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 多项研究均已证实，学生的学业表现深受学校情境因素的影响。基于此研究背景，本研究结合学校的多层级结构特征，旨在识别影响学生数学学业水平的情境变量。本研究使用了参与2009年巴西全国教育进展评估的4338885名学生的相关数据。多层级分析结果表明，小学五年级与初中九年级（即初中毕业年级）的组内相关系数分别为0.27和0.19。在两个模型中，学校层面方差的50%以上、学生层面方差的11%以上均得到了有效解释。最终模型涵盖控制变量、13个学生层面变量、9个学校层面变量，以及随机效应与交互效应项。本研究结果有助于深化对影响学校学业表现的各类因素的理解，进而可为公共政策制定提供科学导向。