DEA as a Tool for Policy Formulation in the Public Basic Education: An Application in Brazilian Schools

This article discusses the use of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) as a tool for evaluating the performance of educational institutions in Brazil. DEA is commonly employed in various sectors, including education, to assess efficiency and identify areas for improvement. Brazil faces an educational deficit compared to developed countries and its peers, particularly in the public education system. The importance of considering access conditions alongside student outcomes in school impact evaluations is emphasized due to the country's inequality. Public education policies in Brazil are striving to enhance instruction. The study proposes the use of DEA as a means to improve the educational effectiveness of basic public education. Methodologically, it involves a literature review of DEA BCC (Banker, Charnes, and Cooper) is suggested for data collection and calculating scores of Decision-Making Units (DMUs) due to its provision of confidence intervals for efficiency scores and bias-corrected estimates. The results highlight DEA as a valuable tool for measuring educational effectiveness. It operates primarily in the early stages of the public policy cycle, aiding in diagnosing needs and assisting policy formulation. Applied to school evaluation, DEA enables the comparison of individual school performance with benchmark groups and facilitates the identification of areas requiring improvement. By employing DEA, school managers and policymakers can develop effective programs to enhance educational performance and address the educational deficit in Brazil. Overall, DEA proves to be an important instrument for performance evaluation and policymaking in the education sector.