This paper aims to discuss the implementation process of secondary school reform through the analysis of data collected by a research conducted in three Brazilian states. The purpose is to point out the main aspects of state reforms and its most critical issues, starting with the study of the different features and tensions generated between the purposes of the new strategies, the reality to be transformed and what was actually achieved as a result of the proposed measures. The main concerns refer to: the educational scenario in which old and new problems coexist, highlighting the expansion of low quality secondary education, the privatization of its administration and, simultaneously, the presence of a strong exclusion component; the fact that the reform in progresshas significantly affected teachers' work and the school's institutional dynamics and, to a lesser degree, the students' educational reality. The study concludes that secondary school current situation encompasses the following paradox: a complex curriculum reform coexistin with the depreciation of intellectual work of the school as a cultural institution.
SECONDARY EDUCATION; EDUCATIONAL REFORM