TITLE PAGE

EXAMINATION RESULT AUTOMATION FOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS

BY
NWOKOLO CHIMEZIE THANKGOD
CST/ 2005 027
A PROJECT SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF
COMPUTER SCIENCE
IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REUIREMENTS FOR
THE AWARD OF HIGHER NATIONAL DIPLOMA !HND" IN COMPUTER
SCIENCE

SCHOOL OF SCIENCE IMO STATE POLYTECHNIC UMUAGWO OHAJI
OCTOBER# 20$%
ABSTRACT
This research paper examined the inadequacies involved in the manual method of
compiling students' result in secondary schools in Nigeria. To achieve that, preliminary
investigations about the current manual record keeping were carried out at some
selected secondary schools of Nasarawa state. The problems with the manual result
processing were identified and a new system was proposed, designed, and
implemented. In this work, a computer software application was developed to facilitate
the automated processing of the results. The software was developed using !
"!ypertext processor# programming language and $%&'( "$y &tructural 'uery
(anguage#, a relational database management system in designing the database)
tested and found to have produced the expected results. Teachers do not need to draw
vertical*hori+ontal lines on a broad sheet of paper for recording students test and exam
scores, and also need not to do any form of calculations, as the system does virtually
everything. &imilarly, there is no need of printing result booklet for each student.
,esults can be printed on -. si+e paper or on embossed cardboard paper cut into -.
si+e and which appears like a certificate and looks more beautiful at a lower cost
compared to the cost of printing result booklets and the stress teachers have to
undergo to prepare students results. The software will make the teacher's /ob less
stressful by cutting down the time and effort spent on result preparation, thereby,
allowing the teacher more time for teaching and other instructional issues. This new
system is flexible and can be modified to suit any kind of students' record keeping and
data processing in both public and private secondary schools.
CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Many schools have their own system to manage students profile and
assessments. Common practice is by recording the student information in a record
book. Students' information is obtained from the registration form completed by the
parents when they registered their children for the first time. This practice has some
weaknesses such as the longer time to search the student profile, the possibility of
misplacement of record book and vulnerability of student record to be accessed by
unauthorized person. n !asarawa state public secondary schools, several
assessments are prepared to evaluate student performance. Types of assessments
that are common to all the secondary schools are assignments, monthly test, and end
of term e"ams. #t the end of each assignment, test and e"amination, the class teacher
records student's marks and grades in the record book or in basic computer software
such as Microsoft $"cel for teachers with knowledge and access to computer. #fter
that, the class teacher needs to determine student's position %ranking& in class based on
their performances. 'owever, it takes time to do these tasks because they need to
formulate their own calculation for class position %ranking&. These tasks will be much
easier if all calculations for class position %ranking& can be automatically done when the
teacher enter assignments, test and e"ams marks. Students result is the criteria for the
measurement of the student's capability in terms of academic performance in the
school. t is used to measure a student's capability in each sub(ect offered by the
student, because the student result is very important to the student and his)her parents,
there is need to avoid common mistakes made during the result processing, this can
easily be achieved by an automated result processing system, The system is an
effective, efficient and error free results processing system designed and implemented
for public secondary schools in !asarawa state for proper running of the schools results
processing. Therefore, the researcher developed an automated result processing
system %#*+, System& in order to manage student information and assessments. This
system will help school administration %principal and clerk& to manage student profile
and class teacher to manage students' assessments.
magine a teacher compiling (ust -. students results and the stress the teacher
have to undergo. The teacher gets busy calculating %addition and division& each
student's test and e"am scores. /or every student, the teacher will add what the
student scored in first test, second test and e"am to get the total for that sub(ect,
assume the sub(ect is Mathematic0 the teacher will repeat it for the rest sub(ects offered
by the same student (ust to get all the total scores for each sub(ect. To get the average
score for this student, the teacher will have to add all the total scores for each sub(ect
offered and then divide by total number of sub(ects offered by the student. The same
process is repeated for the remaining 12 students. #fter that, the teacher now orders
the average scores to rank the students 3st, 1nd, -rd ... position in the class, it does not
end there. The teacher will also enter the record into each student 4*eport Card4 then
create a broad sheet called Master Sheet for all the students' records for future
references. This is stressful and time consuming, in order to manage this computation
and to make teachers less stressful, make their (ob en(oyable and to make them direct
their attention on teaching is very easy with computerized system. 5n the other hand,
magine one person processing -...,6... students result from various classes with
little effort of (ust entering students' scores as soon as they are conducted, and results
generated automatically for printing no matter the size of the students in a class)school.
n each term, the system generates test and e"am scores sheet with students names
arranged accordingly with columns)rows created for each sub(ect scores entering. This
is given to the class teacher to fill in scores after the test or e"am is conducted. t will be
taken back to the system for entry and after that with (ust a click0 the result is ready for
printing.
