The impact of school management practices on educational performance: evidence from public schools in São Paulo

Abstract

This study examines the causal impacts of a school management program on educational outcomes in Sao Paulo/Brazil, estimated with the use of a fuzzy regression discontinuity design. I conclude that specific management practices such as performance monitoring, targets setting and incentive schemes have significant positive impacts on 8th-graders' math scores, especially on low performance students. I was unable to obtain similar results for language. I further investigated whether these results were associated with student or staff selection and infrastructure investments or whether they were actually driven by changes to pedagogical and managerial practices. My findings suggest that the latter explanation is more plausible. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.