São Paulo's school system is no longer the best in Brazil, according to a national assessment of K-12 education.

That's one of the conclusions of the latest Ideb (Basic Education Development Index) results, gathered in 2017. The index, which runs every two years, was released on Monday (3). Back in 2015, São Paulo was the leader in elementary school (5th grade) and middle school (9th grade).

Ideb is made up of two components: schools' pass rates and its students' average scores in a national standardized test of math and Portuguese language. The score results were released last week.

São Paulo's index for elementary school went from 6.3 to 6.5. The state was surpassed by Ceará and Góias and tied the third place with Minas Gerais.

São Paulo's middle school Ideb went slightly up, from 4.7 to 4.8. However, the state was outdone by Goiás and Rondônia, and tied with Santa Catarina, which is the state with the best scores in standardized tests. The state's 2015 Ideb leadership in all three stages of K-12 has been touted by the state government as proof of São Paulo's education quality, especially in a response to political opponents' criticism.

São Paulo's school system manages 5,300 schools. It has the best enrollment rates in the country, with 78.5% of the population between the ages of 15 and 17 attending school. The national rate is 62.7%.

Former São Paulo governor and presidential candidate Geraldo Alckmin said, through a press statement, that the state's school system is in the right path. "Our drop in this press-produced ranking shows that, despite São Paulo's growth, other stated advanced even more, which is an overall positive thing for the country," the statement says.

_{Translated by NATASHA MADOV}

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