Pupils/Students assessment
Formative assessment : see Assessment in General Upper Secondary Education
Summative assessment : see Assessment in General Upper Secondary Education
In the Qualification stream, global comprehensive exams on the skills to be mastered in the training profile corresponding to the grouped option considered, are organized during the school year. These integrated exams, leading to the Qualification Certificate (CQ : Certificat de Qualification), encourage coordination between theoretical and practical lessons. This is a modular training. These integrated exams are intended to measure the ability of the pupil to implement an organized set of knowledge, skills and attitudes that enable him/her to perform a number of tasks related to a professional activity. They will be part of an examination plan which will define the way in which they are organized : the number of tests, the timetable, their scheduling and sequence, etc. They may be oral, written or practical.
The examination plan is the responsibility of the Organising Authorities.
These tests are compulsory for all students.
The Certificate of Qualification will be issued on the basis of these tests and the observations collected during the training courses. It falls within the competence of a Qualification Board consisting of the school head, teachers in charge with the qualifying training, and people from outside the school.
The members of the qualification board from outside the school are invited to examine pupils’ work continually during the school year.
There must be continuity between learning in school and in the company. An internship must meet precise educational criteria. The teacher who is the internship advisor handles assessment preparation and guidance. He or she collaborates with the ‘tutor’, who is a company employee responsible for the student at the internship premises. According to predetermined criteria, the internship is continually assessed with the intern’s involvement. The assessment is formative. A report is issued upon completion of the internship (summative assessment).
In 2012, an experimental scheme of Certification by Learning Units (CPU : Certification par Unité d’Apprentissage) was implemented for options that depend on a training profile established by the Service Francophone des Métiers et des Qualifications (SFMQ) and for which a certification profile has been approved by the government. This experimental scheme aimed at improving the attractiveness of vocational education by offering young people more clearly defined paths, better adapted to the pace of learning and more rewarding because they are more meaningful. In the scheme of Certification by Learning Units (CPU), the Qualification Board was responsible for validating the Units of Learning Outcomes (UAA : Unités d’Acquis d’Apprentissage). Each validation test for an UAA was treated as a qualification test and led to a validation certificate.
In order to enhance the attractiveness of qualifying education, the Pact for Excellence in Teaching provided for an evaluation of the experimental Certification by Learning Units scheme, with a view to analysing whether it should be extended all vocational education pathways.
The evaluation of the experimental CPU system mainly highlighted the fact that the objectives of reducing repetition were not achieved despite the resources invested in this area. On the other hand, the evaluation of the CPU scheme also highlighted a number of positive elements :
- Common 'job' references established over three years for all training providers ;
- A modular approach to learning that can be linked to lifelong learning schemes and is part of a European mobility perspective ;
- A three-year course based on progressive validation ;
- Reinforced student support based on a "personalised" monitoring tool and encouraging the collaboration of teachers from general education and training leading to qualifications ;
- Differentiation of learning based on formative assessment and remediation.
Following this evaluation and as part of the guidelines of the Pact for Excellence in Teaching, a new Vocational Education Pathway (PEQ : Parcours d’Enseignement Qualifiant) was defined on the basis of the positive elements identified in the evaluation of the CPU's experimental scheme. Since the beginning of the school year 2022, this new pathway concerns all the options that were part of the CPU experimental scheme and from the beginning of the school year 2023, all the options organised in vocational education will enter this new pathway.
In this new pathway (PEQ), the training and qualification of the student is organised over three years, from the 4th to the 6th year. However, even if the 4th year becomes a qualifying year, it also remains an orientation year during which the studentl has the possibility of confirming, refining or modifying his choice of option, either during the year or at the end of it.
If the student is experiencing major difficulties at the end of the 4th year and the remedial measures put in place have not enabled him/her to overcome them, the student may be directed to a complementary year. In this case, a specific learning support programme is established to enable the pupil to remedy his difficulties.
Between the 5th and 6th years, the student's pathway is based on an educational continuum within which he/she has two years to acquire the knowledge and skills targeted, both for the common general part of his/her training and for the courses of the option he/she has chosen. As a result, at the end of the fifth year, the student automatically continues his or her education in the sixth year.
