There is central, state control of the curriculum, examinations, diplomas and university degrees in France 10 and there are various types of assessment in use in France which apply during this phase. These include:
In addition, on completion of lower secondary education there is the:
National examination - the diplôme national du brevet
All collège students take a lower secondary leaving examination (diplôme national du brevet) which was introduced in 1987. The student's overall mark in the diplôme national du brevet takes into consideration his/her results in this examination, together with marks received for work completed over the last two years of collège (in the quatrième and troisième) (continuous assessment). The diplôme national du brevet does not permit a student to enter the professional/work environment. It simply confirms that he/she has satisfactorily completed lower secondary education.28 Ultimate responsibility for setting and organising the diplôme national du brevet rests with the recteur.57 Continuation of a student's schooling at a lycée is not dependent on the award of the diplôme national du brevet.112
National mass diagnostic testing
Compulsory mass diagnostic national testing of students aged 8 and 11 (and also, previously,of 15-year-olds) has taken place in both public- and private-sector schools in France since September 1989. In compulsory lower secondary education, this comprises a national test in French and mathematics 27 which takes place at the beginning of the school year when students enter collège (age 11).23
Continuous and orientation assessment
During his or her years in collège, each student is assessed in a way which will determine his or her orientation.23 Personal work, completed outside of lessons (homework) (the weekly amount of which is decided by the teachers' council, usually comprising all the teachers of a particular cycle) and tests which take place at periodic intervals in class, are marked and commented on by the relevant teacher and, very often, these personal comments/corrections are complemented by further discussion/collective correction in class.26
Periodic mass diagnostic testing
Mass diagnostic national testing is also organised every four or five years for a nationally representative sample of 15-year-olds (at the end of collège). These students are tested in every subject taught in the previous class of lower secondary school.15
Responsible agencies
The Direction de l'Evaluation, de la Prospective et de la Performance, DEPP of the national Ministry of Education was set up in 1987 to carry out all aspects of the evaluation of the French education system, of which individual student assessment is only a part.15
The DEPP is responsible for the evaluation/assessment of the education system as a whole. As such, it is responsible for the development, implementation and analysis of monitoring, assessment and evaluation procedures with regard to student and student learning, teaching establishments and education policy and innovation. It also undertakes long-term planning for the development of the education system and disseminates publications, which will ensure that those in the wider domain are kept fully informed.26
With respect to student assessment in particular, the DEPP is responsible for deciding the nature of assessment procedures, arranging sampling, devising and developing tests, supervising their administration and analysing and publishing the findings. In practice, groups of teachers, academics and inspectors from a number of régions, together with Ministry officials meet in the Ministry throughout the year to devise, develop and test national assessment material. Much emphasis is laid on the principle of participation, that is, involving all interested parties in designing such tests. Schools, however, are not involved in this process. Individual teachers are. They are drawn from as many different régions and schools as possible to involve as many people as possible. They serve for a few years and are then replaced by others.15
The national Ministry of Education establishes and determines the content of national qualifications.27
Diplôme national du brevet
Continuation of a student's schooling in the lycée is not dependent on his/her results in the diplôme national du brevet. Neither do the results achieved in this examination affect a student's option choices after the troisième (final year of collège), or whether or not he/she is accepted for a particular track. The diplôme national du brevet does not grant access to employment, as students still have one more year of compulsory education to complete. It simply confirms that they have satisfactorily completed lower secondary education.28
With the national goal of 80 per cent of students studying for the Baccalauréat, the diplôme national du brevet is not intended as a terminal assessment but a step along the way. The diplôme national du brevet attests that the student has achieved a certain standard in his or her studies. It acts as a challenge to motivate some students and to give them their first experience of an exam.18
National mass diagnostic testing
Compulsory mass diagnostic national testing of students aged 8 and 11 (and, previously, at age 15 in addition) was introduced in both public- and private-sector schools in France in September 1989. The primary goals of this assessment are to:
After the assessments have taken place, teachers can investigate further to establish the thought processes used by students to reach certain answers. To help them in their interpretation, teachers are provided with guidance on possible reasons for incorrect answers.15
The results of the diagnostic assessment tests taken at age 11, at the start of the collège, are discussed with parents, with a view to determining which students need to make use of the additional/optional two to three hours per week allowed in the school timetable for the consolidation of areas of weakness (see 5.3.2). 13
Continuous assessment
