Sunday, July 7, 2013

The French Bac. . . . Results are in





There’s something to be said for the French educational system.  The graduates of the lycée seem knowledgeable of culture, sciences and politics and well adapted to life.

But the educational system itself seems pretty grueling.  This past week, on July 5, the results of the French baccalauréat (or bac) became available to the public.  Approximately 84 percent of the 665,000 students were expected to pass the five-day exam, which ran from June 17 through June 21. 

Given that the questions are the same throughout the nation for every exam (e.g., sciences, literature), all students take a specific portion of the exam at the same time.  Usually, each segment lasts four hours.  Students write out the responses  in ink.  They come equipped with bottles of whiteout.   

The bac itself is grueling—I’m not sure I would have survived!   Then, if the exam isn’t bad enough, the results are publicized in newspapers and on the internet by candidate’s name, date of birth and exam score. 


No comments:

Post a Comment