Schooling prior to higher education in Mexico comprises four levels: preschool (3 years), elementary or primaria (6 years), secundaria (3 years), and bachillerato (3 years, equivalent to grades 10 to 12 in U.S. schools). Bachillerato is not compulsory. Students who have access to this level are expected to pass every subject if they want to remain in school. Although schools provide a second opportunity through make-up exams to students who do not obtain a passing grade, if they fail to pass these exams they are automatically expelled from school, a process described in school records as “baja académica” or “academic dropout.” Studies show that this phenomenon occurs predominantly during the first year of bachillerato (Álvarez, 2009; Miramontes, 2003; Romo & Fresán, 2002); however, little is known about the way teachers and students experience this process and the school cultures and positions that enable the identity of “academic failure” and expulsion.