Teacher expectations and math proficiency: evidence from SAEB 2017 in public schools

Teixeira, Otávio Henrique; Teixeira, Evandro Camargos; Cassuce, Francisco Carlos da Cunha

doi:10.1590/S1678-4634202652291151por

person Otávio Henrique Teixeira

Otávio Henrique Teixeira is director of operations at RenovaBR, with responsibilities in the areas of financial planning, organizational management, and strategy. He is a PhD candidate in Applied Economics, holds a Master’s degree in Economics, and a Bachelor’s degree in Economic Sciences from the Federal University of Viçosa (UFV).

school RenovaBR, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil. Contato: otavioht@hotmail.com

0000-0003-4840-308X

person Evandro Camargos Teixeira

Evandro Camargos Teixeira is an Associate Professor in the Department of Economics at the Federal University of Viçosa (UFV). He holds a PhD in Applied Economics from the Luiz de Queiroz School of Agriculture (ESALQ) at the University of São Paulo (USP), a master’s degree in Economic Development from the Federal University of Paraná (UFPR), and a bachelor’s degree in Economics from the Federal University of Juiz de Fora (UFJF).

school Universidade Federal de Viçosa - UFV, Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Contatos: evandro.teixeira@ufv.br; francisco.cassuce@ufv.br

0000-0002-6470-2103

person Francisco Carlos da Cunha Cassuce

Francisco Carlos da Cunha Cassuce is an Associate Professor in the Department of Economics at the Federal University of Viçosa (UFV). He holds a PhD in Applied Economics, a master’s degree in Applied Economics, and a bachelor’s degree in Economics from the Federal University of Viçosa.

school Universidade Federal de Viçosa - UFV, Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Contatos: evandro.teixeira@ufv.br; francisco.cassuce@ufv.br

0000-0002-7545-3747

Editor:

