Abstract
The aim of this article is to present a research about the impact of a Portuguese education policy of positive discrimination (Territórios Educativos de Intervenção Prioritária – TEIP) in the academic performance of students, following the evolution between the school years of 2001–2002 and 2014–2015. We analise about 4 million cases of students’ scores. After a brief introduction to the concept of compensatory education, we revisit the main characteristics of different compensatory education programs, and discuss their efficacy. The results suggest the TEIP program has no impact on the improvement of academic performance. We then discuss the efficacy of the transference of human and economic resources to the schools, taking into account that the integration of schools in compensatory education programs can generate stigmatization. To that extent, it is important to continue searching for devices that enable education to compensate for social inequalities.
Compensatory education; Public education policies; TEIP; School ratings