1.2 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
The problems which are encountered in the previous system are
Student impersonation
n secured authentication of students
Manual verification of student
1.3 PURPOSE OF THE SYSTEM
The purpose of records and archives management systems must be phrased in terms
of the larger organisation. *ecords professionals may want to clarify the purpose of the
automated system, what other functions it could or should perform and what information
is needed within the system. 'owever senior management will want to know the
business ob(ectives to be supported by the automated system.
1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
The significance of the study is as follows
To add more security measures to the e"amination result processes using finger
print biometrics.
To eliminate the possibility of an imposter manipulating in an e"am result.
1.6 SCOPE OF TH STUDY
Most authorities and management of secondary schools in !asarawa state think
that the use of computer in school administration is only for the production of
applications, memos and letters. There is not a single computer used in the
library of these schools. 7se of computers in schools cannot be over
emphasised, it can help in administering the school during the admission
procedures, processing e"amination, admission, registration, scheduling, storing
of officials and students' records etc. nvestigation revealed that the manual
method adopted in results processing pose some problems in most secondary
school in !asarawa state. These problems can be arranged under the following
heading8 +oor security of documents, 7ntimely processing of results, and
+roduction of inaccurate results. The #im of this research is to develop a
powerful computer application program that will ameliorate on the short,comings
encountered in the student's result processing in !asarawa state public
secondary schools such as the stress of compiling students result by the
teachers and errors generated in the results due to human factors thereby
generating result that is accurate, timely and error free. #ll efforts in this research
are geared towards the gathering of sufficient information that would help in
making useful suggestions for the alleviation of manual processing of results in
secondary schools considering the processing speed, storage and retrieve of
information facilities, to provide the management with a tool with which to cut
down on the time taken to provide results of evaluations. *esult will be
processed and presented at the click of a button. 'ence computer becomes
indispensable in results processing.
1.7 DEFINITION OF TERMS
Examination: the act of looking at something closely and
carefully: the act of examining something.
Result: A result is the final consequence of a sequence of actions or events
expressed qualitatively or quantitatively.
Automation: Is the use of various control systems for operating equipment
such as machinery, telephone networks and computers.
Sec!"#$% &c'() # secondary school is a school which provides secondary
education, typically between the ages of 33,39, after primary school and before higher
education.
CHAPTER T*O
2.0 LITERATURE RE+IE*
2.1 A. MANUAL RESULT PROCESSING
Sometimes the delay in declaration of results cause heavy losses to the students
as generally they cannot (oin further studies or appear in competitive e"ams because of
the non,availability of e"amination result in time Mohini .:, and #mar. ;. S, %1.33. Some of the
limitations of the e"isting system, though not comprehensive, are as follows8
*epetition of <ork8 There is repetition of work in the e"isting system because the same
data is recorded in different branches of the e"amination. This leads to data
duplications as well as huge money is spent by the institution to purchase papers. n
e"isting system, managing of students' record is very tedious. *etrieval of students'
records through manual registers, maintaining of records and data reconciliation etc.
are very time consuming. Tempering of student *ecords8 n manual e"amination
system, there are chances of tempering with students records. Sometimes fake results
are prepared and there is no online verification of the results. This leads to unfair
practices and it mars the credibility of an institution.