Prof. Dr. Fabio de Barros Silva

Data	Variable	Description	Components	Q^b	Type
1st level (students)
Gender	Male	Assumes a value of 1 if the gender is male and 0 if otherwise.	Question 1-1	St	Dummy
Race	Black	Assumes a value of 1 if the race is black and 0 if otherwise.	Question 2-2	St	Dummies
	Brown	Assumes a value of 1 if the race is brown and 0 if otherwise.
	Asian	Assumes a value of 1 if the race is Asian and 0 if otherwise.
	Indigenous	Assumes a value of 1 if the race is indigenous and 0 if otherwise.
Early years education	Preschool	Assumes a value of 1 if the student attended preschool (ages 4 to 5) and 0 if otherwise.	Question 46-39	St	Dummies
Early years education	Daycare	Assumes a value of 1 if the student attended daycare (0 to 3 years old) and 0 if otherwise.	Question 46-39	St	Dummies
Retention	Retained once	Assumes a value of 1 if the student has already been retained once, and 0 if otherwise.	Question 48-41	St	Dummies
Retention	Retained 2 or more times	Assumes a value of 1 if the student has already been retained twice or more, and 0 if otherwise.	Question 48-41	St	Dummies
Student capital	Parents’ education	Index on a scale of 0 to 10 based on the level of education and reading habits of the mother and father. The higher the index, the higher the level of education and the more frequent the parents’ reading habits.	Combination of questions 19-19, 23-23, 21-21, and 25-25	St	Index
Student capital	Socioeconomic level	Index on a scale of 0 to 10 based on ownership of material goods (color TV, refrigerator, freezer, washing machine, computer, and car), bathroom, and domestic help in the studen’’s home. The higher the index, the higher the socioeconomic level.	Combination of questions 5-5,8-8, 10-10, 11-11, 12-12, 13-13, 14-14, and 17-17	St	Index
Focus on academics	Parental engagement	Index on a scale of 0 to 10 based on parental monitoring and encouragement of their children’s studies. The higher the index, the greater the parental engagement.	Combination of questions 26-26, 28-28, 30-30, 27-27, 29-29, and 31-31	St	Index
Focus on academics	Consistency of homework	Index on a scale of 0 to 10 based on the frequency of completion and correction of homework. The higher the index, the better the consistency of homework.	Combination of questions 54/53, and 55/59	St	Index
2nd level (class)
Teacher training	Teaching	Assumes a value of 1 if the teacher has a higher education degree in teaching and 0 if otherwise.	Question 4	T	Dummies
	Bachelor’s degree (languages or other fields)	Assumes a value of 1 if the teacher has a bachelor’s degree in languages or other areas and 0 if otherwise.
	Bachelor’s degree (mathematics)	Assumes a value of 1 if the teacher has a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and 0 if otherwise.
Teacher compensation	1 and 3 times the minimum wage	Assumes a value of 1 if the teacher’s gross salary is between 1 and 3 times the minimum wage (BRL 937 to BRL 2,811) and 0 if otherwise.	Question 10	T	Dummies
	3 and 4 times the minimum wage	Assumes a value of 1 if the teacher’s gross salary is between 3 and 4 times the minimum wage (BRL 2,811 to BRL 3,748) and 0 if otherwise.
	4 to 7 times the minimum wage	Assumes a value of 1 if the teacher’s gross salary is between 4 and 7 times the minimum wage (BRL 3,748 to BRL 6,559) and 0 if otherwise.
	More than 7 times the minimum wage	Assumes a value of 1 if the teacher’s gross salary is more than 7 times the minimum wage (> BRL 6,559) and 0 if otherwise.
Stability	Teacher and principal time working at the school	Index on a scale of 0 to 10 based on the number of years the teacher and principal have worked at the school. The higher the index, the greater the stability of the teacher and principal at the school.	Combination of questions 14 and 17	T/P	Index
