How to put an end to the demobilization of final year students observed this year after the publication, in April, of specialty notes? By repatriating all the baccalaureate exams in June, the Élysée and the Ministry of National Education have prepared for the most urgent. But this hasty change of calendar, announced a week before the start of the school year, raises many questions.
When will the tests really take place?
The two written specialty tests, the two main subjects in the final year, join philosophy and the oral exam and will now take place in June. This will keep students in class probably until the end of May, or even a little after depending on the date of the start of the first tests. The new architecture of the 2024 bac should be announced in mid-September, after consultations with unions and family representatives, about ten days after classes resume.
What emerges from the first working meetings is that students could start with the two specialty tests in order to allow time for the correction and harmonization of grades. The date of 12 June has been brought forward, but has not been set. "In 2023, the grand oral took place from June 19 to 30, but it can be organized in less time by convening a larger number of teachers. In four days, it's doable," says Bruno Bobkiewicz, general secretary of the SNPDEN school leaders' union. The other solution would be to overlap the correction period and the grand oral.
Will the specialty program change?
The appearance of specialties was one of the major novelties of the reform of the high school launched in 2018 by Jean-Michel Blanquer. In the final year, each student chooses two main disciplines sanctioned by two written tests representing a total of one third of the average in the baccalaureate. "The minister's decision to postpone these tests until the end of the year should make it possible to complete the programmes on time," predicts Elisabeth Allain-Moreno, general secretary of the Teachers' Union (SE)-Unsa. Last year, the ministry was forced to alleviate them after deciding to organize specialty writings for the first time in March.
What will be taken into account in the applications for higher education?
Exit the results of the specialty tests. This year, and probably the following ones, higher education courses will have to refer to the grades obtained throughout the year to select their future students. "As soon as we postpone the tests from March to June, specialty writings will no longer enter the Parcoursup procedure, admitted Monday Gabriel Attal. We need to reassure students and their families about the equal treatment of them in the new calendar. We need common, transparent and respected evaluation rules to create trust. »
The new minister refers to the harmonization work under way so that there are not too great disparities between institutions. "There is still work to be done," says Jérôme Fournier, national secretary of SE-Unsa. But if we compare the averages of the final specialty tests of the bac 2023 and the averages of the continuous assessment, we note only two subjects, NSI (digital and computer sciences) and eco-law (in the technological bac) where there is a significant difference between the marks. Continuous monitoring can therefore be considered relatively reliable. »
Will this shift the answers on Parcoursup?
The calendar of the post-baccalaureate admission platform will not be changed, as confirmed to us by the Ministry of Higher Education and Research. "The sequencing remains the same and higher education courses will have a duration of examination of applications equivalent to that of 2023." Last year, future baccalaureate holders finalized their vows on April 6 and the first responses from schools fell from June 1. This timetable should not be disrupted. This means that some students will already have their assignment in their pockets even before starting the baccalaureate exams. This raises questions about the value of the new bin.