# number of problems associated with student academic record management include
improper course registration, late release of students' results, inaccuracy due to manual
and tedious calculation and retrieval difficulties)inefficiency %$ludire, #.#. 1.33&. n most
cases the data generated by academic institutions are usually created in non,
delineated files for use by different departments)units within the institutions with the
same data appearing on several of these files. This means that a simple change of
address would have to be processed in two and probably three or four places,
depending on the number of other files on which these data appears. The development
of database concept is the answer to these problems where the amount of redundant
data is reduced and the possibility that data contained on a file might be inaccurate
because they were never updated. 5ther problems associated with course system
management include improper registration, late release of students' results, inaccuracy
due to manual and tedious calculation, and retrieval difficulties )inefficiency. To proffer
solution to the setback associated with manual system of result processing, an
application called Student #cademic *ecord Management System using Microsoft
#ccess to handle the task of creating, storing, accessing and maintaining files and
database records is developed. #ccording to %$ludire, #.#. 1.33&, the choice of Microsoft
#ccess was because it is simple and easy to code and available with forms and reports.
t is also accessible in terms of distribution with versions of Microsoft 5ffice. MS #ccess
version 1..- is chosen for the implementation %Microsoft Corporation, 1..-&
Some previous works that have been carried out in this area to address the
problem of manual result processing are the works by Moses $. $kpenyong.%1..=& and that
by 7kem , $. 5. and 5noyom,ta, $. 5, %1.33&.
n his work, Moses $. $kpenyong.%1..=& employs Microsoft $"cel spread sheet
program to build an ntelligent >nowledge,:ased System %>:S&, making use of various
programming facilities provided by that application %$"cel&. The central issue here is
that the programming is hard coded into the cells, and cell referencing is used to
monitor and track students' performance. The system has been reported to be working
fine. 'owever, it appears to be rather restrictive, and calls for substantial e"pertise in
programming. Similarly, n the work by 7kem , $. 5. and 5noyom,ta, $. 5, %1.33& #dobe
?ream weaver an ntegrated ?evelopment $nvironment is used to create the @raphic
7ser nterface and to write the codes. MASBC Server, a *elational ?atabase
Management System, is used to create the database tables and data. +ersonal 'ome
+age +re,+rocessor %+'+& is used to communicate with and manipulate the database.
This application, though tested and found to be working as e"pected, has however not
been put to use widely.
# computer software application is developed in ;ava programming language in
the form of a database, employing MASBC *elational ?atabase Management System
to facilitate the automated processing of the results 7kem, $. 5. and 5foegbu, /. %1.31& .The
developed software performed well and produced e"pected results on completion. <ith
it, it was possible to compute @rade +oint #verage and Cumulative @rade +oint
#verage for each student based on e"amination scores entered. The application was
successfully developed, tested, and found to be working as e"pected. t is capable of
storing and processing students' results with high speed and accuracy, and presenting
output in certain reDuired forms. t is easy to use due to the use of a @7 rather than
command, line approach, reasonably secure, and enforces data integrity resulting from
the use of a relational database management system. <ith this application, the
processing of students' results can be automated to a large e"tent, thereby reducing
processing time and increasing accuracy. The future outlook of this work is to make the
application web,enabled, which would greatly enhance its use. 7sers could then access
the application from anywhere via the nternet, and be able to carry out their work,
students with proper authorization would be able to view their results on,line. #ccording
to 7kem, $. 5. and 5foegbu, /. # %1.31&, the issue of security could also be looked into, with a
view to improving it so that users would have greater peace of mind, knowing that their
data would not easily be compromised.
2.2 THE NEED FOR AUTOMATED RESULT PROCESSING SYSTEM IN SCHOOLS
<ith automated result processing in an institution of learning, there will be lots of
benefits to derive which will provides the necessary conveniences for the students,
Cecturers and managements in the school. The benefit of computerize test taking,
marking and result publication cannot be overemphasis, #tabong, T. #. ,5kpala, M. C.,
#bondem, #. C. and $ssombe3, C. $.%1.3.& identify the following as benefit of computerize test
taking, Marking and results publication8
%i& A,-.#-/! M/!/./0e H,.#! I!-e$1e!-/!) There will be lesser human
intervention %as much as possible& in result processing by automating all the concerned
activities.
%ii& A,-.#-/! F#c/(/-#-e M#!#2e.e!-) The Computerized Statistical #nalysis of
?ata will facilitate the management to see trends in result at various levels.
Management nformation System %MS& reports will facilitate the Top Cevel Management
to make strategic decision in favour of the institutions and students.
%iii& A,-.#-/! M/!/./0e& Re",!"#!c%) The use of *elational ?atabase
Management System for storage of students' data will help in minimizing the
redundancy in database in addition to maintain consistency, integrity and security of
data.
n an educational community, information is highly essential for correct students' record
and e"amination data. Student information, if not properly created and stored, will
cause many errors in usage. !early, every section of the educational system reDuires
information processing 5konigene, *.$., ghalo, @.., 5gbeifun, $., %1..=&. This new system is
fle"ible and can be modified to suite any kind of record keeping and data processing.
