Bac in continuous assessment: "This is a historic first"

Teacher-researcher at the University of Picardy, Julien Cahon is a specialist in the history of education. It deciphers the consequences of the bac 2020 which, due to the health crisis, will be entirely under continuous monitoring.

Bac exams canceled: had it already happened?

JULIEN CAHON. No, this is a historic first. The bac experienced disruptions, but never canceled all of the tests. In 1968, the writings were deleted but there was a terminal exam, reduced between 5 and 7 oral exams, collected over one day.

And during the wars?

The exams are maintained but adapted. Between 1915 and 1918, the question arose in particular in the area occupied by the German army. There is no longer any contact with the institution, so the educational players, and in particular the rector of Lille, will organize sessions in the hope that this baccalaureate, after liberation, can be recognized by the French authorities.

Why so much effort to organize it, at all costs?

Because the baccalaureate is much more than an exam. It is a rite of passage in this society. It is also the first university degree, and within the school itself, a compass. It is the examination which makes it possible to show that life continues its course.

Is it still so important today?

There remains a pivotal moment. It is true, however, that its role has changed a little because it is no longer an end in itself. In the 19th century and for much of the 20th century, it was a distinction. It becomes a level of guidance in higher education.

It is also a monument criticized, and for a long time ...

Yes, at the end of the 19th century, academics deplored the drop in candidates' spelling levels. It is a very old catchphrase. The debate on continuous monitoring is also old. At the end of the 19th century, many scientific publications were worried about overwork at school, linked to very intensive work methods to prepare for the bac. The Academy of Medicine and the Anthropology Society of Paris then campaign for continuous monitoring.

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We got there this year because of the health crisis. Will this have long-term consequences?

I think so. That could plead in favor of the projects of the minister who, initially, wanted a dose of continuous monitoring more important than what appears in the reform of the vat in progress: a rather complicated hybrid system, which satisfies neither the supporters of continuous monitoring nor those sacrosanct terminal trials.

VIDEO. Jean-Michel Blanquer gives details on obtaining the bac and the 2020 certificate

Was National Education ready to spend a year without a baccalaureate?

The scenario existed in the pandemic anticipation plans developed after the H5N1 flu. The one presented by Gilles de Robien in 2006 provides for the possibility of awarding the baccalaureate only on written, oral tests, or via continuous assessment. The plan also evokes bottlenecks, for example the question of the right of withdrawal of teachers, without providing an answer.

Could the bac disappear one day, as the certificate of studies disappeared?

In the medium term, I don't think so. The teaching staff and the families remain strongly attached to it. This examination, with the same test for all, on the same day, at the same time, represents the universalist public education system.