The Teachers' Council of each cycle (usually comprising all the teachers of that cycle) promotes students from class to class within a cycle on the recommendation of their teacher, who bases his/her recommendation on his/her continuous observation and assessment of the student, discussion and on consultation with parents and with members of teaching teams. The amount of time spent in each cycle can be extended or reduced by one year to suit the learning rhythms of each child.28 Students may only repeat a year once they reach the end of a specific cycle.25
Assessment in France is a fundamental part of work in cycles as it enables the teacher to follow the development of a child's skills and thereby plan their own teaching strategies. Teachers are expected to record whether specific "notions" (attainment targets set for each cycle) have been acquired, are in the process of being acquired or have not (yet) been acquired.19
Continuous student monitoring and assessment by teachers also assists teachers in noting students with particular difficulties (in one or more subjects). As a result, the students concerned may either receive special help within their existing class or, should their difficulties make it impossible for them to take part in normal class lessons, they may enter special classes organised within the same school. In more severe cases they will attend a special school.14
Orientation assessment
Results from the continuous assessment which takes place during the quatrième and troisième classes of collège are noted on the student's report card and taken into consideration at the end of the troisième (final year) when decisions on the student's future/future orientation are taken.28
On the basis of these statements and of the student's school results and all other assessments, the Class Council makes recommendations concerning the types of courses the student should attend later in his/her school career. The family can appeal if they do not agree with the decision of the Class Council.23 (Class councils usually consist of the class teacher, two parents, two students and a careers counsellor. They meet at least three times a year and examine the teaching and learning in a class and the progress of each child.)86
Periodic mass diagnostic testing
Periodic mass diagnostic testing of a nationally representative sample of 15-year-olds (at the end of collège) is intended to measure national achievements at the end of a teaching cycle. Such sample-based national assessments are used to build a picture of students' achievements at a particular time, and also to compare this with previous periods. This can provide clues as to whether standards are improving or falling.15
End of year sampling testing
End of year testing of selective samples of students during compulsory education is carried out from time to time for use in the course of national or international surveys or for international comparisons.15
Brevet informatique et internet
Introduced in 2000 as part of France's plans for entering the "Knowledge Society", the brevet informatique et internet (B2i ®) is an optional certificate which validates students' knowledge of information and communication technology. 163 Plans introduced in 2008 aim to ensure that all students obtain a brevet informatique et internet at age 11 by 2010.
All collège students take the lower secondary leaving examination (diplôme national du brevet) and are subject to continuous assessment.28
National, mass diagnostic testing is also compulsory for all students entering collège, age 11.28
Periodic end of year sampling (for international comparison purposes mainly) is similarly compulsory for all students of a particular age range during this phase of compulsory education (usually age 15, on completion of collège).
Diplôme national du brevet
The national lower secondary examination (the diplôme national du brevet), which (as a leaving examination) takes place on completion of collège, comprises three written tests in each of French, mathematics and history/geography and is designed to assess a student's level of knowledge and ability, by reference to the national curriculum.28 In addition, the first compulsory test in civics education were introduced to the tests for the diplôme national du brevet in 2000.105
The student's overall mark on completion of lower secondary education takes into consideration his/her results in this examination, together with marks received for work completed over the last two years of collège (continual assessment).28
Students in private-sector schools and those who are no longer attending school can obtain the diplôme national du brevet by sitting an examination comprising the same three written tests in French, mathematics and history/geography described above, and three other tests in subjects selected from a modern foreign language, physical sciences/physics, natural sciences, economics or art (usually includes music).28
Special cases
Students from troisième classes in international sections of the collège and troisième classes in French-German schools, may take the collège international or French-German option examination. For these students, the examination has an additional written paper in the language of the section or in German. Furthermore, in history/geography, the subject of the examination takes account of the specific teaching curricula and the candidates write in the foreign language in one or other of the subjects.26
Brevet informatique et internet
Introduced in 2000 as part of France's plans for entering the "Knowledge Society", the brevet informatique et internet (B2i ®) is an optional certificate which validates students' knowledge of information and communication technology. Students are expected to obtain a level 2 B2i qualification by the time they leave collège. Measures are also in place to allow students who do not achieve the level 1 B2i during primary education, to obtain it in the first year of lower secondary education (the sixième). There are no formal examinations for this optional certificate. Students are continually assessed on their ability to use ICT in their school work, for example by producing work electronically or using the Internet for research purposes. Decisions on the awarding of the certificate are taken by the headteacher.163 Further information is available here. Plans introduced in 2008 aim to ensure that all students obtain a brevet informatique et internet at age 11 by 2010.
