High school students in Brazil's public school system showed improvement in key academic performance indicators between 2022 and 2025. The failure rate fell by 62% during that period, while the dropout rate declined by 61% and the rate of students falling behind decreased by 28%.

At the same time, the graduation rate rose by 11%, indicating that more young people completed this stage of basic education within the standard timeframe. The data come from the second phase of the 2025 School Census, released by the Ministry of Education (MEC) and the Anísio Teixeira National Institute for Educational Studies and Research (Inep).

According to Education Minister Leonardo Barchini, the results reflect a combination of public policies aimed at both student retention and improving the conditions under which basic education is provided. “The situation reflects a combination of public policies aimed at student retention, learning, and improving the conditions under which basic education is provided. We have also observed simultaneous improvements in the indicators for dropout rates, grade repetition, and school delays in Brazil,” he said.

More students are staying in school

The data also show progress in student retention in high school. Between 2022 and 2025, the dropout rate for this level of education fell by 28%, indicating that more young people remained enrolled from one year to the next.

According to Inep President ManuelPalacios, if this indicator had remained at the 2022 level, the country would have had nearly 250,000 fewer high school students in 2025. “A very large number of young people—who might otherwise have been out of school—continued their studies,” he noted.

Among the initiatives cited by the Ministry of Education (MEC) as contributing to this result is the “Pé-de-Meia” program, which has already benefited 7.2 million students. The program offers financial incentives to students who maintain regular school attendance, pass their exams, complete high school, and take the Enem. According to Barchini, this is a policy aimed at reducing educational inequalities and strengthening school retention.

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Progress at Different Stages of Basic Education

The Ministry of Education (MEC) also links improvements in high school education to progress made in other stages of basic education. One of the highlights is the National Commitment to Child Literacy, which helped raise the child literacy rate from 36% in 2021 to 66% in 2025. The ministry’s assessment is that strengthening learning in the early years tends to have positive impacts throughout a student’s educational journey.

Another indicator presented was the expansion of full-time education. The percentage of students enrolled in this program rose from 15.1% in 2021 to 25.8% in 2025, reaching 8.8 million students in the public school system. During this period, more than 1.8 million new enrollments were facilitated, enabling the National Education Plan (PNE) to meet its goal of serving one in every four students in this format for the first time.

In terms of school infrastructure, the National Strategy for Connected Schools increased the number of schools with internet access for educational purposes by 43.7 percent, rising from 66,800 schools in 2023 to 100,000 in 2026. The initiative benefits approximately 24 million students and aims to expand access to digital resources for teaching and learning.

ENEM Expands Its Role in Evaluating High School Education

The National High School Exam (ENEM) has also undergone changes in recent years. In addition to the reinstatement of certification for high school graduation and pre-filled registration forms for public school graduates, starting in 2026, the ENEM will be used as a tool to assess the quality of Brazilian high school education, expanding its role in monitoring educational policies and formulating strategies for the final stage of basic education.

Sources: Inep and Agência Brasil

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