The continuation of this educational pathway between the 5th and 6th year is imposed to avoid repetition, which is not effective, but it is also necessary to organise an educational continuum over two years and to fit fully into the framework of modular learning.
At the end of the 6th year, if the student has not obtained one or more certifications, he/she is admitted to a complementary end-of-course scheme. This scheme is conditional on the implementation of a specific learning support programme to enable the student to remedy his/her difficulties and to be able to graduate. This complementary end-of-course scheme must be as short as possible and adapted to the needs of the student. In this context, the student can graduate at any time during the year.
As in the experimental scheme of the Certification by Unit (CPU), from the 4th year onwards, the Qualification Board is responsible for validating the Units of Learning Outcomes (UAA) that appear in the training profile drawn up by the SFMQ and in the certification profile approved by the Government. Each validation test of a UAA is considered as a qualification test and gives rise to a validation certificate.
As regards the specific training courses of the dual vocational education, the Vocational Education Pathway (PEQ) is part of the pathway initially planned in the framework of these specific training courses.
In the dual vocational training courses organised by the Regions (IFAPME and SFPME), the organisation of the assessments is the responsibility of each training centre.
In the business management course, learners undergo an assessment in each of the courses they take at the end of each course year. At the end of the overall training, the learner must take an examination of practical knowledge. To gain admission to the exam, he or she must prove that he or she has gained a minimum level of practical experience in one of the following ways :
- through an apprenticeship contract and/or internship agreement ;
- through a worker’s, assistant’s or temporary agency-supplied worker’s employment contract ;
- through the exercise of a profession as a self-employed person ;
- through an ‘employment/training’ agreement.
Learners who pass the end-of-course exams obtain a business management diploma that is approved by the French Community and satisfies the legal requirements for admission to a profession. This is not equivalent to a higher education diploma.
Progression of pupils/students
In full-time education
see Assessment in Lower Secondary Education
Progression within the second and third stages
May be admitted to the 3rd general, technical or artistic form of the transition-stream education :
- regular pupils who have obtained the CE1D ;
- regular pupils who have successfully completed a 3rd year of vocational education in full time education or in dual vocational education (art.49) and which are subject to a favourable opinion of the admission board ;
- pupils who are directed by the Class Council towards a 3rd year of secondary education in the forms and sections defined by the Class Council.
May be admitted to the 3rd vocational form of the qualification-stream education :
- regular pupils who have obtained the CE1D ;
- regular pupils who are directed by the class council into a third year of secondary education in the forms and streams defined by it, one of which is the vocational form ;
- regular pupils who are 16 years old, who not satisfy the equivalence provisions for foreign diplomas and certificates of study, and who are subject to a favourable opinion of the admissions board (see 6.7).
Pupils who have successfully completed the 3rd year of the general, technical or artistic form of the transition-stream can go on to the 4th year of the same form or the 4th qualification-stream year of technical or artistic education. This is the same for pupils who have successfully completed the 4th year of full time or part-time vocational education.
Pupils who have successfully completed the 3rd year of full time or part-time education can go on to the 4th year of vocational education.
Pupils who have completed the 4th year of general, technical or artistic form of the transition-stream education and wish to change orientation may take a 4th reorientation year. It should be noted that this possibility concerns very few students.
The 5th year of general, technical or artistic form of the transition-stream education may be entered by pupils who have successfully completed either the 4th year of these programmes or the 4th orientation year or the 6th year of full time or part-time vocational education.
The 5th year of vocational education may be entered by pupils who have successfully completed either the 4th year of full time or part-time education.
Pupils who have successfully completed the 5th year go on to the 6th year in the same stream and the same study orientation (or in a corresponding study orientation for students in vocational education).
In dual vocational education and training
The decisions about pupils’ progression to the next grade or cycle and the issuance of diplomas, achievement certificates and attestations within a CEFA are the responsibility of the class council of secondary dual vocational education and training.
The pupils in dual vocational education, aiming at the same options and objectives in terms of competences and leading to the same certificates and qualifications as ordinary full-time education, must reach the same level of competence as their fellow full-time students and may thus re-enter full-time education after having attended dual education and training.
