THE SITUATION IN FRANCE

All three are for pupils from the age of 15 years and up; the two first schooltypes last 3 years, vocational lasts 4 years.

The baccalauréat is a certificate awarded to pupils who have passed the national final examination of the same name organised at the end of upper secondary education.

The French baccalauréat not only operates as school leaving 'maturity exams', but definitely also as 'entrance examinations' to higher education: the baccalauréat is both the final examinations of the lycée and the first university diploma.

The title of bachelier is enough for entry in any university and no additional tests are taken: applicants possessing the baccalauréat have the right to be admitted.

The examination is organised by the Ministry of Education and consists of compulsory written and oral examinations as well as optional examinations covering the subjects taken in the final year (except French, which is taken at the end of the second last year) and varying according to the type of education.

There is a general, technological or vocational Baccalauréat depending on the type of education.

Each type of baccalauréat encompasses several specialties (séries). For instance, the baccalauréat général encompasses three specialties: S (scientific), ES (economic and social) and L (literary).

The certificate mentions the branch and final marks. It gives access to higher education and/or a trade or occupation for pupils in vocational education. It confers the title of bachelier.

The written examination includes a minimum of eight or nine compulsory subjects plus a maximum of two optional subjects. For instance, for the baccalauréat général includes three spécialités with the topics as follows (in addition to French who is taken at the end of the second last year):

S (Scientific) specialty:

Compulsory subjects:

Mathematics, physics-chemistry, biology-geology or technology, philosophy, history-geography, first foreign language, sport

Optional subjects:

Technology, foreign language, regional language, Latin, ancient Greek, arts, sport, computer science

ES (Economic and Social) specialty:

Compulsory subjects:

Economics, applied mathematics, philosophy, history-geography, first foreign language, second foreign language or ancient language, sport

Optional subjects:

Literature, sciences, foreign language, regional language, Latin, ancient Greek, arts, sport, computer science

L (Literary) specialty:

Compulsory subjects:

Literature, philosophy, sciences, history-geography, first foreign language, second foreign language or ancient language or arts, sport

Optional subjects:

Foreign language, regional language, Latin, ancient Greek, arts, sport, computer science

As stated in the chart un lycée pour le vingt et unieme siecle "The baccalauréat is a national diploma who guarantees the republican equality. It compulsorily encompasses national and anonymous tests, identical for all pupils."

The tradition of external examination is deep rooted in France. The subjects, as sport or some optional subjects, whose examination is internal (school-based) are the exception.

The national examination for each subject is the same for all schools and is taken at the time specified by the Government. For instance, the baccalauréat for the year 1999 begins at 14 June and ends at 9 July.

There is only one normal session, plus a replacement session in September for pupils who were ill during the normal session.

The examination papers are designed by national testing groups, with the involvement of teachers from upper secondary education. For each subject, the determination of examination papers is done by special committees under the authority of an inspector. The final responsibility belongs to the Minister of education. The process of elaboration of examination papers lasts about five months, from October (first propositions from the teachers) to February (final signature of print-ready question papers).

Teachers who deal with anonymous papers do the marking of the written examination. The time spent on this is part of the teachers' workload.
The examination programs for the subjects define the goals to be tested in the examination.

Jean-Pierre Sarmant, FRANCE
Inspecteur Général
Ministere de l'Education Nationale, de la Recherche et de la Technologie
e-mail: jean-pierre.sarmant@education.gouv.fr