Mathematics, repeating a year… Gabriel Attal unveils this Tuesday a series of measures intended to raise the level of the school, the day of the publication of the latest international Pisa ranking.
- Gabriel Attal will unveil a series of measures intended to raise the level of French students this Tuesday, December 5, 2023 during a press conference from 1:45 p.m.
- The thorny issue of repeating a year, the creation of classes by levels and the teaching of mathematics will serve as the main issues.
- This Tuesday, the OECD also unveils the latest international PISA ranking showing the level of 15-year-old students from 85 countries.
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The Minister of National Education Gabriel Attal unveils this Tuesday, December 5, a series of measures to raise the level of French students. A date which was not chosen at random, in fact, it corresponds to the publication of the international Pisa ranking, by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) which reports the level of 15-year-old students in 85 country. The first editions of this ranking had revealed several flaws in the French education system, enough to push Gabriel Attal to set up a “shock of knowledge”. The announcement will take place during a press conference in a college in the 19th arrondissement of Paris at 1:45 p.m.
After having carried out numerous consultations with organizations representative of the world of education, Gabriel Attal will unveil his key proposals to try to restore the image of French students. For this, priority will be given to French and mathematics, as indicated by the Minister of National Education himself last October during World Teachers’ Day.
Another central question, repetition. “We must revisit the taboo question of repeating a year,” he declared during the 105th congress of mayors of France, on November 22. This lead will therefore be put on the table by Gabriel Attal, who describes the arrival of a student in 6th grade without knowing how to read or count as “almost mistreatment”. It is a safe bet that the latter will emphasize a new measure in favor of reinforcing grade repetition. Today, the repetition rate is 2.2% in fifth and fourth grade according to Claude Lelièvre, teacher-researcher in the history of education. It was 7% in 2000.
Gabriel Attal should also address his wish to use level groups in middle school, in French and mathematics. The hour of support granted to 6th grade students in these two disciplines could also be extended to other levels. The school programs themselves could also be disrupted. Finally, a labeling of certain school textbooks, the most qualitative, could be announced this Tuesday. The starting point should be given at the start of the next school year, in 2024.
The results of the Pisa ranking established by the OECD do not look good for France in 2023. During the previous edition published in 2019, France was in the world average (23rd place), already well behind China , strong leader. This mixed ranking and the difficulty of the French education system in promoting equality of opportunity by reducing the impact of social origin on success explain in particular the series of measures announced by Gabriel Attal, jointly with the release of the ranking International Pisa. In France, 60% of school time is devoted to teaching. Which makes it number one among OECD countries. A figure that does not allow you to stand out in a subject like mathematics, or in a discipline like reading where France remains below the average. Additional data which could allow Gabriel Attal to justify certain strong choices.