EFETIVIDADE NO ENSINO SUPERIOR BRASILEIRO: APLICAÇÃO DE MODELOS MULTINÍVEL À ANÁLISE DOS RESULTADOS DO EXAME NACIONAL DE CURSOS

This study analyses the impact of institutional characteristics on the students' performance in the National Examination of Higher Education Courses (Provão). A sample of more than 92500 students from Management, Law and Civil Engineering who had made the tests in the year 2000 was analyzed. Multilevel models have been fitted because these data present an evident hierarchical structure. Regarding individual aspects, one noted a nonlinear relation between economic condition and students´ performance. The contribution of higher levels of income on the performance had a limit, from which, the impacts were negative. As far as the institutional aspects are concerned, one found a positive impact on pupils´ performance of a teaching staff with higher percentage of PhDs and Masters, where there were better work conditions for the faculty and where research activities were used as a teaching/learning strategy. The students' participation in additional activities called "de extensão" had positive effects on their performance. Besides, this kind of activities generated an attenuating effect on the negative impact of the less favorable socioeconomic condition of the student. If the student had a familiar income less than R$454,00, its performance, in average, tend to be 3,6 points inferior to the one with familiar income higher than of R$ 7.550,00. However, if he participated in additional activities this difference will be reduced to approximately 2 points. If, additionally, the teaching staff shows more dedication and hard work, this difference will be reduced to 1 point.