This paper analyzes a set of registration books, produced in Rio Grande do Sul, between the years1895 and 1919, seeking to understand, by the analysis of the fulfilment and the categories adopted for identification of those enrolled, the school trajectory of students, ages of entrance, attendance and the time spent in school. It was also intended to relate the dispositions of decrees relating to public education to the records contained in the documentation. It was also purposed in some measure, to collaborate in the thinking about the potentialities and limits of school bookkeeping as sources that can contribute to the understanding of aspects of school practice and the student's experience in the mentioned period.
school bookkeeping; books of registration; school age
