The level of French students in maths and sciences is below the OECD average but continues to fall, according to an international study

For mathematics, according to this study, France is ranked last in the European Union for CM1 and penultimate for 4th grade.

The level of French students in maths and sciences is below the average for OECD countries, but is continuing to fall. This is what reveals the latest ranking from the independent International Organization for Educational Evaluation Timss (Trends in international mathematics and science study) for the year 2023, published Wednesday December 4. Since 1995, this survey has focused every four years on the levels of CM1 and 4th grade students in EU and OECD countries.

For mathematics, according to this study, France is ranked last in the European Union for CM1. She is penultimate for 4th. But the decline in the level of French students that we have seen since the 1990s seems to be stopping. The difference with the best countries (Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea) is generally the same as in 2019. Four years ago, French 4th grade students in 2019 displayed the level of 5th grade students in 1995 in mathematics.

In detail, the Timms study reveals two interesting elements. In CM1, the gap between boys and girls increases in both math and science. In mathematics, it is not far from doubling in four years. This gap was 13 points in 2019, it increased to 23 points four years later. If this trend is noticeable in other countries, France is where this prevalence of boys is the most marked in the European Union – OECD zone.

Finally, the researchers observe that among young people in 4th grade, if the average score in maths has hardly changed for four years, it hides large disparities in level which are increasing, with both more very good students, and no more students in serious difficulty. “We also saw this increase in inequalities in the national evaluations at the start of the second year”notes Thierry Rocher, director of evaluation at the Directorate of Evaluation, Foresight and Performance (Depp), a department which reports to the Ministry of National Education, and president of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA), which produces the Timss study. “There is a phenomenon of increasing inequalities in recent years, whether it is the fourth or the second in mathematics.”