Study of Todos by Education and Iede shows that the difference between the percentage of students with proper Portuguese and mathematics in the 2 groups increased from 2013 to 2023
Inequality in learning between white and yellow and black and indigenous students in Brazil has grown in 10 years. A study of and from (Interdisciplinarity and Evidence in the Educational Debate), released on Monday (28.br.2025), shows that the percentage difference between students considered with adequate education for the educational stage of the 2 groups deepened from 2013 to 2023.
The data consider the performance of 5th and 9th grade students of elementary school and the 3rd year of high school, enrolled in the public network, for the Portuguese Language and Mathematics subjects. The survey is based on the results of (Basic Education Evaluation System). This is a (PDF – 9 MB).
Despite the increase in inequality, both groups recorded high in the general percentages of students with teaching considered appropriate in the 5th and 9th grades of elementary school and in Portuguese in the 3rd year of high school. In math alone, in the 3rd year of high school, there was a slight retreat of this rate.
The lag among white and black students with teaching considered appropriate is more pronounced among those who study 9th grade of elementary school:
- Portuguese Language – In 2013, 30.7% of white and yellow students reached the appropriate level in Portuguese, while among black, brown and indigenous students the result was 21.1% – a difference in 9.6 percentage points. By 2023, the results rose to 45.6% and 31.5%, respectively, and the difference jumped to 14.1 percentage points.
- mathematics – In 2013, 15.7% of white and yellow students reached the proper level in mathematics, while among black, brown and indigenous students the result was 9.5% – a difference in 6.2 percentage points. By 2023, the results rose to 22.3% and 13.7%, respectively, and the difference jumped to 8.6 percentage points.
In the 5th year of elementary school, the difference between the groups was 7.9 percentage points to 8.2 percentage points in Portuguese; and 8.6 percentage points for 9.5 percentage points in mathematics.
In the 3rd year of high school, the results for Portuguese learning repeat the standard recorded in the other phases of basic education. There was an increase in the percentage of students with proper teaching and a deepening of inequality.
In mathematics teaching, however, there was a slight retreat in inequality between the 2 racial groups of 4.4 percentage points to 3.9 percentage points. It must also be considered that in this stratum there was also a retreat in the percentage of students with learning level considered appropriate.
The director of public policies of all for education, Gabriel Corrêa, evaluates that the scenario is still “Quite critical” for basic education. According to him, “The look at equity is central. It is inadmissible that the country has not been able to reduce huge learning differences between students from different racial and socioeconomic groups.”.
State Learning Level
The study also made clipping of state learning results. The federation units that registered the highest percentages of learning students considered adequate for the levels evaluated in 2023 were Paraná (5th grade of elementary school), Ceará (9th grade of elementary school) and Espírito Santo (3rd year of high school).
Nevertheless, compared to 2019, the states that evolved the most, that is, were able to increase the percentages of students with adequate learning level were Alagoas (5th and 9th grades of elementary school) and Amapá (3rd grade of high school).
At the other end, the states that had the highest rates of students with performance below the basics in 2023 were:
- Portuguese – Sergipe (5th grade of elementary school), Roraima (9th grade of elementary school) and Maranhão (3rd year of high school);
- mathematics – Pará (5th grade of elementary school), Roraima (9th grade of elementary school) and Maranhão (3rd year of high school).
