Student assessment throughout the year is mainly organised in the form of written tests, with the frequency generally left to the discretion of the teachers. In addition to traditional tests, mock exams are organised during the final year to give pupils more specific training for the baccalaureate exams. However, these tests are neither systematic nor compulsory.

Pupils' results are communicated to families via the termly report card, which contains results and assessments in the various subjects.

The placement test in Year 10

Since 2018, all students in the second year of general and technological secondary education in public or private schools under contract have been taking standardised assessments called "placement tests" at the beginning of the school year. The placement test at the beginning of secondary school is the first step in personalised support, which enables secondary school students to consolidate their mastery of written and oral expression and essential mathematical skills.

The placement test at the beginning of the second year consists of two 50-minute sessions, held during the second half of September. The skills assessed are:

Marking is automated. Results are communicated to pupils. They are completely anonymous outside the school.

The procedures for moving from one class to another in secondary school are the same as in middle school; they comply with the provisions set out in the Education Code, legislative section (L331-8) and regulatory (D331-23  and following).

The LGT reform implemented at the start of the 2010 academic year introduces the possibility for public and private secondary schools to organise "refresher courses" in order to prevent pupils from repeating a year. These courses "are aimed at voluntary students in general and technological secondary schools and vocational secondary schools who have been recommended by the class council to take such a course. They are intended for students in the second to final years of secondary school" (Circular No. 2010-010 of 29 January 2010Schools may organise these during school holidays and/or during the school year, whenever deemed necessary.

The completion of upper secondary education is marked by the baccalaureate. This qualification, which was created by the decree of 17 March 1808, is also a prerequisite for access to higher education and represents the first university degree.

There are three types of baccalaureate, corresponding to the three streams of secondary education:

• general baccalaureate;
• technological baccalaureate;
• vocational baccalaureate.

General and technological baccalaureates are clearly geared towards further education (university, preparatory classes for grandes écoles, higher technical sections, university institutes of technology).

To obtain their baccalaureate, pupils must sit a national examination.

The trials

The baccalaureate comprises compulsory written and oral examinations, which are weighted differently depending on the subject area. It also includes optional examinations. The examinations generally cover the official syllabus for final year classes. The vast majority of examinations are taken at the end of the final year. However, some are organised in advance in the penultimate year (this is the case for French and mathematics, for example); others are taken as tests during the course of study: this is the case, for example, for physical education and sports.

Starting in 2026, students in the first year of general and technological secondary education will take an early mathematics exam in addition to the French exam in June 2026.

The baccalaureate examination comprises two groups of tests:

1. The first group of exams: written, oral, practical, depending on the student's specialisation. At the end of these exams, candidates who have obtained an average lower than 8/20 are deferred. Those who have obtained an average of 10/20 or higher are declared definitively admitted to the second group of exams. Those who have obtained an average between 8/20 and 10/20 are allowed to take these exams.
2. The second group of examinations consists of two oral examinations chosen by the candidate from among those covered in a written examination taken in the first year of sixth form or in the final year. Candidates pass if, at the end of these oral examinations, they obtain an average mark of 10/20 or higher across all examinations.

The honours "Fairly good" (AB), "Good" (B) and "Very good" (TB) are awarded to candidates who obtain their baccalaureate, based on their average mark. The rule is as follows: AB: average mark of 12/20 or above and below 14/20; B: average mark of 14/20 or above and below 16/20; TB: average mark of 16/20 or above, with honours from the jury if the average mark is 18/20 or above.

During their deliberations, the examination boards have access to the candidate's school report as an assessment tool: this report contains the average marks for each subject for the two years of sixth form, as well as teachers' comments. The examination boards' careful review of this document takes on particular significance when a candidate's average marks place them at a level close to that which determines a result.

Organisation of sessions and juries

Months of preparation are required to organise the baccalaureate, which is the responsibility of the central administration of the Ministry and the National Education Inspectorate on the one hand, and the various decentralised services, in particular the local education authorities, on the other.

The examination, which mainly takes place from mid-June to early July, consists of one session, organised each year on dates set by the Minister for National Education. A replacement session is organised in September, under the same conditions, for candidates who, for duly recognised reasons of force majeure, did not take the examinations at the end of the school year, either in whole or in part.

The examination boards are appointed by the rector on an academic basis. The chair of each board is a member of higher education, and the vice-chair is a secondary school teacher. Examiners must meet certain requirements in terms of qualifications and length of service teaching final year students.

The sovereign nature of the jury guarantees its independence. The jury's decisions are final. No intervention or appeal may cause it to reconvene or modify its decision if it has been made in accordance with the regulations.

The results for the first group are announced on a date set each year by the Ministry, usually during the first week of July. Students who have not passed the baccalaureate but have an average above 8/20 must take a second series of oral examinations. The results for the second group are announced around 10 July. As the transcript is sufficient proof of passing the baccalaureate, students can use it to enrol in higher education. There is no official graduation ceremony.

Development and selection of examination topics

The topics distributed to candidates are the culmination of a process that began over a year ago:

• The Ministry distributes the preparation of subjects by discipline for the following year's session among the academies.
• In each academy, the examination divisions set up subject selection committees chaired jointly by an inspector general of national education and an academic. The members of these committees are secondary school teachers appointed by the rector on the recommendation of the relevant regional education inspector.
• Each committee develops several topics. Each topic is then submitted separately to two teachers (who did not participate in the committee's work) who are responsible for reviewing them in less time than is given to candidates on the day of the examination. These teachers, known as "test teachers", give their opinion on the feasibility and relevance of the topic and identify any errors. The topics are modified, if necessary, to take into account the opinions of the test teachers.
• For each subject, the two co-chairs of the committee prepare and submit a file to the rector of the academy consisting of a subject written in its final form, reports from the exam papers and a report from the co-chairs certifying its compliance with the regulations in force and proposing its destination. The rector then makes the final selection of subjects and their allocation.
• The document containing the final version of the topics is signed by the inspector general and the academic chairpersons of each committee.