The production of school failure in the speeches of educational reforms

Abstract

The article problematizes the assumptions of school renewal based on the diagnoses that characterize the so-called poor quality of public schools. Among the investments made, the hypothesis is discussed that reform projects trigger logics that produce school failure. The approach provides evidence that the assertion of failure, linked to inadequate student learning, was conditioned by the school's current configurations and the provision of sophisticated statistical instruments. It concludes by claiming that the creation of learning expectations linked to age and school grade establishes a normality of performances that direct investments in a specific type of education and subject to be formed.