2.3 DESCRIPTION AND ANALYSIS OF THE E3ISTING SYSTEM
*esults are compiled by each teacher according to the sub(ects he or she
handles by calculating %addition and division& each student's Test and $"am scores. /or
every student in Duestion, The teacher will add what the student scored in 3st E 1nd
Test and $"am to get the total for that sub(ect, for e"ample in Mathematics, teacher
repeats this process for the rest of sub(ects offered by the same student (ust to get all
the total scores for each sub(ect. To get the average score for this student, the teacher
will further add all the total scores for each sub(ect offered then divide by total number
of sub(ects offered by the student. The whole process is repeated for the remaining 12
students. #fter that is done, the teacher starts looking for the highest average score and
the one that follows and so on to get %3st, 1nd, -rd, Fth -.
th
positions in the class&.
it does not end there, the teacher later enter the record into each student 4*eport Card4
and also create a broad sheet called Master Sheet for all the students' records for
future references. This process of result compilation is very stressful and time
consuming. +roblems associated with the e"isting system are as follows8 4#5
I!#cc,$#c%) The results produced by the manual system may not be accurate due to
calculations which involve ordinary calculator and human reasoning.
465 L#c7 8 &ec,$/-% 8 $e&,(-&) The results processed are storedin files. These files
are sometimes attacked by insects such as termites or other pest
4c5 L#-e 9$ce&&/!2 8 $e&,(-&) The short period of time available for the processing of
results, makes the teachers involve in a period of very though work, #s a result of this
most of the times the results are produced late %d& +roduction of ineffective results8 #s a
result of miscalculations in the manual results processing system the results produced
are ineffective.
CHAPTER THREE
3.0 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 METHODOLOGY
INTRODUCTION
The application was developed in the form of a database, using a *elational ?atabase Management System
%*?:MS&. The decision to implement the application in the form of a database was informed by the
consideration that various types of data would need to be held, and a database approach would be more
appropriate due to the advantages that the database file system has over other forms of file systems G9H.
#ccording to *esearcher GIH , # database management system permits organizations to efficiently create
databases for different applications by database administrators %?:#s& and any of other specialists.reiterated
that ?atabase management system allows many user application programs to simultaneously access the
same database that is called concurrency. *esearcher G9H also employed #dobe ?reamweaver, an ntegrated
?evelopment $nvironment, to create the @raphic 7ser nterface and to write the codes, MASBC %My
Structured Buery Canguage&, a *elational ?atabase Management System %*?:MS& to create the database
tables and +ersonal 'ome +age +re,+rocessor %+'+&, a Scripting language to communicate with and
manipulate the database. The primary features of the +'+ are that it is ob(ect,oriented and a cross platform
language. :y cross platform, it means that the programs can run across several platforms such as Microsoft
<indows, #pple Macintosh, Cinu", and so on.
3.2 METHOD OF DATA COLLECTION
# thorough investigation of functional reDuirement of the present system and finding out whether the
reDuirements and ob(ective of the system are being achieved was made in order to obtain detailed facts
about the application area to be re,designed. ?irect observation and e"amination of documents were carried
out.
/$#S:CTA ST7?A
#n in,depth study was carried out to determine the possibility of implementing an management information
system for the pro(ect. This investigation is essential to building an information system that keeps record of all
the student personal identity in the university, college of education, polytechnic secondary schools. $tc. 7nder
this study the following techniDues where found beneficiary in the course of gathering relevant fact and details
for this pro(ect work.
5:S$*J#T5! M$T'5?
?ue to the importance attached to collection of accurate information from the right, authentic and reliable
source. t is embarked on the mode of carrying out activities and pro(ect implementation in the university
e"amination system. This method was adopted for the following reasons.
To have a firsthand knowledge about the method of e"am in the school the system for entrance into
the e"ams and avoid e"aggeration.
To allow organization see the whole detail needed for the new system and its structure.
ST7?A!@ 5/ +*5C$?7*#C M#!7#CS
<ritten document about the university and the procedure manuals seen showed the different portfolios
obtainable in the pro(ect each with its designated functions obtainable in the pro(ect .this method of data
collection was very useful in that it served as an eye,opener for asking reliable Duestions pertaining to the
activities of the pro(ect.
