The present study - of bibliographical character - aimed to identify the emergence of the concepts of "cycles" and "continued progression", as well as how such concepts were inserted in São Paulo's public schools. It was found that the cycles and the continued progression emerged with different purposes and in distinct contexts. In order to reorganize the educational system in public schools, the Secretary of Education of the State of São Paulo (Secretaria de Educação do Estado de São Paulo - SEE) implemented the joint of cycles and continued progression in 1998. Theoretically grounded on the critical theory of society, it can be seen that when the closings of the universes of discourse and politics performed by the official language attest the concepts of cycles and continued progression, as belonging to the same form of organization of teaching, they can lead teachers to the one-dimensional thinking, and, consequently, teachers may conceive cycles and continued progression as synonyms, just like SEE
cycles; continued progression; official language; São Paulo State