2022 SPECIALTY TESTS. The 2022 baccalaureate specialty tests take place from Wednesday to Friday. But how do they work? Dates, specialties, subjects, coefficients… Linternaute.com tells you more about these new final exams of the new baccalaureate.
[Mis à jour le 11 mai 2022 à 18h38] Postponed for two months in the face of the Covid crisis, the specialty exams for the 2022 baccalaureate started this Wednesday, May 11, and are spread over three afternoons until Friday, May 13. Unpublished in France, these exams launch the final tests of the “new bac”. Final tests which, in total, represent 60% of the baccalaureate mark and take place in two waves, with the second part in mid-June (French baccalaureate, major oral and philosophy). Evaluated coefficient 16, the specialty tests constitute a third of the results of the baccalaureate, calculated on 100 points.
Postponed for two months because of Covid-19, the national specialty tests for this mid-May are therefore not taken into account in the application files of the Parcoursup post-baccalaureate orientation platform. Their marks in continuous assessment in première and terminale are on the other hand taken into account. On RTL on May 11, the Minister of Education Jean-Michel Blanquer, at the initiative of the reform of the baccalaureate in 2018, specified that the specialty tests introduced in this context constituted a “revaluation of the baccalaureate”.
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The subjects of the specialty tests for the 2022 baccalaureate are very numerous since in total, the some 520,000 baccalaureate candidates this year had the choice of 12 subjects, themselves divided into several subjects. Follow the surge of subjects live with our dedicated articles and discover the answers after each of the tests:
The first subjects for the bac were unveiled in French Polynesia, which started the 2022 session a week ahead of mainland France.
- In the specialty test of History, Geography and Political Science, you had to choose between three subjects, two dissertations (Judging genocides and mass crimes since 1945 / Space conquest, an ideological and power issue) and a review of documents (The stages of the action of human beings on their environment since the Neolithic)
- In the economic and social sciences specialty test, it was necessary to decide between the dissertation (How can we explain international exchanges?) or one of the two composite tests carried out from the study of documents
- In the specialty test of Sciences and life of the earth, it was necessary in particular to write a dissertation on “The weakening of the immune response of severe burn victims” and “Explain the role of cortisol, a stress hormone, in the weakening of immune response of severe burn victims.
The specialty tests are a first in this 2022 baccalaureate. This novelty of twelve tests, one per specialty education, was introduced by the reform of the baccalaureate which abolished the S, ES and L streams in high school. Candidates are assessed on two subjects they have chosen to study during their year of first year and that of final year. The specialty tests normally take place in March, but the calendar has been adjusted to 2022 with a postponement to May due to the health crisis.
This short session of specialty tests only represents the first half of the exams that make up the baccalaureate. After May 13, candidates will have to go back to classes and revisions to prepare for the philosophy and major oral tests scheduled between mid-June and early July. The pupils of first year will have to rub shoulders with the written and oral French tests.
As a reminder, the specialty tests such as the final baccalaureate tests represent 60% of the final mark. For the remaining 40%, corresponding to the “common base” of knowledge, the games of each candidate are already made since it is a continuous assessment assessment (the old E3C or “common continuous assessment tests”).
The specialist courses are chosen in several stages by the candidate. Three specialties are first selected by each first year high school student. In the final year, he only keeps two and takes written tests on them before the end of the year.
The list of specialties is rich and their choice has become a headache for candidates as well as for their parents or teachers. Students have the choice between: arts; history-geography, geopolitics and political science; humanity, literature, philosophy; literature and languages and cultures of Antiquity; Foreign and regional languages, literatures and cultures; math ; digital and computer sciences; chemical Physics ; economics and social sciences; engineering Sciences ; Life and earth sciences ; biology-ecology sciences.
Once again, the calendar of bac exams has been turned upside down in 2022, due to the health crisis. While the specialty tests were to be anticipated and take place between March 14 and 16, they were finally postponed from Wednesday May 11 to Friday May 13. The Ministry of National Education justified its decision by the consequences of the Covid-19 epidemic on the start of the school year. By shifting the tests by two months, the ministry wanted to “preserve equal treatment between candidates and allow everyone to calmly prepare for these tests”.
If the tests are spread over three days, each candidate will only take two exams, those corresponding to the specialty courses selected in first and final year. Between the 11th and 13th, the high school students will all have either a day to breathe between the tests, or an additional one-day period to revise before the exams or they will leave with a day in advance of the test session. This detail is to be taken into account to get in good condition before the exams and especially to manage your stress. Here are the scheduled time slots for each written test:
Dates of the specialty examinations for the general baccalaureate
It should be noted that for the scientific specialties Biology-ecology, Digital and computer sciences, Physics-chemistry and Life and Earth sciences, a practical test is scheduled in the days following the written exam.
Dates of the specialty tests for the technological baccalaureates
In ST2S
- Chemistry, biology and human physiopathologies: Wednesday May 11 between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m.
- Health and social sciences and techniques: Thursday May 12 between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m.
In STL
- Physics-chemistry and mathematics: Wednesday May 11 between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m.
- Biochemistry-biology-biotechnology or Physical and chemical sciences in the lab: Thursday May 12 between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m.
In STD2A
- Analysis and methods in design: Wednesday, May 11 between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m.
- Conception and creation in design and crafts: Thursday May 12 between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m.
In STI2D
- Physics-chemistry and mathematics: Wednesday May 11 between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m.
- Engineering, innovation and sustainable development: Thursday May 12 between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m.
In STMG
- Management, management and digital sciences: Wednesday May 11 between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m.
- Law and economy: Thursday May 12 between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m.
In STHR
- Economy-hotel management: Wednesday May 11 between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m.
- Culinary sciences and technologies and services: not specified
In S2TMD
- Culture and choreographic, musical or theatrical sciences: Wednesday May 11 between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m.
- Choreographic or musical theater practice: not specified
In STAV
- Power resource management: not specified
- Territories and technology: not specified
Candidates have between three and four hours to compose on each specialty test, but, for once, the course and content of the exams are specific to each subject. For all the written tests and depending on the teaching assessed, candidates must answer questions, solve problems, carry out various exercises or write essays.
One thing is certain “these specialty tests will include adjustments to their subjects, which will always guarantee the candidate a choice, whether between questions or between exercises”, promised the Ministry of National Education on January 28 by presenting this novelty. Concretely, the subjects submit several questions or several exercises to the candidate and the latter must choose to answer or to carry out a certain number of them. Be careful, because some subjects provide compulsory exercises for all candidates and others optional.
Most specialties are assessed on a single written test, but some subjects, particularly science, include a practical exam which takes place a few days after the final test according to the timetables of each high school. For these practical exams, candidates must choose a theme at random from those proposed and demonstrate their mastery of the subject and/or their practical skills in front of a jury of professors.
The Arts specialty test includes an oral test which is organized under the same conditions as the practical scientific tests. Find the details of the course of each test in our papers dedicated to the twelve specialty courses listed above.