!T$*J$<!@ M$T'5?
nterviewing is another sophisticate means of collecting data this method involves face to face interpersonal
role situation in which Duestioned are raised and answer are supplied. n this method of data collection we
analyze why the previous systems have refused to solve the problem faced and the effect of its persistence
occurrence in the society.
$J#C7#T5! #!? !S+$CT5! 5/ ?5C7M$!TS
Close e"amination of some document was carried out and it proved to be an important method, in
the course of the investigation through the inspection some deductions and inference which are of immense
benefit to this research were drawn. $"ample of document that was inspect was the student e"amination
brochure, student resultto know the number of courses, document from the internet relevant to institution their
credit unit and their course code each level offers.
3.3 INPUT: PROCESSING AND OUTPUT ANALYSIS OF THE E3ISTING SYSTEM
The input, processing and output sub system of the conventional system is treated blow. %i& nput
#nalysis8 /our assessment test are conducted, one assessment has to suit the convenience period of two
weeks or in any way as to suit the convenience of both teachers
and the students alike. The first two assessments conducted in a term are summarized as the second
summary. The first and second summaries (ointly weigh forty percent. #t the end of the term e"aminations
are conducted. This weighs si"ty percent. The first and second summaries and the e"amination score
serves as input to the system.
%ii& +rocessing #nalysis8 The scores from the first and second summaries and the e"amination score is
added together to give a total score. The total score in each sub(ect is then graded according to the grading
criteria used in the school. The total score in each sub(ect is then added and divided by the number of
sub(ects offered.
The result obtained from the students average score and is used to determine the students' position in the
class. The student with the highest average score takes the first positions, the second to the highest takes
second position etc.
(iii) 5utput #nalysis8 The outputs of the system is the students sheet document which contains the
students name and surname, the students class, term the sub(ects offered by the student, the score and
grade of the student for each sub(ect, students average score and position in the class.
M#!7#C ?#T# +*$+#*#T5! #!? C5M+7T#T5!
:efore any meaningful computational analysis can be achieved, proper data and inventory must be taken.
# list of all students with information such as name, registration number, date of birth, se", nationality, state
of origin, religion, etc., of each student in a class should be created G3H. This agree with the manual method
of preparing student result in public secondary school in !asarawa state as shown in the table 3 below.
Table 3 below shows student result sheet as used in !asarawa state public secondary schools see
figure.=.
Table 3 *esult sheet
N#.e8$manuel:ala Term8 3st Ye#$) 1.3.
Class 8 SS1 Score @rade
Sub(ect
$nglish 9- Credit
Mathematics 6F ?istinction
:iology =- ?istinction
Chemistry 69 ?istinction
+hysics I6 Credit
#griculture F2 +ass
$conomic 2I ?istinction
#verage mark 8 63
+osition 8 1
nd
/igure =8 Student manual result sheet
PROPOSED SYSTEM
The new system will help to solve all the problems inherent in the existing system. The
justification for the new system includes:
Timely staff record registration.
Timely processing of employee information.
Error free processing of data.
It is inexpensive to administrators.
Transactions are secured (Authentication.
It is cost effective.
PROPOSED SYSTEM
The computerization of secondary school results processing system has the
following importance0
%a&E88/c/e!c%); :ecause of the ever increasing number of students enrolling in
secondary schools, it is becoming progressively harder to cope with the paper worked
involved in the manual system of processing. # computerized system will make the (ob
a lot more efficient and students will obtain their results soon after the marking of the
scripts is completed.
%b& Acc,$#c%) #s in all manually operated systems there are often errors to a very
negligible degree, and when they do occur, can be easily identified and corrected. This
is achieved by the use of interactive processing.
%c&Re-$/e1e #6/(/-%); n the manual system information are stored in files, these
information can be retrieved by searching for the file that contains it, but with the use of
computers one need to do is to punch a few keys on the key board or simply click the
mouse and the information is retrieved.
%d&S#8e-% #!" &ec,$/-%) information stored in the computer is safe from animals,
insects and intruders. #lso a password can be used to make program assessable to
only authorized persons.
The developed software application was run on the system and found to operate
as e"pected8 The login screen is as shown in /igure 3, enables the user to enter his K
her password in order to login.