Educational leadership	Teacher engagement in decision-making	Index on a scale of 0 to 10 based on the frequency with which teachers participate in decisions related to their work. The higher the index, the greater the engagement of teachers.	Combination of questions 68 and 69	T	Index
Educational leadership	Teacher/principal relationship	Index on a scale of 0 to 10 based on the quality of the relationship between the teacher and the principal and the frequency with which the principal’s proactivity/commitment is perceived. The higher the index, the better the quality of the teacher/principal relationship.	Combination of questions 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, and 67	T	Index
Teaching	Teaching processes	Index on a scale of 0 to 10 based on the frequency with which certain teaching practices are conducted and the efficiency of the planned content development. The higher the index, the better the teaching processes.	Combination of questions 106, 113, 121 and 122	T	Index
Teacher’’ expectations	Low expectations	Assumes a value of 1 if the teacher believes that slightly less than half of the students will enter university. Value 0, if otherwise.	Question 95-96	T	Dummies
	High expectations	Assumes a value of 1 if the teacher believes that slightly more than half of the students will enter university. Value 0, if otherwise.
	Very high expectations	Assumes a value of 1 if the teacher believes that almost all students will enter university. Value 0, if otherwise.
3rd level (school)
Administrative dependence	State	Assumes a value of 1 if the school is state-run and 0 if it is municipal.	-	Sc	Dummy
Location	Urban area	Assumes a value of 1 if the school is located in an urban area and 0 if it is located in a rural area.	-	Sc	Dummy
Leadership	School participation	Index on a scale of 0 to 10 based on the frequency of meetings with the Class Council and School Board. The higher the index, the greater the participation in the school.	Combination of questions 52 and 29	T/P	Index
Educational leadership	Frequency control	Index on a scale of 0 to 10 based on the school’s internal policies aimed at minimizing student absences. The higher the index, the greater the control over attendance.	Combination of questions 45, 47, 49, 46, 48	P	Index
School culture	Management support	Index on a scale of 0 to 10 based on external support for the position of school principal. The higher the index, the greater the support for management.	Combination of questions 77, 79, 78, 80	P	Index
	Absence of violence	Index on a scale of 0 to 10 based on the absence of certain events indicative of violent climate. The higher the index, the greater the level of absence of violence.	Combination of questions 99, 98, 90, 91, 93	P	Index
	Safety measures	Index on a scale of 0 to 10 based on the assessment of certain aspects related to school and student safety. The higher the index, the greater the adoption of safety measures.	Combination of questions 26, 35, and 27	Sc	Index
	Infrastructure	Index on a scale of 0 to 10 based on an assessment of the state of repair of certain items/equipment at the school and aspects of vandalism. The higher the index, the better the quality of the infrastructure.	Combination of questions 13, 16, 31, and 36.	Sc	Index
	Shortage of teachers	cAssumes a value of 1 if the school’s operation was hampered by a high rate of teacher absences and 0 if otherwise.	Question 73	P	Dummy
Monitoring	Programs to reduce retention rates	Assumes a value of 1 if there are any actions to reduce retention rates in school and 0 if otherwise.	Question 42	P	Dummy
	Tutoring programs	Assumes a value of 1 if there are any measures in place to reinforce students’ learning (tutoring, remedial classes, catch-up classes, etc.) and 0 if not.	Question 43	P	Dummy
	Teacher training at school	Assumes a value of 1 if the principal organizes some form of continuing education (refresher courses, training, capacity building, etc.) and 0 if otherwise.	Question 26	P	Dummy

