Enem: There are more blacks, but whites have better grades – 06/06/2023 – Education

There was growth in the participation of blacks in the Enem (National High School Examination) in the country, but the difference between the average grades by race only grew, with white candidates maintaining a superior performance in relation to the others. This applies to both public and private school students.

The conclusion is from a survey carried out by the racial studies nucleus at Insper. The work covers the period from 2010 to 2019.

According to the researchers, black women obtained the worst averages in the range analyzed. Another phenomenon observed was the increase in the difference in performance between pardos and pretos in almost all regions.

In the Southeast, for example, brown men reached an average of 532 in 2010, while black men averaged 524. In 2019, brown men maintained an average of 532, and black men reached 517. Among women, brown men had an average of 519 in 2010 and black, 515. In 2019, the averages were 517 and 509, respectively.

The possible score on the Enem ranges from 0 to 1,000. It is not based on the amount of hits, but on Item Response Theory. For her, whoever gets the hardest questions right will probably get the easiest ones right. If this does not happen, it is seen as a kick, and the weight given to the hit is less.

Between 2010 and 2016, on the national scene, there was an increase in the participation of blacks and a decrease in whites. From 2016 to 2019, stabilization was observed. In the same period, however, black participation decreased considerably in some regions, mainly in the South and Southeast. The latter had the greatest difference in performance between whites and blacks.

On the other hand, the North stands out for the consistency in the inclusion of blacks in the exam and for the smaller difference in performance between races.

For Michael França, columnist for Sheet and coordinator of the Nucleus of Racial Studies at Insper, the black overrepresentation in the analyzed period can be explained by the increase in self-declarations due to the process of raising awareness and racial appreciation, in addition to the possibility of enjoying the quota policy.

However, self-declarations can also, according to the research, be a factor in providing distance between pardos and blacks. Between 2010 and 2016, about a fifth of applicants changed their racial statement in subsequent years, especially from white to brown.

“The black population is, in general, poorer and attends public schools. If there is not adequate preparation in the public network, they will arrive at a disadvantage for the exam”, says França. “The study is important to show that it is no use looking only at higher education. We have to invest in the base.”

This is also the explanation for Daniel Cara, professor at the Faculty of Education at USP (University of São Paulo) and member of the steering committee of the National Campaign for the Right to Education. He says that, as public education is precarious, learning is still very much linked to family conditions.

“Due to structural racism, educational opportunities are frighteningly unequal. Parents’ schooling and financial condition results in learning asymmetry. The book, for example, is a luxury item for poor families”, says Cara.

The survey also analyzed performance in language and mathematics tests. In both, whites have a better average. However, the language test shows less racial difference in relation to the mathematics test. In this regard, the Southeast is again the most unequal region and the North the least.

Frei Davi Santos, president of Educafro, says that the results of the study are a revolting portrait of the indifference of the government towards black youth. He claims that many students spend two or three years without physics, chemistry and biology classes in state schools, and the Public Ministry of each state is aware of the situation.

“Since they are not your children, since they are in private schools, they [promotores] they do not carry out the investigation seriously, leaving the State to humiliate the Afro-Brazilian people”, he continues.