Often reformed, regularly questioned, the national patent diploma is far from consensus, especially since it is not necessary to pass it to go to high school. “It is an examination which, as it stands, is no longer used as much as it may have been the case a few years ago”Judge Audrey Chanonat of SNPDEN, the union of school heads.
For the headteacher, these final written tests duplicate the assessment of student achievement, a sort of continuous assessment, which counts for half of the final grade: “It’s something that, for us, is a bit outdated in this form, explains Audrey Chanonat. We don’t see much real use in it anymore.”
Other grievances of school heads against the exam created in 1947, it has a certain cost. En 2019, the ministry estimated an overall cost of 3.2 million euros in expenses, paper, copies, compensation for correctors, or around 3.90 euros per candidate. Moreover, the patent bites on teaching days at the end of June. However, 88% of candidates passed it last year.
This year, 856,172 candidates are concerned, 770,863 in the general series (+ 0.46% compared to 2021) and 85,309 candidates in the professional series (+ 4.77%). It should be noted that 29,714 college students take it abroad. The students began with the written French test on Thursday June 30 in the morning and will continue with maths in the afternoon. Friday, July 1, they will work on history-geography and science. They must also pass an oral whose sessions have been running since April 15.
But not everyone wants the death of the patent. The Snes, the teachers’ union for example, wants to keep these final exams. “In addition to having a bit of an initiatory role at the end of their college education, this allows them to confront for the first time the situation of being faced with a paper during an exam or taking an oral too”defends one of the representatives of Snes, Anne-Sophie Legrand.
The patent is also the only exam that a young person who drops out of high school can have in their pocket. It remains necessary, finally, for certain public service competitions such as that of professional firefighter, prison guard or municipal police officer.