VARIABLES	11th grade					Min	Max
VARIABLES	T	VLE	LE	HE	VHE	Min	Max
Female (ref)	0,56 (0,49)	0,53 (0,49)	0,55 (0,49)	0,55 (0,49)	0,56 (0,49)	0	1
Male	0,44 (0,49)	0,47 (0,49)	0,45 (0,49)	0,45 (0,49)	0,44 (0,49)	0	1
White (ref)	0,30 (0,45)	0,29 (0,45)	0,28 (0,44)	0,26 (0,44)	0,30 (0,46)	0	1
Brown	0,51 (0,49)	0,49 (0,50)	0,55 (0,49)	0,52 (0,49)	0,50 (0,49)	0	1
Black	0,14 (0,34)	0,16 (0,36)	0,13 (0,33)	0,16 (0,36)	0,14 (0,34)	0	1
Asian	0,03 (0,18)	0,03 (0,18)	0,03 (0,16)	0,03 (0,17)	0,03 (0,18)	0	1
Indigenous	0,02 (0,12)	0,02 (0,15)	0,01 (0,12)	0,02 (0,13)	0,01 (0,12)	0	1
9th grade (ref)	0,27 (0,44)	0,32 (0,46)	0,27 (0,44)	0,28 (0,44)	0,27 (0,44)	0	1
Preschool	0,37 (0,48)	0,32 (0,46)	0,34 (0,47)	0,35 (0,47)	0,37 (0,48)	0	1
Daycare	0,36 (0,47)	0,36 (0,47)	0,39 (0,48)	0,37 (0,48)	0,36 (0,47)	0	1
Never retained (ref)	0,67 (0,47)	0,53 (0,49)	0,61 (0,48)	0,60 (0,48)	0,68 (0,46)	0	1
Once	0,18 (0,38)	0,23 (0,41)	0,21 (0,41)	0,21 (0,40)	0,17 (0,37)	0	1
Twice or more	0,16 (0,36)	0,24 (0,42)	0,17 (0,37)	0,18 (0,38)	0,15 (0,35)	0	1
Parents’ education	5,79 (2,49)	5,52 (2,45)	5,66 (2,52)	5,69 (2,52)	5,81 (2,49)	0	10
Socioeconomic level	7,89 (1,39)	7,77 (1,52)	7,80 (1,33)	7,81 (1,40)	7,91 (1,38)	0	10
Teaching degree	0,03 (0,16)	0,03 (0,17)	0,07 (0,25)	0,03 (0,17)	0,03 (0,16)	0	1
Bachelor’s degree (other fields)	0,14 (0,34)	0,24 (0,42)	0,26 (0,43)	0,17 (0,37)	0,13 (0,33)	0	1
Bachelor’s degree (mathematics)	0,81 (0,38)	0,71 (0,45)	0,60 (0,48)	0,79 (0,40)	0,82 (0,38)	0	1
Lower than 1 minimum wage (ref)	0,02 (0,14)	0,01 (0,11)	0,04 (0,18)	0,02 (0,15)	0,02 (0,14)	0	1
Between 1 and 3 minimum wages.	0,36 (0,47)	0,45 (0,49)	0,33 (0,46)	0,37 (0,48)	0,36 (0,47)	0	1
Between 3 and 4 minimum wages.	0,20 (0,40)	0,23 (0,42)	0,29 (0,45)	0,19 (0,38)	0,20 (0,40)	0	1
Between 4 and 7 minimum wages.	0,32 (0,46)	0,24 (0,42)	0,29 (0,45)	0,32 (0,46)	0,32 (0,46)	0	1
Higher than 7 minimum wages.	0,10 (0,30)	0,07 (0,26)	0,05 (0,21)	0,10 (0,29)	0,10 (0,30)	0	1
Principal and teacher time working at the school	3,79 (2,13)	4,05 (2,23)	4,08 (2,15)	3,80 (2,10)	3,78 (2,14)	0	10
State-run	0,998 (0,04)	1 (0)	1 (0)	1 (0)	0,998 (0,04)	0	1
Municipal (ref)	0,002 (0,04)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0,002 (0,04)	0	1
Urban	0,95 (0,21)	0,99 (0,11)	0,94 (0,24)	0,96 (0,18)	0,95 (0,22)	0	1
Rural (ref)	0,05 (0,21)	0,01 (0,11)	0,06 (0,24)	0,04 (0,18)	0,05 (0,22)	0	1
Consistency of homework	9,50 (1,91)	9,28 (2,31)	9,49 (1,89)	9,46 (1,99)	9,51 (1,89)	0	10
Parents’ engagement	8,98 (1,54)	8,84 (1,71)	8,97 (1,56)	8,94 (1,58)	8,98 (1,53)	0	10
Teacher engagement in decision-making	8,70 (2,11)	7,93 (2,70)	8,05 (2,73)	8,41 (2,32)	8,78 (2,03)	0	10
Director/teacher relationship	9,00 (1,75)	8,38 (2,43)	8,59 (2,25)	8,83 (1,79)	9,04 (1,71)	0	10
Teaching Processes	9,24 (1,41)	8,38 (2,07)	9,09 (1,59)	9,00 (1,56)	9,29 (1,36)	0	10
Engaging others (school participation)	8,29 (2,19)	7,27 (2,70)	7,93 (2,55)	8,00 (2,31)	8,36 (2,15)	0	10
Frequency control	9,86 (0,70)	9,89 (0,33)	9,88 (0,45)	9,89 (0,53)	9,86 (0,74)	0	10
Management support	8,98 (1,86)	9,20 (1,73)	8,55 (2,27)	8,93 (1,93)	8,99 (1,84)	0	10
Absence of violence	6,43 (2,29)	6,37 (2,20)	6,23 (2,34)	6,36 (2,23)	6,45 (2,30)	0	10
Safety measures	5,63 (3,41)	5,48 (3,77)	5,37 (3,41)	5,70 (3,39)	5,62 (3,41)	0	10
Infrastructure	5,70 (2,88)	5,43 (2,78)	4,79 (3,02)	5,33 (2,88)	5,78 (2,87)	0	10
Shortage of teachers	0,68 (0,46)	0,72 (0,45)	0,69 (0,46)	0,68 (0,46)	0,68 (0,46)	0	1
Retention reduction programs	0,97 (0,17)	0,98 (0,15)	0,96 (0,19)	0,96 (0,19)	0,97 (0,16)	0	1
Tutoring programs	0,78 (0,41)	0,75 (0,43)	0,76 (0,42)	0,77 (0,42)	0,79 (0,41)	0	1
Teacher training at school	0,64 (0,47)	0,61 (0,48)	0,58 (0,49)	0,61 (0,48)	0,65 (0,47)	0	1
N	90.652 (100%)	1.025 (1,13%)	1.775 (1,96%)	12.727 (14,04%)	75.125 (82,87%)	-	-