National mass diagnostic testing
This takes the form of a formal, written national test for 11-year-olds at the beginning of the academic year, that is, in the September they enter the sixième of the collège.23
Continuous assessment
Students are assessed at regular intervals during each of the teaching cycles by their teacher/teachers to test their knowledge and retention and attainment targets are set for each cycle of compulsory education. 28,10 Teaching teams within a cycle also work together to improve coordination between teachers and to ensure the continuity and assessment of students' work.23 For example, internal school assessment tests are very often produced on a coordinated basis with other teachers of classes in the same year.19
In modern foreign languages, individual teachers assess their students' attainment in the spoken and written language on a continuous basis, but this is not usually coordinated at school level. In most cases, there is no examination with a language test at the end of lower secondary education.20
End of year sampling
Compulsory end of year sampling is carried out from time to time (at the end of the academic year and under Ministry instruction) for use in the course of national or international surveys or for international comparisons.15
General
With respect to student assessment generally, the Direction de l'Evaluation, de la Prospective et de la Performance, DEPP of the national Ministry of Education is responsible for deciding the nature of assessment procedures, arranging sampling, devising and developing tests, supervising their administration and analysing and publishing the findings. In practice, groups of teachers, academics and inspectors from a number of régions, together with Ministry officials meet in the Ministry throughout the year to devise, develop and test national assessment material. Much emphasis is laid on the principle of participation, that is, involving all interested parties in designing such tests. Schools, however, are not involved in this process; individual teachers are. They are drawn from as many different régions and schools as possible to involve as many people as possible. They serve for a few years and are then replaced by others.15
Instruments of formal assessment are generally national tests, although teachers are also encouraged to develop their own assessments. Additional nationally devised testing material is provided to teachers in collèges through a computerised data bank. Teachers are invited to make use of this freely to assess students' progress.15 Teachers are also provided with such testing/assessment material in hard copy.51
Diplôme national du brevet
The recteur (de l'académie) has ultimate responsibility for setting, organising and awarding the diplôme national du brevet.57 In other words, the three written tests in French, maths and history/geography (and, since 2000, in civics education) are set and standardised by the local recteur.18
Mass diagnostic testing
The tests used for national mass diagnostic testing are originally designed by teams of teachers.19
Teachers normally administer and mark their own students' national mass diagnostic assessment tests 15 and are provided with a detailed mark scheme for what are almost entirely right or wrong answers. They then either enter the data on a computer provided for this purpose 51 so that they themselves can work out percentages and means,19 or they calculate the marks manually and complete a result sheet for each student using a series of code numbers, relating to a sophisticated error analysis. The coding system allows for gradations of incorrect answers and several elements (for example, spelling) can be assessed in one task. The DEPP provides support materials which illustrate ranges of typical answers and their corresponding codes, along with computer software to analyse students' results. The same codes are valid for all subjects and are entered on an optical results sheet and read and computed by a central computer. These assessment tests take approximately two hours to administer and a further two hours to mark.15 The software provided is also designed to aid teachers in analysing the data in more detail for each subject and across both French and maths, in order to identify where students are having difficulty.19
End of year sampling
The coding of end of year sample tests is normally undertaken by outside firms, with the statistical analysis being carried out in the Ministry.15
The national Ministry of Education advises headteachers that mass testing will take place in certain forms or that some classes in their schools are part of a national sample. Headteachers receive the relevant material in appropriate quantity, including test instruments as well as the rationale behind them. The testing takes place during normal class time and central government provides all instructions to headteachers and teachers.15
Diplôme national du brevet
The lower secondary (leaving) certificate (brevet) is awarded (by the local inspecteur) to candidates whose average mark, out of 20, in the written tests and assessed work, is equal to or over 10.28
National mass diagnostic testing
Mass diagnostic testing is criterion-referenced, according to compétences determined by the bodies which set the tests. There are three levels of marks which can be obtained in the tests which take place at the beginning of the school year for students aged 8 and 11 (entry to collège). These are:
A mark sheet, provided by the DEPP, indicates those questions which are classified as representing compétences de base, those which equate to compétences approfondies etc. It also details the number of correct answers to be achieved under each of the three sections to obtain an overall mark of, for example, compétence approfondie.55
When setting the standards to be achieved in the mass diagnostic assessment tests, the bodies which formulate them work on the principle that compétences de base is the level which is required for students to benefit from the educational process to follow in the cycle which they are about to enter.55
The mass diagnostic tests are set each year and change each year. Results cannot therefore be used to compare trends over time.55
Continuous assessment
There are no regulations on marking the work of students attending collèges. In practice, students' results first take the form of a series of marks noted in the report submitted each term to parents by the school management. These marks concern class work or personal work (homework), the weekly amount of which is determined by the Teachers' Council (usually comprises all the teachers of that cycle). Marks in each subject area are accompanied by detailed comments by the teacher on the work and progress achieved by the student.23
