Does the baccalaureate still hold any value? And does it still serve any purpose? There were many twists and turns in the baccalaureate reform enacted in 2019, which introduced 40% continuous assessment and eliminated the general baccalaureate tracks—S (science), ES (economics and social sciences), and L (humanities)—in favor of a combination of specializations—math, history-geography, languages, humanities, etc. —for which final exams are held starting in March of the senior year.
The implementation of this new system has been disrupted both by the COVID-19 crisis and by resistance from labor unions and ideological quarters, leading to questions about the very purpose of the exam itself. Don’t the high recent pass rates—which many consider excessive—reinforce the idea that this exam is no longer worth anything? And given the role now played by Parcoursup and its schedule, does this not lead to the conclusion that the exam is no longer necessary?
To reach a decision, we need to understand what is at stake and be mindful of the clash between several conflicting perspectives. In doing so, we shift from a static to a dynamic view of the problem.
The baccalaureate is not a competitive exam. In his work on The Exam-Driven Society, Annabelle Allouch observes that, generally speaking, the growing importance of competitive exams is accompanied by a “devaluation of the diploma.” The baccalaureate is an exam which, as a diploma, certifies that one has successfully completed high school. It attests to success in a series of standardized tests. A competitive exam is a selection process used to rank candidates for a position or role within the framework of a numerus clausus policy.
Both the competitive exam and the degree-granting exam therefore involve tests, but with different purposes. The degree certifies a level of education. In a sense, it distinguishes between those who pass and those who fail—those who meet the required level and those who do not. But its purpose is not to select candidates. The screening process in the competitive exam is much more rigorous, because its specific purpose is to select candidates for a limited number of spots determined from the outset. On the diploma exam, you simply have to pass. In the competitive exam, you have to “do better than the others.” It’s not the same thing at all…
Under these circumstances, one might wonder whether the introduction of Parcoursup is not upending the rules of the game to the point of “killing” the baccalaureate, according to a headline in *Le Monde* in July 2022. This would mark the triumph of competitive admissions over the diploma. This is because Parcoursup was created to match individual preferences with institutional educational offerings, which requires an analysis based on compatibility. However, at the end of high school, the alignment between students’ preferences and the available spots is far from harmonious.
In practice, the selection process is at the heart of the system, at least for “prestigious programs” or those that are “in high demand.” Moreover, in a context of rising high school graduation rates, the most important thing for high school students is not to graduate, but to have their preferences met on Parcoursup. It is the logic of competitive admissions that ultimately prevails, to the detriment of the logic of the diploma that the high school diploma is meant to represent.
The risk that Parcoursup will “kill” the baccalaureate is all the greater because, precisely, the logic of competitive exams intersects with and reinforces (supports) the logic of educational pathway construction that has been at work throughout the history of schooling.
Society strives to regulate the flow of students by structuring the school system to offer different educational pathways, leading to diplomas that, for various reasons, are of unequal value. The dynamics of social recognition thus manifest in the “market” offering a hierarchy of diplomas, including the baccalaureate. Within this system, each individual strives—based on their material circumstances and certain individual or social predispositions—to pursue a path to success that aligns with their aspirations.
Ideally, individual development paths unfold harmoniously within a rationally structured school system. In reality, certain ambitions clash. There are bottlenecks where people jostle for position. And that is where it becomes particularly important to outperform others.
This gives rise to crucial moments when the flow of students trying to chart a course that best serves their interests runs up against the barriers and restrictions put in place by society to channel educational paths. Entering higher education after the baccalaureate (and thanks to it) is one of these key moments. This is because the baccalaureate is both a diploma—signifying social recognition of one’s academic level—and a passport, granting access to the realm of higher education.
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When it comes to the awarding of diplomas, the social recognition that comes with holding them is by no means insignificant. Numerous studies have highlighted their protective role in terms of unemployment and social integration. But, as a “passport,” the baccalaureate has lost its value because it lacks the “visas” that would allow students to pursue the field of study of their choice. Visas that, from now on, only Parcoursup can issue…
That is why, today, the individual path to success depends far less on earning a high school diploma—which, incidentally, is within reach of virtually everyone (a 91% pass rate in 2022)—than on strategies for positioning oneself on Parcoursup, and the search for educational programs considered the most “rewarding” in terms of building cultural capital and future socioeconomic integration.
Ultimately, for those pursuing an academic path, the main—and recurring—problem is knowing how to choose the right direction. In this regard, the President was undoubtedly right to assert that we need to “fundamentally rethink the career guidance we provide to our teenagers and young people.” But it is one thing to shed light on the options; it is quite another to actually make all those options accessible to everyone.
As long as there is a social hierarchy of educational programs and tracks, and as long as not everyone has access to all options (the ideal society envisioned by those calling for the outright abolition of Parcoursup), ambitions will run up against bottlenecks where, in effect, a selection process is unavoidable. These gateways are thus points where educational dynamics clash with the need for selection. In any case, as long as the number of available spots in educational programs is not significantly greater than the number of applicants…
The challenge, therefore, for both individuals and society, is to optimize the interaction between individually driven career-orientation dynamics and selection mechanisms whose existence and operation are dictated by the structure and organization of the social education system.
Under these circumstances, it’s understandable to think in terms of “good” or “bad” currency. From the perspective of gaining admission to “lucrative” higher education programs, the baccalaureate has become “bad money.” It is a diploma whose practical value is now minimal. It is Parcoursup—where admission to programs with the highest added value (preparatory classes, Sciences Po) is determined—that sets the agenda.
So should we keep the baccalaureate? Yes, undoubtedly, as a symbolic rite of passage into “maturity” (as it is called in most other countries). But we must acknowledge the now fundamental fact that “selection carries more symbolic and monetary weight than the diploma itself.”
The baccalaureate still, strictly speaking, serves as the gateway that students must pass through to gain access to the “open seas” of higher education. In reality, however, this gateway function—which serves both to select and to guide students—is now handled by a system like Parcoursup, which, as things stand, effectively signals the twilight of the baccalaureate…
