ABSTRACT
The study examined the influence of socio-economic status of parents on the academic performance of secondary school students in Nigeria. Main objectives of the study were to examine the effect of socio-economic status, health and educational background of parents on secondary school students’ performance in Nigeria. Concerning methodology, the researcher employed both primary and secondary data for the study. Secondary data for the study was gotten from textbooks, research journals and the internet. The researcher used questionnaire for the collection of data from the respondents. A sample of 200 students from five (5) secondary schools were used for the study. Data was analysed using the chi-square method of hypothesis testing and formulation. Findings from the study revealed that socio-economic status of parents affect the academic performance of students. Out of 200 students used for the study, majority asserted to this and the alternate hypothesis was accepted. Other findings from the study showed that there is a relation between student health status and their academic performance as well as parents educational background. The researcher recommended that various strategies should be put in place to reduce peer to peer influence.