In the dual vocational training courses organised by the Regions (IFAPME and SFPME) and also in the business management course, the length of the apprenticeship contract may be reduced if the apprentice’s previous training or his or her progress during the apprenticeship justify doing so, or extended in accordance with current regulations and subject to the training provider’s agreement, in the event of the apprentice failing the mid-course or end-of-course assessment. The apprenticeship contract includes a three-month trial period.
At the end of his/her dual vocational training, the learner is granted a Certificate of Apprenticeship approved by the French Community. This certificate allows him/her to continue his/her training by accessing the business management course.
In specialized education
The pupil evolves according to his learning rhythm and his potential in the different degrees of maturity on the advice of the Class Council.
Certification
In full-time education
Certification is undertaken by the class council at the end of every school year.
In the second stage
Pupils who have successfully completed the first and second stages of secondary education receive a certificate of second stage secondary education (CES2D or CESDD).
A certificate of intermediate competencies is issued to every student who has completed at least a fourth year of study in vocational or technical education upon leaving the school.. This certificate is issued by the class council. It details each pupil's acquired competencies. It is issued in compliance with the training profiles.
The CES2D or CESDD (certificate of the second stage of secondary education) and the certificate of intermediate competencies are recognized by the French Community.
In the third stage
An upper secondary education certificate (CESS) is awarded to regular pupils who have successfully completed the last two years of study in full-time general, technical, or artistic secondary education in the same form, stream and orientation of studies.
A sixth year vocational education certificate is issued to regular pupils who have successfully completed that year. Similarly, a certificate is issued for the fifth year of technical, artistic or vocational education to pupils who have attended and successfully completed the corresponding year.
Pupils who have successfully completed the 6th vocational year may attend a seventh complementary or specialisation year in the same discipline or in a corresponding discipline or a 7th year at the end of which they may gain the certificate of upper secondary education (CESS).
At the end of qualification-stream secondary education, a qualification certificate (CQ) is issued to confirm that the pupil’s skills match the training profile: this certificate is issued to pupils who have attended courses in a sixth year of qualification-stream education and have passed the integrated exams corresponding to the relevant qualification profile. These exams are taken in front of a board of examiners consisting of the head of school, teachers of the last two years, and people from outside the school chosen for their expertise in the qualification to be conferred (sixth year qualification certificate or CQ6).
Regular pupils need not necessarily successfully complete the year of study in question to be eligible for the qualification certificate, and vice versa.
At the end of certain years of vocational education, a complementary certificate of management knowledge (CCCG) is awarded to pupils who have completed a special curriculum involving vocational activities in small and medium-sized commercial or craft businesses. This certificate entitles the holder to admission to regulated professions.
The decision to award the certificate of upper secondary education to a pupil is based on the results obtained in the external examination with respect to the skill which has been considered in the evaluated discipline, and the results of internal assessments with regard to the other skills in that discipline. The weighting of the examination with respect to the other skills is left to the appraisal of the class council. If the pupil passes the external exam, the class council takes the view that the pupil has achieved the level of mastery of the skill that is expected in the assessed discipline.
All the awarded certificates are recognized by the French Community.
In dual vocational education and training
The certificates and attestations delivered in ‘article 49’ dual education and training are identical to those delivered in full-time secondary education, except that they mention that the qualification was delivered in dual education and training.
A pupil who is attending a specific training in dual vocational education and training and who has attended the courses in a regular manner and has attained the competences defined for a specific training profile obtains a qualification certificate (this can be for a recognised training profile, or one with the same denomination as in full-time education, or one recognised as qualifying by the Minister).
The CEFAs may organise one-year business management training courses to enable learners to start their own business, at the end of which a management certificate will be issued.
If a pupil does not obtain any of the certificates or attestations mentioned in the previous paragraphs, he or she can obtain an attestation of vocational competences of the second vocational stage of dual education and training.
Pupils who successfully complete the dual vocational education and training courses organised by the IFAPME and the SFPME are awarded an apprenticeship certificate approved by the French Community which confirms their mastery of the trade and among other things entitles them to admission to the business management course.
All the awarded certificates are recognized by the French Community.