Paraná leads Brazil in lowest high school age-grade distortion

Paraná has achieved the lowest rate of age-grade distortion in high school in Brazil, according to the 2026 Brazilian Yearbook of Basic Education. In 2025, only 8% of students in the state were two or more years behind their recommended age, which is half the national average of 16%.

Data from the last decade shows a significant improvement in the state's educational metrics. The school delay rate dropped by more than 60% since 2015, when it stood at 21.1%. Additionally, the high school approval rate rose from 81.4% to 98.2%, while the dropout rate fell from 7.7% to 0.3%, the second lowest in the country.

The state's high school population includes approximately 389,600 students, with the public network accounting for 81.9% of enrollments. Other improvements include an increase in schooling for youth aged 15 to 17 and a rise in high school completion rates by age 19, which grew from 59.6% to 75.3% over the ten-year period.