. Department of Education, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, Nigeria ABSTRACT This paper investigated the Mathematics performance of Senior Secondary School students in Mathematical concepts, principles, terms and symbols as contained in Algebra. Trigonometry and Statistics. The study covered all the Senior Secondary two students in Sokoto State who were found to have covered adequate content of algebra, trigonometry and statistics of SS II mathematics curriculum. A sample of 368 students were involved in the study, comprising of 187 boys and 181 girls. The instrument adapted for the study was a standardized text constructed and validated in Malaysia by a research group called Diagnostic Technologic Malaysia (1987).Percentage, means, standard deviations and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were employed to determine and compare performance of students at  = 0.05. All the 2 hypotheses tested were not rejected showing no significant differences between the group means. The paper proffers some recommendations among which included investigations of students’ learning difficulties should be taken seriously by teachers and be seen as a special tool for checking the level of difficulties among the students. INTRODUCTION One of the aims of mathematics education is surely successful learning for all students, yet it seems to be a fact of reality that, while few students prosper in the learning of mathematics, much greater number of them find mathematics difficult. Over the years, mathematics educators have identified various causes of difficulties in learning mathematics. Among these factors include; physiological, social, emotional, intellectual and pedagogical in nature (Howell, 2000; Geary, 1999; Inekwe, 1977; Wright, 1996; Galadima, 1988 and Bruckner, and Bond, 1955). Poor students performance in Mathematics has posed major concern to mathematics educators. This is because, the teaching and learning of mathematics in secondary schools in Nigeria have a significant role towards understanding the subject as well as science and technology related courses. According to Adegboye (1991) Mathematics is one of the core subjects in both Junior and Senior Secondary School curricula in Nigeria, which justifies the recognition of Mathematics as being essential in the development of technological advancement in Nigeria.