The study performed from Pio, Dias, Matos and Silva (2009) researches’ stresses the school failure phenomena and its possible causes: school dropout, retention and age-grade distortion. In order to assure education as a right of everyone, as stated in the Federal Constitution of 1988, it is necessary to offer conditions of equal access and permanence in educational space. This article aims to present the sources and results regarding school dropout, retention and age-grade distortion in Maria Guimaraes Coelho School, located in Cajazeiras, inner city of Paraiba’s state. This choice was due to the fact this school has one of the highest rates of age-grade distortion of the city, as reported by the Instituto Nacional de Ensino e Pesquisa (INEP). This analysis is descriptive research of qualitative aspect, so it was used as an instrument of data gathering a semi-structured interview, which was composed by six subjective questions. Through analyzing the data, it is possible to realize that the causes of those factors that describe school failure are mostly related to socioeconomic aspect, compelling students to dropout school seeking for work to support their family income. Finally, there is a need for appropriate government intervention, not only creating compensatory, corrective and short-term strategies, because for school dropout and age-grade distortion issues is necessary to implement public policies capable to prevent and to reduce these phenomena that devastates the current public education in the country.