Less than half of 9th grade students have a satisfactory command of French and math. Nearly 17% do not have the reading level expected in 5th grade.

According to figures published Wednesday by the Ministry of National Education, 46.6% of students in their final year of secondary school have achieved the expected level of achievement in French and 45.7% in mathematics, with significant gender gaps and a marked influence on social background.

" In Year 9, in French, 46.6% of students have a satisfactory command of language and linguistic skills ," with a strong lead for girls (54.7%, compared to 38.7% for boys), notes the Ministry's Department of Evaluation, Planning and Performance (DEPP), according to tests taken at the start of the 2024 school year.

Students in the public sector outside priority education show results almost twice as good as those who are educated in priority education network colleges (REP and REP+), in French and mathematics.

In reading, 60.4% of 9th grade students have satisfactory mastery (able to read 150 words or more in one minute), but 16.8% do not have the reading level expected in 5th grade. In mathematics, only 45.7% of students have acquired sufficient automatisms, with boys slightly ahead. This proportion drops during middle school, since in 5th grade, in French, just over half of students (52.3%) have satisfactory mastery of language skills, observes the DEPP. […]

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