Do more resources mean better results? The relationship between direct school costs and performance in high school

Abstract This article evaluates the relationships that direct school costs and the organization of school places have with the performance of public schools, measured by the National High School Examination (Enem). It is based on the determinants of school performance from the school effect approach. This is a quantitative research, using multiple and quantum regressions, with fixed-effects panel data model. The sample was composed of Brazilian schools, analyzed between 2012 and 2015. The results indicate that there is a great oscillation in direct school costs between units of the same educational system, suggesting inequality in the distribution of financial resources. The findings also suggest that direct school costs do not explain the school results in the Enem exam, and that more resources do not necessarily translate into better performance. Finally, the findings indicate that the way in which resources are mobilized (in a planned and purposeful manner) can be the differential for learning. In addition, the study proposes a methodology to calculate direct school costs.

摘要 本研究评估了学校直接办学成本、学位安排与公立学校办学绩效之间的关联，其中办学绩效以全国高中考试（National High School Examination，Enem）作为衡量标准。本研究基于学校效应视角下的学校绩效决定因素展开分析，属于定量研究范畴，采用固定效应面板数据模型结合多元回归与分位数回归方法开展实证分析。研究样本涵盖2012至2015年间的巴西公立学校。研究结果显示，同一教育体系内不同办学单位的直接办学成本存在大幅波动，这暗示了财政资源分配的不均衡性。研究同时发现，学校直接成本无法有效解释全国高中考试的成绩表现，且更多的资源投入并不必然转化为更优异的办学绩效。最后，本研究指出，以规划性、目的性方式调配资源，或是影响学习成效的核心差异因素。此外，本研究还提出了一种用于核算学校直接办学成本的方法论。