VARIABLE	11th GRADE
VARIABLE	M1 (Students)	M2 (Class)	M3 (School)
Male sex	10,91*** (0,29)	10,92*** (0,29)	10,93*** (0,28)
Brown color	-4,48*** (0,35)	-4,50*** (0,34)	-4,30*** (0,35)
Black color	-7,33*** (0,48)	-7,35*** (0,48)	-7,30*** (0,47)
Asian	-4,46*** (0,81)	-4,49*** (0,81)	-4,30*** (0,81)
Indigenous	-9,43*** (1,18)	-9,35*** (1,18)	-8,62*** (1,18)
Early childhood education (preschool)	2,23*** (0,38)	2,25*** (0,39)	1,94*** (0,38)
Early childhood education (daycare)	-2,31*** (0,38)	-2,29*** (0,38)	-2,53*** (0,37)
Retained once	-18,49*** (0,39)	-18,39*** (0,39)	-18,42*** (0,39)
Retained twice or more times	-18,05*** (0,42)	-17,96*** (0,42)	-17,68*** (0,42)
Social capital: Parents’ level of education	1,21*** (0,06)	1,20*** (0,06)	1,20*** (0,06)
Social capital: Socioeconomic level	1,22*** (0,12)	1,21*** (0,12)	1,02*** (0,12)
Learning: Consistency of homework	0,29*** (0,07)	0,28*** (0,08)	0,30*** (0,08)
Monitoring: Parental engagement	-1,10*** (0,09)	-1,10*** (0,09)	-1,08*** (0,09)
Training in education		-2,24 (2,46)	-1,94 (2,42)
Bachelor’s degree		0,28 (2,09)	-0,002 (2,07)
Bachelor’s degree (mathematics)		1,68 (2,03)	1,08 (1,99)
Wage (1 to 3 min. wages)		1,59 (1,86)	0,63 (1,84)
Wage (3 to 4 min. wages)		1,87 (1,91)	0,45 (1,88)
Wage (4 to 7 min. wage)		3,66** (1,89)	2,87* (1,87)
Wage (>7min. wage)		6,16*** (2,03)	4,93*** (2,00)
Stability: teachers and principals time working at the school		0,11 (0,13)	-0,07 (0,13)
Teaching leadership: Teacher engagement in decision-making		0,10 (0,15)	0,08 (0,13)
Teaching leadership: Principal/teacher relationship		0,32* (0,18)	0,04 (0,18)
Teaching: Teaching processes		0,50*** (0,19)	0,37** (0,18)
Low expectations		3,37 (2,92)	3,62 (2,89)
High expectations		2,06 (2,44)	1,72 (2,41)
Very high expectations		7,34*** (2,37)	6,60*** (2,35)
State-run			-24,53*** (5,91)
Urban			9,40*** (1,26)
Leadership: Engaging others (school participation)			1,17*** (0,14)
Teaching leadership: Attendance control			0,17 (0,43)
Teaching leadership: Management support			0,37** (0,16)
School culture: Absence of violence			0,02 (0,14)
School culture: Safety measures			0,11 (0,09)
School culture: Infrastructure			0,55*** (0,11)
School culture: Shortage of teachers			-0,51 (0,68)
Monitoring: Programs to reduce retention rates			3,92** (1,82)
Monitoring: Tutoring programs			3,38*** (0,77)
Monitoring: Teacher training at the school			3,41*** (0,66)
Random intercept	251,56*** (1,47)	236,38*** (4,20)	229,02*** (8,62)
Random intercept (null model)	255,90*** (0,38)

[TFN9] ^a
The “components” column indicates the number of questions used in the SAEB questionnaires in 2017 for the 11th grade.

[TFN10] ^b
The column “Q” refers to the source of the questionnaire responses (St=student, T=Teacher, P=Principal, and Sc=School). Only the pupil questionnaires show some variations in numbering.

[TFN11] Source: Prepared by the authors based on the reconciliation of contextual variables from Prova Brasil and the processes listed by Teddlie and Reynolds (2000) and Silva (2017).

Teacher expectations and math proficiency: evidence from SAEB 2017 in public schools*1

Teacher expectations and math proficiency: evidence from SAEB 2017 in public schools^*¹