Factors Associated with Mathematics Performance in Brazilian Basic Education

Abstract Several studies have indicated that student performance is strongly influenced by school context. Within this frame of reference, the present study sought to identify contextual variables that affect proficiency in mathematics taking the multilevel structure of schools into consideration. The information of 4,338,885 students who participated in the Brazilian national assessment of educational progress of 2009 was used. Multilevel analysis showed an intra-class correlation of .27 and .19 for the 5th grade of elementary school and 9th grade of middle school, the last year of middle school. In both models, more than 50% of school level variance and more than 11% of the variance on student level was explained. The final model is composed of control variables, 13 student level variables, 9 school level variables, and random and interaction effects. The results contribute to a better comprehension of factors that affect school performance, which permits the orientation of public policies.

摘要 多项研究表明，学生学业表现深受学校情境的影响。在此研究框架下，本研究旨在结合学校的多层结构特征，识别影响数学学业水平的情境变量。本研究使用了2009年巴西全国教育进步评估（Brazilian national assessment of educational progress）中4338885名学生的相关数据。多层分析结果显示，初等小学五年级与初中九年级（即初中最后学年）的组内相关系数分别为0.27与0.19。在两类模型中，学校层面的方差解释率均超过50%，学生层面的方差解释率亦超过11%。最终模型包含控制变量、13项学生层面变量、9项学校层面变量，以及随机效应与交互效应。本研究结果有助于更深入地理解影响学校学业表现的各类因素，可为公共政策的制定提供决策导向。