While Gabriel Attal said he was particularly worried about the results of the national assessments in French and mathematics taken in fourth grade in September, these tests above all show disparities between advantaged and disadvantaged backgrounds in middle school.
What do the results of national middle school assessments, made public on Tuesday November 14 by the Ministry of National Education, really say? Gabriel Attal estimated Monday, in the columns of Parisian, that they were “worrying” for 4th grade students, who took these tests in September for the first time. “A little more than half of students do not read adequately and, in mathematics, more than half do not master problem solving and geometry,” he regretted. However, “the results are progressing” in the 6th grade classes.
The assessments of acquired knowledge, which were also taken by CP, CE1 and CM1, allow on the one hand the teacher to situate the level of each of his students, on the other hand the ministry to have an overall view, and, consequently, “to adapt educational policy”, according to a press release from the ministry. But these tests are questioned, even criticized, by the teaching staff, in particular on their legitimacy in providing reliable statistics. For Maud Valegeas, federal co-secretary of SUD-Education, “these evaluations are not very inclusive”. For example, students were assessed on their ability to understand a text in connection with a fluency test, in other words their ability to read quickly.
“The link between comprehension and reading speed is not conclusive. This also penalizes students with disabilities.”
Maud Valegeas, federal co-secretary SUD-Educationat franceinfo
The conditions for taking the tests also differ depending on the establishment. In the Seine-Saint-Denis college where she works, Maud Valegeas affirms that, this year, “it was difficult to bring together 24 working computers” for 4th grade students, while the tests were digital. Because the results vary from one year to the next, Jérôme Fournier, national secretary of SE-Unsa, takes these results with a pinch of salt. “He there are small progressions, sometimes small declines, but it is never obvious. For 4th grade students, we will have to check if this changes next year”, believes the union official. “These evaluations give indications, it is valuable, but we must be careful in the conclusions that we can draw from them”, estimates Jean-Paul Delahaye, former director general of school education.
Lack of resources and standardized classes
To accurately interpret these evaluations, and particularly the “bad” results of middle school students in 4th grade, taking into account a context remains essential. “4th grade students have certainly paid the heavy price of confinements”says Jérôme Fournier, who does not deny that the results are not “not good”. These students were in CM1-CM2 class at the height of the Covid-19 crisis, just as those who are in 6th grade today were in CE1-CE2, years during which learning is essential.
But unlike 6th grade students, 4th grade students in the priority education networks (REP) did not benefit from the division into CP and CE1. “En maths this year, we see an increase in results in 6th grade. We may think that the duplication measures are bearing fruit”, underlines Jérôme Fournier. This argument was itself taken up by Gabriel Attal on Monday. “He There is also age that should not be neglected. In 4th grade, behavior changes a little: some find their place in a group better by being a bad student.”remarks Jérôme Fournier.
In the background, many teachers especially denounce poor learning conditions. For them, students should not bear responsibility for a malfunction in the system. “Who could have predicted that we would have students in difficulty when middle school classes in France are the most overcrowded in Europe, that there are teachers who are not replaced, that there are big holes in the students’ education?” reacted Tuesday, at the microphone of franceinfo, the general secretary of the Snes-FSU teaching union Sophie Vénétitay. According to Jean-Paul Delahaye, the situation is particularly critical at college. “It is not a priority when it comes to the allocation of resources. The Court of Auditors has been reporting this since 2003,” calls out the honorary inspector general.
“Since the establishment of the single college, it has greatly resembled a small high school adapted to students who are destined for the general sector.”
Jean-Paul Delahaye, honorary inspector generalat franceinfo
Before 1975, middle school students were assigned to classes according to their study plans, with those who wanted to stop at the baccalaureate on one side, and those who intended to go to high school on the other. “The current college is not designed for all students”, underlines Jean-Paul Delahaye. Middle school teachers benefit from the same training as high school teachers. “E“teaching math to a 6th grade class is not the same as doing it to a final year specialty class.” illustrates the one who pleads to better equip teachers.
Persistent social and educational inequalities
The results of these evaluations also reveal that the disparities between middle school students in REP and others are far from being resolved. In 4th grade, regarding French, “14.2% of public sector students excluding priority education are in the lowest performance group. This is the case for 38.6% of REP+ students”, details the ministry. In 6th grade, in comparison with 2022, “the results are generally stable in French, with an increase observed in REP+”. But the difference remains colossal, as specified by the Ministry’s Statistics Agency (DEPP) in its complete report: in REP+, “the proportion of students in low-level groups reaches 52.4%. It is 26.3 points higher than that observed among students educated in the public sector excluding priority education.”
“In REP, we split classes in primary school, but we did not reduce classes in middle school.”
Jérôme Fournier, national secretary of SE-Unsaat franceinfo
“In recent years, we have the impression of an abandonment of the priority education policy”, judge Maud Valegeas. In December, the former Minister of National Education Pap Ndiaye also promised to carry out major work on the priority education map in 2023. Today, 1.7 million schoolchildren and college students are concerned by priority education, i.e. 1/5th of the workforce. Ideally, many more students could benefit. “The social position index (IPS) map allows us to see that certain non-REP colleges have a lower index than those classified REP”recalls Jérôme Fournier. Proof of the relevance of IPS for measuring inequalities, the DEPP also shows, in its report, the results of establishments according to this index.
To compensate for these inequalities between students in difficulty and others, Gabriel Attal once again put forward the idea “groups of levels in French and mathematics”. But according to Jérôme Fournier, the solution lies rather in “groups of needs”. “Out of four hours of math, we could have an hour devoted to light groups: one to do fractions, the other to geometry. Then, after a certain time, we change the groups by creating them differently, because there is no such thing as students in difficulty all the time”, he assures. For Maud Valegeas, the “fundamental knowledge policy” at all costs is not the most relevant: “We must develop a taste for learning, and this requires the multiplication of disciplines, but also the link we make between them.”
“The college is in difficulty because we are not instilling social and academic diversity”, adds Jean-Paul Delahaye. However, there is numerous research that shows the benefits of a heterogeneous class, for less good students as well as for the best, under certain conditions. In Toulouse (Haute-Garonne), young people from a sensitive district (Mirail) and a residential district have been attending the same establishment since 2018. According to the PS president of the departmental council, this mixture is a success, with a rate of Brevet success increased by seven points for Mirail middle school students.