Do not panic, the following calculation is not rocket science. Knowing that in 2021, 170,000 final year students have completely abandoned mathematics, whereas before the reform of the baccalaureate, there were only 50,000 high school students who threw in the towel: what is the percentage of evolution of those who have dropped squares and compasses? Answer… + 240%! A figure that says a lot about the loss of speed of this discipline since its disappearance from the common core three years ago. “The situation of mathematics in France is extremely worrying”, acknowledged Stanislas Dehaene, president of the Scientific Council for National Education (CSEN) during an international conference on the teaching of mathematics, organized on June 15 at the College de France. The growing lack of interest of children and adolescents for this exact science is partly explained by the drop in level and the growing difficulties they are encountering. In 2020 and 2021, the CSEN, in collaboration with the Department of Evaluation, Foresight and Performance (Depp), carried out an instructive test with students entering sixth grade, asking them to place the fraction “one half” on a number line from 0 to 5. Only 22% of them succeeded. “We’re there!” Loose Stanislas Dehaene.
For several years now, France has not shone in the world rankings. The reforms and the attempts at responses put in place by the last successive governments have unfortunately not succeeded in reversing the curves. As evidenced by the famous Program for International Student Assessment (Pisa), which compares the performance of 15-year-olds in 85 countries. “Between 2000 and 2010, France recorded a fall in level in mathematics and has stagnated since. Formerly successful, it is now one of the average countries”, explains Eric Charbonnier, analyst at the Directorate of Education of the OECD. Another survey, called Trends in mathematics and science study (Timss) and conducted in more than 60 countries, worries specialists more since French students are ranked last in the European Union – with results similar to those of Romania – and penultimate among OECD countries, just ahead of Chile. “In the latter case, it is the CM1 and the fourth who are evaluated, i.e. younger students than those surveyed by Pisa. Which suggests that the situation could still deteriorate in the years to come”, underlines Eric Charbonnier .
Infographics
Dario Ingiusto / L’Express
To correct the shot ? Our economic competitiveness is at stake, warned Geoffroy Roux de Bézieux during the presentation of the proposals of the bosses for the presidential election, in February. The president of Medef then pleaded for a “massive reintroduction” of mathematical, scientific and technological education in order to deal with the current shortage of engineers. The profiles of “mathematicians” have never been so sought after, both in traditional sectors and in sectors of the future, such as biotechnology, digital technology, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity or robotics. On June 2, Emmanuel Macron announced the long-awaited return of mathematics in the common core of first class lessons… but in the form of a 1h30 option for the year 2022-2023. Enough to shower the hopes of the many learned societies and associations of extremely mobilized specialists. “This measure is totally insufficient. It is the whole architecture of the organization of the school that should be reviewed”, laments Mélanie Guénais, vice-president of the Mathematical Society of France. According to her, the fact that students choose three specialties in 1st, but keep only two in terminal is an aberration. “Anyone who wants to go into biotechnology cannot therefore follow a course in maths, biology and computer science at the same time. While all three are essential!”, she laments.
Maths, essential to sharpen our reasoning skills
In the opinion of its defenders, the reform of the school has not only had negative effects. The 9 hours of teaching provided to those who have chosen the “expert maths” option have in particular enriched the knowledge of the most scientific students. But what about the others, and in particular those who have definitely turned their backs on them? The citizen of the 21st century cannot afford to completely ignore math. We know to what extent mastering a simple rule of three, but also that of algorithms, fractions, orders of magnitude, percentages are essential in our daily lives today. Maths also serve to sharpen our reasoning skills and make us less vulnerable to the proliferation of false information on social networks. The project to be carried out is vast and goes beyond the simple question of the number of hours in high school.
One of the most urgent levers for action is to strengthen the initial and continuing training of teachers. The 2019 Timss survey shows that only 35% of school teachers say they are very satisfied with their job. And for good reason ! 80% of students who wish to turn to this profession come from literary backgrounds. Following the report drawn up in 2018 by Cédric Villani, then deputy for Essonne, and Charles Torossian, inspector general of National Education, a vast plan has already been carried out. The goal ? Train math referents in each constituency so that they can in turn pass on their skills to their colleagues in the field, through small groups called “constellations”. “A very good initiative but which today comes up against a lack of resources and organization”, regrets Mélanie Guénais.
An elitist discipline and symbol of excellence
Another aggravating factor: the loss of attractiveness of the teaching profession in general, and that of mathematics teacher in particular. “Scientific students with a master’s degree today often have more attractive professional prospects, particularly in terms of salary”, recognizes Martin Andler, vice-president of the Animath association, who underlines the pay gap between French teachers. and those of other countries. To remedy this, Sébastien Planchenault, president of the Association of Mathematics Teachers in Public Education, suggests the allocation of scholarships dedicated to students who would move towards a career as a maths teacher. “Reviewing the status of those who enter the career after a private experience could also encourage vocations,” he adds.
Finally, many efforts will have to be made in terms of method and approach to this discipline, considered in France as very elitist and a symbol of excellence. What paralyze cohorts of children. “From the age of 7, some schoolchildren already declare themselves to be bad at maths”, states the Villani-Torossian report. Emphasis could be placed on mutual aid and competition between pupils. “As did Portugal which, in recent years, has experienced an impressive rise in the Pisa ranking”, underlines Eric Charbonnier. France can also learn from the famous Singapore method based on more practice, but also on valuing effort and perseverance. Martin Andler likes to compare the handling of numbers to swimming or football. “It’s by chaining lengths and dribbling that you improve. For calculation, it’s the same, nothing like training,” he explains. With all due respect to the less Cartesian minds, in maths as elsewhere, there is no miracle.