Educational inequality deepened in 57.5% of Brazilian municipalities between 2015 and 2019. In these cities, the difference in student performance between schools with higher and lower income increased more than expected for the period.
The data are from a survey carried out by 'Todos pela Educação', which compared the results of the Ideb (Basic Education Development Index) between the average of the groups of 10% of the schools with the highest and lowest performance in each municipality.
The study analyzed data from municipal schools in the early years of elementary school (from the 1st to the 6th year). Cities are responsible for enrolling 70% of the 15 million students in this stage of education.
In most cities where inequality increased, what was found was that the schools that already had the lowest Ideb in 2015 were unable to advance or reach the target set for 2019, while the units with the highest index managed to further improve their results.
Translated by Kiratiana Freelon