There are currently no regulations governing the grading of secondary school pupils. In practice, pupils regularly complete assignments in class or outside class, which are individually marked and assessed by the teacher.

The assessment of pupils' results is first reflected in a series of marks given on a report card sent to parents each term by the school administration. These marks are accompanied, for each subject, by detailed assessments by the teacher on the pupil's work and progress. Parents are also kept informed through contact and meetings with class teachers, primarily the form teacher and guidance counsellor, as well as through regular parent-teacher meetings.

School report

A standardised school report card has been introduced for pupils from Year 1 to Year 9. This report card provides regular updates on pupils' results and tracks their progress against the new core curriculum of knowledge, skills and culture.

At secondary school, two types of documents provide parents with information about their child's progress and teachers' assessment of their work.

Periodic assessments: these present the main points of the programme covered for each subject, the pupil's progress and difficulties, and the pupil's 'positioning'. Positioning can be a mark or any form of alphanumeric feedback, as well as positioning on a 4-level scale for learning objectives: not achieved, partially achieved, achieved, exceeded.

This list, while mandatory, is not exhaustive, and reports may include other items at the discretion of the school. For Year 10 pupils, they also include career aspirations and the final decision (example of a Year 7 pupil's school report).

End-of-cycle assessments (at the end of Year 6 and Year 9 for secondary school): an end-of-cycle assessment is carried out for each pupil. It indicates their level of mastery of the common core of knowledge, skills and culture, according to the following scale:

• insufficient mastery;
• fragile control;
• satisfactory command;
• very good command.

These reports must also include a written assessment of the pupil's academic achievements during the school year and, where appropriate, advice for the next stage of their education. The reports are signed by the head teacher or deputy head teacher, the form teacher and the parents or legal guardian.

Benchmark Assessment

The assessment is intended for all pupils enrolled in the sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth and eleventh grades, as well as in the second and third years of CAP (vocational training certificate) programmes, in public and private schools under contract in mainland France and the overseas departments and regions. In this context, it is essential that pupils with special educational needs are able to benefit from the usual adaptations and compensatory measures.

Each time, it meets three objectives:

• enable teaching teams to access information on pupils' level of proficiency in French and mathematics when they start secondary school;
• provide teams with support for the educational management of school-college networks;
• enrich academic management tools with information provided by standardised assessments across the country. The purpose of these assessments is to provide an objective measure of pupils' skills and knowledge. This measure is based on scientific methods and is independent of observation and correction conditions.

A handover protocol is provided to institutions in order to standardise the conditions of the assessment. 

The exercises proposed in these assessments were designed with the assistance of teams set up by the Directorate for Evaluation, Forward Planning and Performance (DEPP), comprising school teachers, certified and qualified teachers, trainers and educational advisers. The Directorate-General for School Education (DGESCO) and the General Inspectorate of Education, Sport and Research (IGESR) were also involved in this work.

For secondary school teams, individual results are made available to teachers shortly after the test in the form of a positioning tool based on three levels of proficiency. A breakdown by class and subject area according to proficiency levels is also available.

Each pupil receives an individual feedback form. This feedback form has been improved to simplify understanding and communication with pupils and parents. Parents are informed of their children's results and the significance of each assessment in order to provide personalised teaching tailored to the needs of each pupil. This feedback is provided in accordance with the school's practices. The aim is for each pupil to receive the most personalised and effective help possible from their teachers and parents, within the framework of an educational partnership and differentiated teaching.

The aim is to identify the skills that need to be supported in the student, such as successes and achievements that will enable future progress.

In sixth grade

The assessment consists of two non-consecutive tests, in French and mathematics, each lasting 60 minutes (10 minutes of preparation and 50 minutes of testing) and a fluency test.

In English: The student must complete exercises on:

• his/her comprehension of written material: literary texts, documents, images;
• his/her comprehension of spoken language: audio and video materials;
• his knowledge of language studies: spelling, grammar, vocabulary.

Comprehension of long written texts is supplemented by a fluency test that assesses pupils' ability to read a text aloud correctly, accurately and quickly. The test is administered individually and can be carried out by any teacher, but preferably by a French teacher, at the beginning of the school year. The stakes are high: a pupil who concentrates their efforts on deciphering cannot devote themselves to the essential task of understanding what they are reading. A short survey will again be attached to the assessments to ask pupils about their perception of the test and their confidence in the coming year. This questionnaire is optional.

