This paper deals with the way Croatian accentual system is taught in secondary education. By analyzing Croatian language textbooks for secondary schools and surveying secondary school teachers of Croatian (in comprehensive schools and vocational schools) data has been gathered about the way the accentual system is taught in different school programs, about problems with presentingthe accentual system, and about representation of individual topics in teaching, with a special emphasis on departures from the accentual norm, which is not an obligatory teaching topic. Significant differences in approach to the accentual system with regard to different secondary school programs are confirmed by surveying former pupils of comprehensive and vocational schools, as well as by proficiency tests. The present study confirms the fact that the interest (in both teachers and pupils) for learning and acquiring knowledge about the accentual system is very low, which finally also confirms the claim that the standard accent does not connote prestige, higher status and linguistic competence.