Assuming that high school is the strategic field on which the working classes have fought to build their right to education, this paper reviews the history of this phase and discusses the steps forward and backward that shaped this trajectory. It focuses on the policies of the 1990s and analyzes some their various aspects. It also brings forth data from three researches that explored the implementation of the reform. As for the action of the Lula's administration in this area, it highlights the main innovations introduced and points out some contradictions in this process, specially those that clearly reveal the gaps between the different groups opposed to the previous government's policies.
High school; High school reform; High school policies