In mathematics: The pupil is tested on:

• his knowledge of numbers;
• its computing and problem-solving capabilities;
• his knowledge in the fields of geometry and quantities and measurements.

In seventh grade

The assessment consists of a 60-minute group session – 10 minutes of preparation and 50 minutes of testing – comprising French and mathematics tests, and a 1-minute individual French reading fluency test.

In English: Students must complete exercises testing their language and linguistic skills. These exercises are supplemented by a fluency test to assess students' ability to read a text aloud accurately and at the correct speed. The test is administered individually and can be conducted by any teacher, but preferably by a English teacher, at the beginning of the school year. The stakes are high: a pupil who concentrates their efforts on decoding cannot devote themselves to the essential task of understanding what they are reading.

In mathematics: Pupils must solve exercises testing their ability to directly apply automatic responses. A short survey accompanies the assessments to ask pupils about their perception of the test and their confidence about the coming year. This questionnaire is optional.

In eith grade

The assessment consists of two non-consecutive tests, in French and mathematics, each lasting 60 minutes – 10 minutes of preparation and 50 minutes of testing – and a 1-minute French reading fluency test.

In English: The student must complete exercises on:

• reading comprehension: literary texts, documentary texts, infographics;
• oral comprehension: audio material with limited replay;
• his knowledge of language studies: spelling, grammar, vocabulary.

Comprehension of long written texts is supplemented by a fluency test that assesses pupils' ability to read a text aloud correctly, accurately and quickly. The test is administered individually and can be carried out by any teacher, but preferably by a French teacher, at the beginning of the school year. The stakes are high: a pupil who concentrates their efforts on deciphering cannot devote themselves to the essential task of understanding what they are reading.

A short survey accompanies the assessments to ask pupils about their perception of the test and their confidence about the coming year. This questionnaire is optional.

In mathematics: The student must solve exercises relating to:

• its ability to directly mobilise procedures and knowledge;
• their ability to solve problems using numbers, data and quantities;
• his knowledge and expertise in the following areas:
• Space and geometry;
• Quantities and measurements;
• Numbers and calculations;
• Organisation and management of data, functions.

In ninth grade

The assessment consists of a 60-minute group session – 10 minutes of preparation and 50 minutes of testing – comprising French and mathematics tests, and a 1-minute individual French reading fluency test.

In English: Students must complete exercises testing their language and linguistic skills. These exercises are supplemented by a fluency test that assesses students' ability to read a text aloud accurately and at the correct speed. The test is administered individually and can be conducted by any teacher, but preferably by a English teacher, at the beginning of the school year. The stakes are high: a pupil who concentrates their efforts on decoding cannot devote themselves to the essential task of understanding what they are reading.

In mathematics: Pupils must solve exercises testing their ability to directly apply automatic responses. A short survey accompanies the assessments to ask pupils about their perception of the test and their confidence about the coming year. This questionnaire is optional.

In tenth year of secondary and first years of the CAP

Before October, every student in the second year of general, technological or vocational secondary education and in the first year of CAP (vocational training certificate) takes a placement test to identify their skills and needs in French language and mathematics. This test is designed to help teachers better target and organise their support.

The placement test in the first year of CAP

The French test: All first-year CAP students take the fluency test as well as the oral comprehension and written comprehension tests. Depending on the number of correct answers on the written comprehension test, the student will be directed to:

1. to the reading comprehension test for second-year vocational students 
2. or to additional exercises:
3. Association of a group of letters with a sound;
4. Rapid word recognition;
5. Word knowledge;
6. Association of an image with a sentence.

The results obtained by associating a group of letters with a sound, rapid word decoding, word knowledge or associating an image with a sentence can explain certain difficulties in reading comprehension. Fluency and oral comprehension help to refine the diagnosis.

The fluency test assesses pupils' ability to read a text aloud accurately and at the right speed. The test is administered individually and can be carried out by any teacher, but preferably by a French teacher, at the beginning of the school year. The stakes are high: a pupil who concentrates their efforts on deciphering cannot devote themselves to the essential task of understanding what they are reading.

The mathematics test: The mathematics test covers the following areas:

1. Numbers and calculations;
2. Quantities and measurements;
3. Geometry and Relationships.

Depending on the number of correct answers in this test, the student will be directed to:

4. to the automatism test of second year of vocational training
5. or towards additional exercises focusing on automatisms.

The placement test at the start of grade 10

The placement test at the beginning of the second year consists of two 60-minute sessions (10 minutes of preparation and 50 minutes of testing), held during the second half of September.

