The problem of poor academic achievement and low graduation rates among Nigerian Certificate of Education (NCE) students is a serious concern. This issue is evidenced by the large number of students who annually reseat carry-over courses. Considering the importance of teacher training programs to national development, if left unaddressed, this problem may lead to the production of low-quality teachers, ultimately resulting in low-quality students at primary and secondary education levels. This has far-reaching negative implications for societal development. To address this issue, this study investigates achievement goals orientation as a correlate of students’ academic achievement in colleges of education in North East Nigeria. The study engaged a sample size of 989 out of 8,761 NCE II students registered in four colleges of education in the region. Data were collected using a 40-item "College Students Achievement Goal Questionnaire (CSAGQ)" and a pro forma labelled "Student Teachers’ Academic Record (STAR)." Descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (Pearson product-moment correlation) were used for data analysis, conducted at a 0.05 alpha level. The findings showed that college students demonstrated a high level of performance approach goal orientation towards their studies (Grand mean = 4.00), with a statistically significant positive relationship between performance approach goal orientation and academic achievement (r = 0.595, n = 989, p = 0.000 < 0.05). Students also exhibited a high level of performance avoidance goal orientation (Grand mean = 3.69), there is no significant correlation with academic achievement (r = 0.062, n = 989, p = 0.052 > 0.05). Furthermore, students showed a high level of mastery approach goal orientation (Grand mean = 4.10), with a significant positive correlation with academic achievement (r = 0.210, n = 989, p = 0.000 < 0.05). Students demonstrated a high level of mastery avoidance goal orientation
(Grand mean = 3.44), with a significant positive correlation with academic achievement (r =
0.137, p = 0.000 < 0.05). Based on these findings, it is recommended that Colleges of Education implement recognition programs and goal-setting workshops to motivate students to set and achieve high-achievement goals to improve their academic achievement