Distorção idade-série nos anos finais do ensino fundamental: um estudo de caso em uma escola estadual de Ibirité/MG

Abstract

This study analyzes the high rates of age-grade distortion in the final years of elementary education at a state school located in Ibirité, which serves students from the 6th to the 9th grade of elementary school, as well as regular high school and Youth and Adult Education (EJA). Age-grade distortion occurs when students are two or more years behind the recommended age for the grade in which they are enrolled, resulting from grade repetition, school dropout, or late school entry (Brasil, 2024). This educational gap negatively affects students’ academic performance, self-esteem, and school retention, representing a challenge to ensuring equity and quality in education. The study is guided by the following research question: what actions can the school management team adopt to reduce the rates of age-grade distortion? The general objective is to analyze the internal factors that contribute to the high rates of age-grade distortion in the final years of elementary education at the investigated school and to propose actions to address them. The specific objectives include describing the school flow and the agegrade distortion rates of lower secondary students at the institution between 2021 and 2024; analyzing this flow based on pedagogical practices aimed at addressing age-grade distortion; and proposing, based on the analyzed data, actions intended to reduce age-grade distortion and promote educational equity. The justification for this research is grounded in the need to align age-grade distortion rates with the goals established by the National Education Plan (PNE), which advocates that 95% of students complete elementary education at the appropriate age. Furthermore, the choice of this topic is associated with the researcher’s commitment, as a former student and current teacher at the institution, to overcoming this challenge in public education. The conceptual framework of this study encompasses the concepts of age-grade distortion, school failure, and the final years of elementary education. A qualitative approach is adopted, using semi-structured interviews with teachers, specialists, and the school principal, in addition to documentary analysis of pedagogical meeting minutes, class council records, school transcripts, and enrollment records. The platform of Minas Gerais School Administration System (SIMADE) was also accessed, through which detailed information on students’ school trajectories was obtained, including enrollment history, attendance records, and identification of age-grade distortion situations.Based on these instruments, an Educational Action Plan (EAP) was developed, aiming to contribute to reducing age-grade distortion rates in the investigated institution and to improving public education in Minas Gerais, as well as to enriching the academic debate on educational lag in Brazil.