The objective of this study was to compare the performance of school children in relation to formal evaluation and teachers' opinion. One hundred and sixty-four (164) elementary school students in an inland city in São Paulo state, 81 males, and 83 females, took part in this study. The formal performance evaluation was carried out through the Learning Performance Test, and 2 groups were defined according to the teacher's opinion as for normal and below-average performances. The results showed a significant difference, indicating the males and fourth graders as having the lowest performance. The average grades of the group defined by the teacher as having the lowest performance were lower than they were expected to be in the formal evaluation and differed significantly. The opinion of the teacher in this study was essential to the identification of problems related to education.
school education; learning
