By putting an end to the organization of early exams in March, the Minister of National Education, Gabriel Attal, did not respond to all the demands of opponents of the reform of the exam which ends high school.
“The reconquest of the month of June” : it’s the “clear choice” claimed by the Minister of National Education, Gabriel Attal, when presenting the new baccalaureate calendar, Thursday September 28 on TF1. As was outlined at the end of August, specialty tests will no longer be held in March, and are postponed until the end of the school year. Next year, students in the sectors general and technological will take place between Wednesday June 19 and Friday June 21.
This decision responds to the lively controversy which followed the organization of these exams last March, for the first time since the adoption of the baccalaureate reform thought up by former minister Jean-Michel Blanquer. This schedule had been accused of leading to absenteeism and demotivation among certain students, sometimes guaranteed to obtain their diploma even before the last term. However, after Gabriel Attal’s announcement,he teacher and high school student unions are warning of new perverse effects, and pointing out problems that they do not consider resolved. Franceinfo explains to you why this postponement of specialty tests is not welcomed with open arms.
Because the preparation for the tests is getting heavier
The majority of unions called for a change in the calendar. But this request was backed by that of a reduction in programs. This is not the option chosen: in a memothe general director of school education informs that, from now on, “the notions of the first class program in force [pourront] be mobilized as part of the test”. “Lhen Gabriel Attal says that we can finally speak of ‘reconquest of the month of June’, it is rather a destruction. First, because the test dates are all condensed into one week. But also because the programs have been made heavier, even though they were already dense”alerts Ephram Strzalka-Beloeil, president of the La Voix lycéenne union.
For Sophie Vénétitay, general secretary of the Snes-FSU teaching union, doubts are strong about “the ability to prepare well” the June exams, which always include the philosophy writing and the grand oral. “We will have to prepare head-on for the written tests and the oral tests”she worries on franceinfo.
Because the results of Parcoursup will be partly known
Simultaneously with that of the baccalaureate, the calendar for Parcoursup, the higher education admission platform, was unveiled Thursday on the ministry website. The main admission phase will begin on May 30, and the complementary phase on June 11. “During the written tests, the deadlines for responding to admission proposals are suspended”explains National Education, “to allow high school students to concentrate on their exams. But some final year students will take the baccalaureate already knowing their assignment.
Representatives of the main parties concerned are doubtful. “Put yourself in the high school student’s place: he or she will have already received initial results before the baccalaureate. Harmful feelings may emerge at the time of the exam,” estimated Ephram Strzalka-Beloeil. “We may wonder what the use of these tests is, given that they will take place after the results of Parcoursup, and that the future of hundreds of thousands of high school students will already be sealed by this machine., judges, for its part, the high school union Fidl, in a press release. Taking into account the results of the specialty tests in Parcoursup was one of the main arguments put forward by the supporters of their organization in March.
Because proofreaders fear being overwhelmed
The postponement of the specialty tests adds new papers and new orals to the examiners’ rich end-of-year program. “In an unprecedented way, high school teachers will be on call until Thursday July 11, almost a week after the start of the students’ vacation, to ensure that the baccalaureate exams and jury meetings take place”, underlines Snes-FSU in a press release. The union wonders about the possibility “to meet deadlines, to do quality work, without losing your health and motivation”in a calendar “so constrained”.
For Jérôme Fournier, national secretary of the SE-Unsa union, this rearrangement “is a lesser evil to reconquer the month of June”, and keep the students “the longest time possible” at school. “On the other hand, it is problematic for corrections, since the written and oral ones overlap, which will be very complicated” for certain teachers, he regrets. In particular those in philosophy, for whom the corrections are already long, and those in French, who will have to manage, at the same time, the written and oral exams of first and final year students.
Because the month of June is more conducive to extreme heat
While episodes of extreme temperatures are increasingly earlier and more intense, it is “impossible to pass the baccalaureate in June in good conditions”estimated Ephram Strzalka-Beloeil, who calls for “rethink the organization of school time according to the climatic context”. Snes-FSU anticipates “a heatwave episode, unfortunately, more than likely, to end up students and teachers in premises totally unsuitable for the consequences of climate change”. At the beginning of September, Emmanuel Macron promised the energy renovation of 44,000 educational establishments within ten years.
Because continuous monitoring is not called into question
The Blanquer reform also introduced the taking into account, for obtaining the baccalaureate, of continuous assessment, which now determines 40% of the mark. A point criticized by some high school students and teachers, to which Gabriel Attal does not intend to return, for the moment. “Despite an improvement in the timetable, we do not remain fooled: continuous assessment persists, and means that students will continue to be stressed from the first “criticizes Fidl. “To evaluate a base of skills, you need the same conditions for everyone. However, with continuous assessment, you will always have a difference between a high school which has all its overall time allocations and all its teachers, and a high school in which around ten teachers are missing”, also points out the president of La Voix lycéenne, Ephram Strzalka-Beloeil.