/igure.38 Cog in +age %Jalidates 7ser #ccount before #ccess is granted&
f the password entered is valid, then the user is able to gain access to the main
window)page. The main page)window has a single menu, which is the main menu call
home page. The home page contain sub menus %commands& namely0 the #dmin,
*esults, *egister, +rofile, supports and contact us. <hen any of the sub,menus is
clicked, a drop down menu appears with different options for selection, /or e"ample, if
the *esult Command is clicked, a drop down menu with options such as *egister
student, view sub(ect, view students and view results appears as shown in
/igure 1. Sub,Menus Showing a ?rop down Menu
a& *egister Sub(ect8 ?isplay a window for registering new sub(ects and give option to
select the class in which the sub(ect is offered as shown in figure -
b& Jiew Sub(ect8 Shows all registered sub(ects for each class selected, as shown in
figure F.
/igure F. <indow for registering sub(ects
/igure. - ?rop down menu showing classes
d& Compute results8 ?isplay a window for computation of results for each student in
a class as shown in figure I.
/igure 9. <indow display student's result
%f& *egister, sub menu8 f the sub menu *egister is click, a window appears and
gives the user opportunity to capture the record of each student in the school such
as the name, surname, other name, se", and date of birth of the student as shown
in figure 6.
/igure I. <indow for computing results
e& Jiew *esult8 ?isplay each student result indicating the scores of each sub(ect for the student and his)her
position in class. See figure 9.
/igure 6. <indow for *egistering Students
The application provides a simple and convenient approach to the processing of students' results, t is
reasonably secure because, due to password protection, no unauthorized person can gain access to alter the
data. The information obtained from the system has a reasonably high degree of accuracy, because all the
computations are automated. #ny errors found would probably be those introduced by human error in the
keying in of the raw scores. Computations are carried out very speedily by the system, once all raw are
entered, then reDuired information is available almost immediately.
CHAPTER FOUR
4.0 INTRODUCTION
4.1SYSTEM SPECIFICATION AND DESIGN
?uring the software development many stages are involved that ensure the successful development of the
desired software. The design stage which determines how the software product will meet its reDuirement and
implementation which creates the software product as designed before the testing stage that ensures that the
software product meets userLs reDuirement.
System design and implementation, specification is very important in every software development at this
stage every factor are put into consideration by the developer while making his design the system should be
design in such a way that there is a correlation between inputs and output also the format for design should
be made in a way that it will be acceptable and interacting to end users.
The system is designed and implemented such that the following are carried out during its use8
%a& U&e$ 1#(/"#-/!) To be able to use the software, staffs are to be registered by the #dministrator with
a default username and password on the first login to the software.
%b& 7sage8 #t the end of the term %first or second&, staff will login to the software and enter students' raw
scores for any sub(ect they taught. Staff can also view results already submitted, if they want, or change
their password when desired. /inally, the Jice principal %#cademic& can view all staff, students and course
registration, as well as be able to view any student's result irrespective of the student's class hence he
becomes the #?M!. 7nlike the form masters who only have access to the compute results module were
he)she can compute results for his)her class while any other person can only view the result sheet as shown
in the flow of the +rogram Cogic.
4.2 SOFT*ARE RE<UIREMENT
The computer software application is reDuired to be independent of any platform0 t is designed to have three
main sections, namely8 the login window, the main menu and sub menu. The login window reDuests a valid
user name and password from the #dministrator to be able to gain access into the software.
The #dministrator is any staff that is authorize by the management of the school to be in charge of e"ams and
records unit % e,g the ?irector of studies&, hence he should have a valid user name and password created by
him to be able to login to the software.
%a& The Cogin8
The login form)window enables the user to enter his K her password. f the password entered is valid, the
software will then display the main menu. :ut if the password is not valid the user will be denied access to the
program.
(b) The Main menu8
The main menu contains dashboard and panel, on the dashboard sub menu which serves as a link to all
other modules in the program, the sub menu are0 'ome, *esults, *egister, profile, supports and contact us.
<hile the panel holds the forms for capturing data and display Duery result.
(c) *egister Sub Menu8
This sub,menu is use for capturing fresh students' data or record into the data base such as students
surname, first name, other name, class, e,mail, date of birth, se" and admission year)number. t handles
students *egistration at the beginning of the first term especially because it's the term in which fresh students
are registered into the school. The student's personal information are all captured in this menu.
(d) The *esults Sub Menu8
This sub menu contains modules such as register sub(ect, view sub(ect, view students, compute results, and
view results. Clicking on any of these modules, operation takes place.
