“Since last year, Pronote – my high school software which lists all the evaluations and assessments of teachers – has become my best friend… or my worst enemy, it depends on the day!”, exclaims Maeva, final year student in Lyon. Like most of her classmates, the young girl seems to have developed a form of dependence on this interface, which she used to go to daily to follow the progress of her grades in each subject. “But also to check the evolution of my ranking within the class, she adds. Crucial data for my Parcoursup file!” Since the finalization of the wishes on the national platform for registration in the first year of higher education, Maeva holds her breath. The end of the suspense is approaching since the first results are expected from this Thursday, June 2.
“Not being part of the first quarter of the best students in my class, I do not have too many illusions, she sighs. Being in a high school of excellence and being surrounded by very good elements will play against me. That’s for sure!” A few hours before the opening of the admissions phase, other aspiring students sometimes put forward the opposite argument: students from less reputable establishments speak of unfair competition and fear of being automatically dismissed by the juries. higher education institutions that select the applications. There is also a rumor that candidates from the public would be favored over those from the private sector… And vice versa. Info or intox? Difficult to have any certainty. “The system has become totally opaque, very bureaucratic and almost illegible. Hence this very strong feeling of incomprehension and injustice among students and their families”, regrets sociologist Pierre Merle, specialist in education issues.
The implementation of the Admission Post-Bac (APB) system, replaced in 2018 by Parcoursup, had already changed the situation. The reform of the baccalaureate piloted by the former minister Jean-Michel Blanquer, who introduced a large part of continuous control (40%) in the final notation, came to upset the rules of the game a little more. add the health crisis which, over the past two years, has prevented the holding of certain tests – replaced at the last minute by the taking into account of the marks of the bulletins. This year again, the Covid disrupted the calendar by causing the postponement of the specialty tests from March to May… Too late for the notes to appear in the Parcoursup files. In short, there is something to lose his Latin! “The situation is partly distorted because, for a teacher, it is not the same thing to evaluate a student in order to best prepare him for an upcoming test, or to evaluate him knowing that the marks of the year awarded will count for Parcoursup or for the baccalaureate”, denounces Laurent Zameczkowski, vice-president of the Federation of parents of students in public education.
Unequal treatment within certain establishments
Last year, many heads of juries at universities or higher education establishments noted a general increase in the grades and averages of the candidates. And the rumor is growing that high schools have decided to “inflate” the marks of their final year students a little at the end of their course to increase their chances of accessing the training of their choice. Another insistent rumor circulates among decision makers: some prestigious establishments would use a double ballot system. With, on the one hand, “unofficial” evaluations which make it possible to report to the student on his true level, and on the other “official” marks intended to be entered in the Parcoursup file. Again, the veracity of this information is very difficult to verify. “Regularly, parents of students, whose children are registered in the public, accuse the private sector under contract of indulging in this practice. But we have no proof of this to date”, recognizes Marianne Dodinet, principal of the Jean-de-La-Fontaine high school in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. For his part, Laurent Zameczkowski is very skeptical. “Which principal would take the risk of making it a general rule? I don’t believe in it,” he says. On the other hand, a school head has the power to reassess the ratings at the end of the race, for the sake of rebalancing between different classes for example.
It happened last June in a high school in an affluent suburb of the Paris region. “The headmaster and his deputy had shared the supervision of the end-of-year class councils, each having charge of two final years. The first took it upon himself to award a few additional points to students severely evaluated by a teacher. The second refused, highlighting the pedagogical freedom of each teacher”, says this parent of a student. Result: unequal treatment between candidates for the baccalaureate of this establishment and families who cry foul. From one teacher to another, the criteria and methods of evaluation can, in fact, vary greatly. Some give more homework on the table, others favor MCQs over essays, or add participation marks to help the weakest students catch up… “My math teacher this year is particularly tough. Even the best elements of my class only collected 9 and 10 out of 20! A real handicap for Parcoursup”, points out Ludovic, 17, who, at the beginning of the week, still cherished the hope of integrating a scientific preparation .
Since the summer of 2021, the ministry, aware of this pitfall, has asked each establishment to set up an “evaluation project” supposed to define common rules for the entire teaching team. In each academy, a commission is also responsible for harmonizing grades at the end of the year, so as to preserve a certain equity between the schools. “But this false technical solution cannot work”, laments Pierre Merle. “To compensate for the difference in level between a very famous high school in the beautiful Parisian districts and an establishment in a working-class suburb, some will suggest lowering by one point all the averages of the second suspected of overevaluating its students, advances the specialist by way of example. However, in this suburban high school, there are also very good students. There is no reason to penalize them.”
An “accounting relationship” with students
To decide between the candidates who rush to enter their faculty or their school, the examination commissions tend to no longer only take into account the marks but also to look at the rank of the student within his or her class. “Suddenly, we all compare ourselves to each other, it creates a terrible atmosphere between us. We have the impression of being already in a hyper selective preparation”, explains Charlotte, a final year student in Paris. Laurence, an English teacher in an establishment in the north of France, has seen the atmosphere change in her classes: “The pressure is now palpable from the 1st class. At the slightest bad result, my most stressed students get into a state not possible. To such an extent that some lose their means and drop out.” Laurence has the impression of having developed an “accounting relationship” with her students: “It is increasingly difficult for us to take the time to ask ourselves to explain what has not been understood. We have to move forward at all costs to investigate the notes.” Not to mention the parents who no longer hesitate to contact the headmaster directly to complain about a “bad grade”. “But it’s not up to them to judge the educational expectations! Exclaims Laurence, who had never encountered this type of problem before the implementation of the baccalaureate reform.
At the entrance to higher education, other selection criteria may also come into play such as stays abroad, work placements, participation in sports or charitable associations… “Behavioral skills, also called ” soft skills”, are considered a plus by certain establishments such as business schools”, explains Bruno Magliulo, former inspector of National Education, author of SOS Parcoursup (L’Etudiant editions). For this specialist in questions of orientation, this new method of selection risks accentuating social inequalities a little more. “In my school, located in a rural area, the students have one hour of transport in the morning and in the evening. They do not have time to get involved in extra-curricular activities. This penalizes them compared to their classmates cities”, confirms Laurence.
Another limitation of this type of evaluation: the random and subjective nature of the criteria requested. “To remedy this and put our students on an equal footing, we have been trying for some time to set up certificates of recognition of behavioral skills internally”, explains the headmaster of this private establishment under contract located in the region. Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. In this high school, the class representatives, the members of the student council who get involved in the life of the high school, those who accept to play the role of referees during sports meetings, or even those who win the camaraderie prize are valued. “These various activities allow them to acquire skills such as team spirit, project management or a sense of responsibility. We slip these indications into the portfolio attached to the Parcoursup files, without however having too many illusions. Because how many schools really have the time to look at this information in detail?” sighs the headmaster. “No matter how much I try to be fatalistic, I can’t help but tie knots in my brain while waiting for my Parcoursup results as there are so many unknowns,” sighs Chloé, 18. Like most of the other 936,000 candidates who are preparing to consult the responses of the training courses to their wishes.