The Minister of National Education, Anne Genetet, presented “Act II of the clash of knowledge” on November 12. She mentions a first grade mathematics test whose outlines are still unclear.
As announced in September 2024 by the Minister of National Education, Anne Genetet, “the ship of National Education will not change course”. This Tuesday, November 12, she presented new educational measures aimed at strengthening the level of middle and high school students during a speech given at the Pierre de Ronsard college in L’Haÿ-les-Roses, in the Créteil Academy.
This “act II of the shock of knowledge” unfolds in the continuity of the measures introduced by the short-lived minister Gabriel Attal. Anne Genetet notably proposes the establishment of an anticipated mathematics test for first grade classes. The general and technological pathways will be at the heart of this development, the first anticipated mathematics test is planned for June 2026, that is to say not for students who have started their first school year, but for those who follow.
For the moment, neither the coefficient nor the program for this mathematics test have been communicated. But the test will be designed according to each person’s knowledge and the program seen in class. This is why students following the common core of one and a half hours of mathematics teaching will not have the same test as those who chose it as a specialty. The latter will have a more complex evaluation, followed by an additional test in the final year.
This interest in mathematics is far from trivial for the Ministry of National Education. Last year, a Pisa study mentioned an “unprecedented decline in performance” in this subject with a drop of 15 points between 2018 and 2023. This decline was at the origin of the “shock of knowledge” launched by Gabriel Attal in December from last year. The one who wanted to “restore standards” to school, middle and high school is thus served with the objective claimed by his successor: “What I want is to have a real barometer and to raise level in mathematics,” she told AFP.
Other measures are added to this announcement. The application of level groups for 6th and 5th grade classes in mathematics and French is thus reinforced. Previously dependent on the goodwill of school heads, they are now compulsory until 9th grade. The value of the certificate is also increasing: like the baccalaureate, it will become necessary for any move to a higher class from 2027. If they do not obtain it, students will still be able to enter CAP or join a “second prep” of a duration of a year to consolidate their fundamentals before entering high school.