International surveys follow one another and are similar for France. The latest, called TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study), once again highlights the major difficulties of French students in mathematics. The reforms undertaken since 2019 do not allow them to escape from the bottom of the ranking.
France is not taking off
One year after the Pisa ranking, another comparative survey confirms the dropout of French students in mathematics at European and global level. This study measures the performance in mathematics and science of CM1 and 4th grade students every four years, i.e. the 4th and 8th levels of compulsory education. And the results of young French people, having taken the tests in May 2023, are mediocre, even catastrophic.
If we focus on maths, in CM1, France is in penultimate place just ahead of Chile. The 4th grade students do barely better. Still at the back of the pack, they are a short head ahead of Portugal and, more broadly, Chile, which brings up the rear. For comparison, England is in 3rd place in a ranking largely dominated by South Korea and Japan at both levels of education.
Another source of concern is that French students are far below the average for European Union and OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries. The Ministry of Education is happy to point out the “stability of results” without “being triumphalist”, France could hardly do worse than in 2019.
She then occupied a somewhat brilliant penultimate place in both levels. And if the services of the minister, Anne Genetet, observe that the Covid has been there – the CM1 students were in CP during confinement, those in 4th in CM2 – this applies to all 58 countries represented in the study of CM1 and the 43 participating countries for 4th grade.
A deficit at the grassroots level
Among the solutions to stop these poor results, the ministry wants to believe in the success, still hypothetical, of a range of measures which range from the training plan for primary school teachers in mathematics, new programs at school including need groups implemented at the college this year.
“In 2019, the Vilani-Torossian report showed that mathematics pedagogy in France was not similar to those of European or Asian countries which were more successful,” explains Anne Genetet’s entourage. It is with this in mind that the programs were rewritten by integrating certain notions such as fractions or decimal numbers earlier. We have also worked on a more concrete pedagogy which leads to manipulation or verbalization. »
For the moment, these measures, in particular the training plan active for five years, are struggling to produce their positive effects. As if France had missed the boat at school. “The problem lies in the installation and stabilization of automation. They start to be in CP and CE1, but then less in CE2 or middle school when this must be done throughout primary school, notes the ministry. This is the most important point in teacher training and in the teaching methods put in place. For example, we can imagine fifteen minutes of mental arithmetic slate per day at all levels and not just in CP and CE1. »
The gap between girls and boys is widening
France is even the worst student in the ranking for the performance gap in maths in CM1. When boys gain five points over the last four years, girls lose as many. As a result, between 2019 and 2023, the gap increased from 13 to 23 points. In 4th grade, the deficit in mathematics performance of girls compared to boys also widens — the gap increases from 8 to 12 points in four years. But, this time, “France’s positioning is close to the average of the countries that participated in TIMSS,” specifies the ministry.
This observation confirms the trend that emerged from the latest national evaluations, at entry into 6th and 4th grade in particular. Despite a public discourse which promotes the promotion of women in scientific careers, presented as a major issue for the country's economy and society in general, the gap between girls and boys in maths was still widening at school in 2024.
“There is no clear explanation for this phenomenon that we must take into account very seriously in teacher training,” we note on rue de Grenelle, where we seem very helpless on the subject. Recent studies have revealed that the gap occurs as early as halfway through the CP year. “In the main section, where we don't talk about mathematics, but numbers, etc., the girls are as comfortable as the boys. Whereas from CP, where we talk about mathematics, girls lose confidence,” explains the ministry, which therefore calls for “working on the way in which girls represent” this discipline.
The gap between more or less successful students is growing
Another dropout point, even if it remains better than the ranking average: in 4th grade, between 2019 and 2023, the gaps increase sharply between the best performing students in mathematics and those who experience great difficulties. It goes from 177 points, one of the lowest gaps in the ranking four years ago, to 211 points today, compared to 230 for the average of OECD and EU countries.
On the elite side, the best 4th grade students who obtain the “advanced level” in mathematics are only 3% in 2023. This is certainly better than during the last TIMSS evaluations (2%), but this remains well in below the average which stands at 11%. For comparison, they are 46% in Singapore and 40% in South Korea. At the other end of the scale, 17% of students do not reach the low level, more than the average (14%) and an increase compared to 2019 (12%).
