Adequacy and absence of mathematics and Portuguese-language high school teachers: Differences among Brazilian states

Abstract

Some research shows that teachers’ knowledge of the subjects they teach affects students’ proficiency. This study uses multiple linear regression to analyze scores of senior high school students in Portuguese language and mathematics, with variables including the proportion of teachers with different levels of training and the proportion of classes without allocated teachers in these subjects. The analysis is done at the state level, while the average socioeconomic status of public high school students is used as control. The initial regression shows that the average socioeconomic status of students in public schools and the absence of teachers in the discipline are statistically significant for both subjects, with the highest R² values. Contrary to some studies, the adequacy of teacher training does not appear to be statistically significant in the complete models, whereas the absence of a teacher in the classroom is statistically significant for Portuguese language courses.