This article argues that the focus on government expenditure, present in many assessments of the impact of structural adjustment on the social sectors, is misplaced. A case study of Côte d'Ivoire shows that during a period of structural change, the poorest segments of the population suffered a significant deterioration in access to education and educational achievement. Yet, countrywide indicators were stable or declined only slightly, and government expenditure indicators even showed an upward trend. Reliance on the latter would lead to the wrong policy conclusion and the failure to note the needed reorientation of government expenditure and retargeting of education services towards the poorest.