The French test will be organised in three parts:

1. Language study;
2. Reading comprehension;
3. Listening comprehension.

The mathematics test is organised into three common areas:

4. Data organisation and management, functions;
5. Numbers and calculations;
6. Space and geometry.

The subject of algebraic expressions will only be covered in the general and technological streams.

A short survey will accompany the assessments to gather pupils' perceptions of the test, their confidence for the coming year and their plans for further education.

Cedre assessments

Since 2003, the Ministry of National Education has implemented standardised sample assessments at national level. The Cycle of Disciplinary Assessments Carried Out on Samples (Cedre) measures pupils' skills at the end of secondary school.

Each year, one subject area of the curriculum is assessed as part of a six-year rolling cycle. In primary education, the areas assessed are:

1. Language proficiency;
2. Modern foreign languages;
3. History, geography and civic education;
4. Experimental sciences;
5. Mathematics.

The presentation of results allows pupils' performance to be placed on a scale of levels. These assessments are repeated at regular intervals, allowing the evolution of pupils' levels to be monitored over time. The tests are taken at the end of the school year.

In secondary school, the target population is Year 10 pupils in state and private secondary schools under contract in mainland France. Stratification is also carried out based on the school's catchment area. Year 10 classes are selected at random to ensure national representativeness (for example, this represented approximately 8,400 pupils in more than 300 classes for the 2014 mathematics assessment). To take non-response into account, the samples are adjusted to ensure their representativeness according to sector, gender and academic delay.

Moving up a class

The procedures for moving from one class to another in secondary school comply with the provisions set out in the Education Code, legislative section (Article L331-8) and regulatory (Article D331-23 et seq.). According to these provisions, based on the assessment report, the pupil's parents submit a request for promotion to the next class, a request for guidance or a request to repeat the year. This request is examined by the class council, which takes into account all the information gathered by its members and in turn makes a recommendation for promotion or repetition.

When the requests are compliant, the head teacher makes the decisions and communicates them to the parents. When the requests are not compliant, the head teacher meets with the pupil's parents, informs them of the proposals and listens to their comments. The head teacher then makes the decision. If the disagreement persists, the parents (or students of legal age) have the option of appealing to an appeals committee chaired by the education authority inspector, who will make a final decision.

Le  Decree No. 2014-1377 of 18 November 2014  amends the provisions of the Education Code concerning guidance levels and repeating a year. According to  Article L311-7 of the Education Code, repeating a year can only be done in exceptional circumstances. Repeating a year always requires the written consent of the pupil's legal representatives.

Furthermore, in Year 10, repeating a year cannot be requested by the family or proposed by the school. Only in cases where the pupil's parents or the pupil themselves (if over 18) are not satisfied with the proposed educational pathways can they legally request that the pupil remain in their original class for a single school year.

Guidance towards upper secondary education

The decision to enrol in the general and technological stream or the vocational stream is made by the class council, according to the procedures described above. However, the choice of options for the second year of general and technological education and the specialisations for the CAP and vocational baccalaureate is left to the family.

A personalised guidance interview is offered to all Year 10 pupils to support them in their transition to secondary school. This interview is conducted by the form teacher, who draws on the expertise of guidance professionals (directors of the information and guidance centre, guidance counsellors and psychologists). The practical arrangements for organising this interview are the responsibility of the head teacher (Circular No. 2006-213 of 14 December 2006).

Diplomas and certificates issued by the Ministry of National Education, Higher Education and Research and recognised at national level may be awarded to lower secondary students. Obtaining these certificates is not a prerequisite for continuing their education in upper secondary education.

• The ‘general education certificate’CFG);
• The diplôme national du brevet (DNB) ;
• Pix certification for digital skills.

The general education certificate (Certificat de formation générale - CFG)

The General Education Certificate (CFG) validates skills acquired in areas of general knowledge (French, mathematics, social and professional life). It is a diploma aimed in particular at students in adapted general and vocational education sections (SEGPA) and regional adapted education establishments (EREA), as well as young people aged 16-25 or adults who have completed a work-study programme as part of a social and professional integration scheme or continuing education.

Candidates obtain the general training certificate if their knowledge and skills are assessed at a satisfactory level, reflected in a total number of points. For all candidates, the total number of points required to obtain the diploma must be at least 200.

