Analysis of school failure based on Portuguese micro data

Abstract

In this article we investigate the main causes of school failure in the primary public schools in Lisbon. Poisson count-data models are used to analyse the relationship between the number of failures and a wide set of explanatory variables. However heterogeneity due to unobserved differences in intellectual abilities of the students is of primary concern. Neglecting it causes biased estimates and therefore a proper method is required to accommodate it. In this article we suggest a finite mixture of Poisson's. We found that variables associated to gender, ethnicity, family dimension, parent's level of education and income poverty are the most important observable determinants of school failure.

Acknowlegement

Financial support received from Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia/MCT under FCT/POCTI is gratefully acknowledged.