The purpose of this research was to investigate pupil background characteristics and academic performance in senior secondary schools in Kitwe district with a view of recommending on how to improve pupils' performance. The study was conducted in Kitwe district because in the past years pupils' performance in senior secondary schools has been alarmingly deteriorating. The study used termly test data collected from senior secondary schools in Kitwe district. A representative sample of 150 grade ten and eleven pupils from senior secondary schools was used. The main instruments used to collect data in the study were the pupils' questionnaire and parent interview guide. Data analysis was done using two methods. These were Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), and the information collected through interviews were analysed by coding it into themes, while the information from the questionnaires were analysed through the SPSS-generated tables, diagrams and percentages. The findings of the study suggested considerable variation in pupil performance. The study revealed that there were positive relationships between the number of books at home, the language spoken at home and pupil's performance. Furthermore, the analysis of the quantitative data revealed that there was a negative relationship between pupils' age and family size.