The present paper diagnoses the situation of Fundamental Education in Brazil. It pinpoints some impasses facing this school level, especially the implementation of a nine-year long elementary school, the "pedagogical" periods and rhythms, the centralized form of educational assessment, the accelerated municipalization process, the financing systematic adopted for this teaching level, not to mention the (de)valuing process of education workers - both in terms of remuneration and training. It points out trends for the next decade, highlighting educational administration - less democratic and more "efficient" -, and the privatization process of the educational system and its impact on the priorities of academic research. It then assesses the academic production in the area of fundamental education, foregrounding the emphasis given to each one of the greatest research themes and their effects on public policies.
Public education; Fundamental education; Educational policy; Administration, educational assessment and financing