The Decline of Test Scores in Brazil between 1995 and 2003: Socioeconomic, Private/Public Schools and Residual Effects

Clarissa G. Rodrigues, Centro de Desenvolvimento e Planejamento Regional (CEDEPLAR)
Eduardo L.G. Rios-Neto, Centro de Desenvolvimento e Planejamento Regional (CEDEPLAR)

This paper deals the decline of test scores between 1995 and 2003 through several types of decompositions. First, Handock and Morris (1999) focused on the scores. Second, the Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition with the effect due to a socioeconomic variables and the beta effect. Third, the Juhn, Murphy, and Pierce (1993) approach incorporating the residuals. Finally, a JMP decomposition of differences in differences incorporating private and public schools. Results indicate that the observed decline in proficiency is not due to a compositional effect associated with school expansion in Brazil, when students from low SES are incorporated in the system. When the differentials are separated between private and public schools, then the residual component becomes important explaining the increasing performance gap between these two types of schools, a residual component that is associated with unobserved students´ personal attributes.