(e) *egister sub(ect module8
#ll sub(ects offered by students in the school are captured and recorded into the data base in this module.
(f) Jiew sub(ect module8 #ll sub(ects registered into the data base can be viewed in this module.
(g) Jiew students module8 #ll registered students in the database are viewed in this module
(h) Compute results module8 This module allows the students' Scores to be captured for the purpose of
results computation. n fact this is the modules that handle the result processing.
(i) Jiew results module8 This module displays each student result or report sheet as the case may be, the
result sheet can be printed from this module as well.
%(& $dit module8 This module allows the already entered data about students to be modified in case of errors
or updates.
%k& $"it module8 This module allows the application)system to be terminated.
4.3 HARD*ARE ARCHITECTURE
The hardware to be used can be divided into two categories M fingerprint scanner which captures the image
and a personal computer which8 houses the database, runs the comparison algorithm and simulates the
application function. Thefingerprint scanner is connected to the computer via its 7S: interface. :asically this
work does not involve the development of hardware. 7sing the Secugen /ingerprint *eader, the @r/inger
Software ?evelopment >it %S?>& toolbo" provided by the @riaule %will e"plain the detail& can be used as an
interface between the fingerprint reader and the impersonation software.
'ardware is the physical component that makes up the computer system. t refers to the physical interface of
the component that can be felt, seen and touched .every software reDuire some prereDuisite for the software
to operate normally.
The following are the hard ware reDuirement8
HARD*ARE RE<UIREMENT)
+rocessor +entium J
'ard disk capacity of 2. @: and above
*am capacity of I31mb and above
+rocessor speed of 3.= @'z and above
/lash drive
>eyboard enhanced
Mouse
Monitor3F inch svga
@r/inger Software ?evelopment >it %S?>&
/ingerprint *eader.
4.4 SOFT*ARE RE<UIREMENT
CetLs define what software is and its related component
Computer software, or (ust software, is a collection of computer programs and related data that provides the
instructions for telling a computer what to do and how to do it. Software refers to one or more computer
programs and data held in the storage of the computer. n other words, software is a set of programs,
procedures, algorithms and its documentation concerned with the operation of a data processing system.
+rogram software performs the function of the program it implements, either by directly providing instructions
to the computer hardware or by serving as input to another piece of software. The term was coined to contrast
to the old term hardware %meaning physical devices&. n contrast to hardware, software 4cannot be touched .
Software is also sometimes used in a more narrow sense, meaning application software only. Sometimes the
term includes data that has not traditionally been associated with computers, such as film, tapes, and records.
Computer software is so called to distinguish it from computer hardware, which encompasses the physical
interconnections and devices reDuired to store and e"ecute %or run& the software. #t the lowest level,
e"ecutable code consists of machine language instructions specific to an individual processor. # machine
language consists of groups of binary values signifying processor instructions that change the state of the
computer from its preceding state. +rograms are an ordered seDuence of instructions for changing the state of
the computer in a particular seDuence. t is usually written in high,level programming languages that are
easier and more efficient for humans to use %closer to natural language& than machine language. 'igh,level
languages are compiled or interpreted into machine language ob(ect code. Software may also be written in an
assembly language, essentially, a mnemonic representation of a machine language using a natural language
alphabet. #ssembly language must be assembled into ob(ect code via an assembler. $very software can be
divided into system software or application software. :ut they are both necessary to form a computer system.
APPLICATION SOFT*ARE
#pplication software, also known as an application or an app, is computer software designed to help the user
to perform specific tasks. $"amples include enterprise software, accounting software, office suites, graphics
software and media players. Many application programs deal principally with documents. #pps may be
bundled with the computer and its system software, or may be published separately. n recent years, the
abbreviation 4app4 has specifically come to mean application software written for mobile devices, with the
abbreviation in particular representing both the smaller size and smaller scope of the software %i.e. an app
whose sole purpose is to display an image representation of the current weather&.
#pplication software is contrasted with system software and middleware, which manage and integrate a
computer's capabilities, but typically do not directly apply in the performance of tasks that benefit the user. The
system software serves the application, which in turn serves the user. Similar relationships apply in other
fields. /or e"ample, a shopping mall does not provide the merchandise a shopper is seeking, but provides
space and services for retailers that serve the shopper. # bridge may similarly support rail tracks which
support trains, allowing the trains to transport passengers. #pplication software applies the power of a
particular computing platform or system software to a particular purpose. Some applications are available in
versions for several different platforms0 others have narrower reDuirements and are thus called, for e"ample, a
@eography application for <indows or an #ndroid application for education or Cinu" gaming. Sometimes a
new and popular application arises which only runs on one platform, increasing the desirability of that
platform. This is called a killer application.