Points are awarded according to the level of mastery of their academic achievements, assessed against the reference scale for Cycle 3 and the eight areas of the common core of knowledge, skills and culture, according to the following scale:

1. 10 points if the candidate obtains level 1 "Insufficient proficiency";
2. 20 points if he achieves level 2, 'Fragile mastery';
3. 25 points if he achieves level 3 "Satisfactory proficiency";
4. 30 points if he achieves level 4, "Very good command".
5. and an oral examination, common to all candidates, marked out of 160 points.

Their achievements are assessed during their training by their teachers: the level of proficiency expected for each component of the first domain and for each of the four other domains of the common core of knowledge, skills and culture must be at least equal to the "satisfactory proficiency" level on the reference scale for Cycle 3. As these candidates have completed Cycle 4 schooling, their academic achievements referenced to the end-of-Cycle 4 expectations are also mentioned in their single school report. These are taken into account for the awarding of the diploma.

The oral exam assesses the candidate's "oral communication and social skills, as well as their ability to discuss their personal experience and situate themselves in their social or professional environment" – in other words, their command of oral expression, their ability to engage in dialogue, recount their experience, and argue and justify their chosen project.

The National Certificate of Secondary Education (DNB)

From 2026 onwards, the national certificate of secondary education is awarded to pupils who obtain an annual average of 10 out of 20 or higher, combining the continuous assessment mark for Year 3 and the five compulsory written examinations at the end of Cycle 4.

The continuous assessment mark is based on the evaluation of the common core curriculum, calculated from the averages of all subjects studied in Year 9. It accounts for 40% of the final exam result.

Each of the written examinations is marked out of 20.

• French (3 hours), weighted 2: based on an extract from a literary text and possibly an image, assessment of linguistic skills (grammar – including rewriting – vocabulary, etc.) and comprehension and interpretation skills + dictation + essay writing;
• Mathematics (2 hours), weighted 2: exercises, some of which include tables or diagrams, and one IT exercise;
• History and geography (2 hours): analysis and comprehension of documents + use of historical and geographical references + application of moral and civic education skills;
• science (1 hour) (2 subjects out of 3): physics and chemistry, life and earth sciences, technology;

The exam papers are marked out of 20 and count for 60% of the final result. 

• Finally, the oral examination, marked out of 20, focuses on a project carried out in art history or as part of an EPI (interdisciplinary practical education) or one of the educational pathways, and allows the quality of oral expression to be assessed. It can take two forms: 
• either a 15-minute individual interview (5 minutes for the presentation and 10 minutes for the interview);
• either a 25-minute group interview (10 minutes of presentation and 15 minutes of interview).

Additional points above the average score of 10 are awarded to candidates who have taken optional courses, depending on the level they have achieved at the end of Cycle 4 in relation to the learning objectives of these courses:

Overall, the student passes if they obtain a final average of 10 out of 20 or higher. Depending on the total number of points obtained, students may be awarded honours: 

"fairly well" (if the candidate obtains an average of at least 12/20), 

"pass" if the candidate obtains an average of at least 14/20

"very good" if the candidate obtains an average of at least 16/20. 

or "very good with honours" if the candidate obtains an average of at least 18/20.

 The grades "good" and "very good" allow, under certain conditions, students to receive merit-based scholarships for the remainder of their academic career.

A republican graduation ceremony is held at the start of each school year for successful candidates at their secondary school. The education authorities, in conjunction with schools and local elected officials – mayors, departmental councillors, etc. – organise an official ceremony each year to award the diplomas obtained the previous year. This ceremony brings together the educational community and elected officials around the pupils who are completing their school education. It provides an opportunity to highlight the essential role of school in the Republic and to congratulate the pupils who have obtained their first diploma.

Pix certification

A digital skills reference framework (CRCN), inspired by the European DIGCOMP framework, has been defined by the French Ministries of National Education, Youth and Higher Education (CRCN). The digital skills defined in the CRCN are assessed and certified nationally via the Pix online platform for pupils at the end of secondary school.

Pix certification attests to a digital skills profile that is certified and recognised by the State and by registration in the inventory of the National Commission for Professional Certification (CNCP). The platform issues students with a digital skills certification at the end of cycle 4.

The Pix platform allows pupils from Cycle 4 onwards to self-assess and evaluate their progress using placement tests. From Year 7 onwards, pupils register on the free Pix platform, where they can track their progress. When changing schools, pupils retain their progress.

Public and private schools under contract have access to a Pix Orga space that allows teaching teams to generate test courses on various digital skills, monitor students' results and thus support them in acquiring their skills until they obtain certification.