Students tend to receive a mark of between 0 and 20 which is the average of their termly marks received in each subject during the final two years of collège (the quatrième and troisième). This average is taken from a varied selection of marked assignments and exercises (written, oral and practical) completed during this period.28
Mass diagnostic testing
A sample of scripts from the national mass diagnostic tests is used by the Ministry to conduct a national survey in order to establish national norms. These results are disseminated to enable the actions of teachers, headteachers, policy-makers and all the various actors in the system to be informed by these results.19
Teachers have found that the results of mass diagnostic testing at ages 8 and 11 serve as a useful starting point for discussions with parents, as the nature and timing of these national assessments (at the beginning of an educational cycle) convince parents that the results are objective and that their child's individual needs are being taken into consideration. In this way, parents are persuaded of the need for any remedial action that may be necessary and can be encouraged to involve themselves with their child's learning.15
Results of assessments completed in the first year of collège are usually passed to feeder écoles élémentaires for information.15
Once students' needs have been identified through national mass diagnostic assessment, in-service training is organised to equip teachers with the appropriate methodology and techniques to meet such needs. Where appropriate, support materials and further assessment materials are also provided by the Ministry of Education to tackle particular areas of need which have been identified at national level.15
General
Because the assessment system in French schools is compulsory throughout the country and its results are widely disseminated,it influences policy making at regional and national level. The pattern of national results has, for example, been seen as one of the catalysts towards changes in the organisation of lower secondary schools in recent years. Performance indicators for each région of the country are also published to allow comparison across the country from year to year; these, too, have a proven effect on policy making.15 The following article provides an interesting commentary on the effects of the publication of school performance data in France - KARSTEN, S., VISSCHER, A. and DE JONG, T. (2001). 'Another side to the coin: the unintended effects of the publication of school performance data in England and France', Comparative Education, 37, 2, 231-42.
At national, regional, school and classroom levels, evaluation and assessment devices allow the Ministry to monitor the education system and its development and to make decisions based on the pedagogical evidence they provide. The information thus processed gives policy-makers an overall view of education in the country from different points of view: benchmarks of successes or failures of students at different stages, evidence of attainment of curriculum objectives, comparisons of students' achievements over time.15
If assessment reveals that collège students are having problems in French or mathematics, or that they are below a certain standard after the first two years of collège (or, if students have repeated one or two years at elementary school) they are identified as being "in difficulty". As a result they may receive additional help, including supervised homework sessions at school. Students recognised as having difficulty at the start of secondary school can follow a remedial programme over three years. This is equivalent to the first two years of the standard curriculum.71.
During lower and upper secondary school (in the collège and lycée), families are informed of the work done by their children by means of:
Report books (livrets scolaires) were introduced as part of the 1989 Framework Law on Education 7 and one is kept for each student during compulsory education. It contains:
It is also:
Each student's progress is recorded in his/her livret (scolaire), which follows him/her throughout school. It is explicitly stated that there is to be no social or medical information about the student in this report. The aim is to allow the teacher to gain a perspective on the educational level of each individual student. Both schools and local authorities are free to design their own formats for the livrets.19
Under proposals which began to be implemented in 1999, school reports in the collège now also take into account non-academic assessments, and a 'skills book' follows students throughout collège. 16
As well as providing parents with information about their child's performance, many schools also set aside time for the discussion of results with parents.19 Some schools also use two-way homework diaries as a means of ensuring communication with parents.86
Results of mass diagnostic assessment
Parents are informed of their child's results in the mass diagnostic assessment tests, which are held at the beginning of the school year at age 8 and 11. It is thought that such information enables parents to better assist and support their children.51
General
The results of assessment in France are intended to be available and useful to all concerned. Every school is therefore required to produce a 'performance chart' for each student and each class, while at the national level, the Ministry of Education provides a comprehensive analysis of a representative sample of students' performances. This analysis is widely disseminated, along with copies of the assessment materials, explanations of the objectives of each assessment and a pedagogical interpretation of and commentary on the results. This freedom of information aims to ensure that everyone within the system is in a position to make informed decisions at the appropriate level. Individual school results are, however, not identified.15 The following article provides a commentary on the effects of the publication of school performance data in France - KARSTEN, S., VISSCHER, A. and DE JONG, T. (2001). 'Another side to the coin: the unintended effects of the publication of school performance data in England and France', Comparative Education, 37, 2, 231-42.
Mass diagnostic testing on entry to the collège
Compulsory mass diagnostic national testing of students aged 8 and 11 (and, previously, aged 15) has taken place in both public- and private-sector schools in France since September 1989. Students tested on entering collège (age 11) in September 2000 achieved average scores in the mass diagnostic tests of 68.5 per cent for French and 64.6 per cent for mathematics.128
Diplôme national du brevet
In 2001, the overall pass rate in metropolitan France for the diplôme national du brevet (taken on completion of the collège) was 78.2 per cent, which remained the same as the previous year. 140 During the period 1995-2000, the pass rate was usually between 74 and 75 per cent.124