4.= SYSTEM SOFT*ARE
System software is a program that manages and supports the computer resources and operations of a
computer system while it e"ecutes various tasks such as processing data and information, controlling
hardware components, and allowing users to use application software. That is, systems software functions as
a bridge between computer system hardware and the application software. System software is made up of
many control programs, including the operating system, communications software and database manager.
There are many kinds of computers these days. Some of them are easier to learn than others. Some of them
perform better than others. These differences may come from different systems software.
THREE KINDS OF PROGRAMS
Systems software consists of three kinds of programs. The system management programs, system support
programs, and system development programs are they. These are e"plained briefly.
SYSTEM MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS
These are programs that manage the application software, computer hardware, and data resources of the
computer system. These programs include operating systems, operating environment programs, database
management programs, and telecommunications monitor programs. #mong these, the most important system
management programs are operating systems. The operating systems are needed to study more details.
There are two reasons. /irst, users need to know their functions first. /or the second, there are many kinds of
operating systems available today.
Telecommunications monitor programs are additions of the operating systems of microcomputers. These
programs provide the e"tra logic for the computer system to control a class of communications devices.
SYSTEM SUPPORT PROGRAMS
These are the programs that help the operations and management of a computer system. They provide a
variety of support services to let the computer hardware and other system programs run efficiently. The ma(or
system support programs are system utility programs, system performance monitor programs, and system
security monitor programs %virus checking programs&.
SYSTEM DE+ELOPMENT PROGRAMS
These are programs that help users develop information system programs and prepare user programs for
computer processing. These programs may analyze and design systems and program itself. The main system
development programs are programming language translators, programming environment programs,
computer,aided software engineering packages # software reDuirements specification %S*S& N a
reDuirements specification for a software system N is a complete description of the behavior of a system to
be developed and may include a set of use cases that describe interactions the users will have with the
software. n addition it also contains non,functional reDuirements. !on,functional reDuirements impose
constraints on the design or implementation %such as performance engineering reDuirements, Duality
standards, or design constraints&.
The software reDuirements specification document enlists all necessary reDuirements for pro(ect development.
To derive the reDuirements we need to have clear and thorough understanding of the products to be
developed. This is prepared after detailed communications with pro(ect team and the customer.
SOFT*ARE ARCHITECTURE
The software architecture consists of8 the database and the application program.
D#-#6#&e)The database consists of tables that stores records implemented in Microsoft access database and
sDl statement. 'owever, this can be migrated to any other relational database of choice. Microsoft access is
fast and easy, it can store a very large record and reDuires little configuration.
A99(/c#-/! P$2$#.)The application program is developed with Microsoft vb.net programming language
using Microsoft Jisual Studio framework and it provides a user interface for the elimination of the e"am
impersonation. The advantages of Microsoft vb.net programming language are its robustness, easy to
program, has an e"cellent database connectivity, runs on the two most common operating system platforms
%<indows and 7ni"& and it has a larger user community that provides online support.
SOFT*ARE RE<UIREMENT
MC*5,S5/T #CC$SS
J7#C ST7?5 +C#T/5*M
T'$ +*5@*#MM$
CHAPTER FI+E
=.0 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
=.1 CONCLUSION
The research paper culminated in the design and implementation of a software application, meant to ease the
processing of students' results in secondary schools. The application was successfully developed, tested, and
found to be working as e"pected. t is capable of storing and processing students' results with high speed and
accuracy, and presenting output in certain reDuired forms. t has some Dualities such as reduction in the cost
of processing0 reduction in time spent in computing student's first and second term results, generating
position in class for each student and elimination of duplication of effort which makes it overshadow the
manual system of students record keeping. The new system is fle"ible and can be modified to suite any kind
of record keeping and data processing. t uses graphical user interface %@7& rather than command, line
approach, hence is easy to use, reasonably secure, and enforces data integrity resulting from the use of a
relational database management system. <ith this application, the processing of students' results can be
automated to a large e"tent, thereby reducing processing time and increasing accuracy.
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