Baccalauréat - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The baccalauréat often known in France colloquially as le bac, is an academic qualification which French and international students take at the end of the lycée (secondary education). It was introduced by Napoleon I

Napoleon I

Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...

in 1808. It is the main diploma required to pursue university studies. There is also the European Baccalaureate

European Baccalaureate

The European Baccalaureate is awarded to students who successfully managed to complete the final year exam at a European School. These are mainly attended by students whose parents work for a European Institution. There are currently 14 European Schools.This diploma should not be confused with...

which students take at the end of the European School

European School

The European Schools are co-educational schools providing nursery, primary and secondary. They are established to provide free education for children of personnel of the European Institutions and leading to the European Baccalaureate. Other children may be admitted subject to the availability of...

education. It confirms a rounded secondary education, gives access to a wide range of university

University

A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...

education and cannot be compared with British Commonwealth A-levels as, unlike A-levels, it cannot be obtained in single subjects.

Overview

Much like British A-levels or European Matura

Matura

Matura or a similar term is the common name for the high-school leaving exam or "maturity exam" in various countries, including Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Kosovo, Liechtenstein, Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Serbia,...

, the baccalauréat allows French and international students to obtain a standardized qualification, typically at the age of 18. This then qualifies holders to work in certain areas, or go on to tertiary education

Tertiary education

Tertiary education, also referred to as third stage, third level, and post-secondary education, is the educational level following the completion of a school providing a secondary education, such as a high school, secondary school, university-preparatory school...

or acquire some other professional qualification or training.

Just about all students in their final year of secondary school take the exam. However the French baccalauréat is legally an academic qualifying degree. In theory, the students in lycée could choose not to sit for the baccalauréat at the end of the lycée, as it is by law an exam to qualify students for entrance into university. Unlike some U.S. high school diplomas, it is not a lycée completion exam.

The word bac is also used to refer to one of the end-of-year exams that students must pass in order to get their baccalauréat diploma: le bac de philo, for example, is the philosophy exam (which all students must take, regardless of their field of study).

Within France, there are three main types of baccalauréat degrees:

the baccalauréat général (general baccalaureate);
the baccalauréat professionnel (professional baccalaureate);
the baccalauréat technologique (technological baccalaureate).

Each of these categories encompasses several somewhat specialized curricula.

For entrance to regular universities within France, however, there are some restrictions as to the type of baccalauréat that can be presented. In some cases, it may be possible to enter a French university without the bac by taking a special exam, the diploma for entrance to higher education.

Though most students take the bac at the end of secondary school, it is also possible to enter as a candidat libre (literally, "free candidate") without affiliation to a school. Students who did not take the bac upon completion of secondary school

Secondary school

Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...

(or did not manage to pass it) and would like to attend university, or feel that the bac would help them accomplish professional aspirations, may exercise this option. The exam is no different from the one administered to secondary-school students, except that free candidates are tested in Physical Education, whereas students' Physical Education grade is calculated based on evaluation throughout the year

Baccalauréat général streams

Students who sit for the baccalauréat général choose one of three streams (termed séries) in the penultimate lycée year. Each stream results in a specialization and carries different weights (coefficients) associated with each subject. Another terminology is sometimes used, which existed before 1994, and further divided the different séries. Until this date, it was possible to sit for a bac C or D (which is now S), B (now ES), or A1, A2, A3 (now L). People who passed the baccalauréat before this reform still use this terminology when they mention their diploma. However, the streams for the baccalauréat général are now as follows:

S scientifique (sciences)	ES sciences économiques et sociales (economics and social sciences)	L littéraire (literature)
The natural sciences stream requires a high level in mathematics Mathematics Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity... , physics Physics Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic... & chemistry Chemistry Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds.... , and biology Biology Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines... or, if available, engineering sciences.	The bac ES is balanced between literary and economic and social courses of studies, and students must take an economics Economics Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"... and social sciences Social sciences Social science is the field of study concerned with society. "Social science" is commonly used as an umbrella term to refer to a plurality of fields outside of the natural sciences usually exclusive of the administrative or managerial sciences... exam.	The bac L weighs French literature French literature French literature is, generally speaking, literature written in the French language, particularly by citizens of France; it may also refer to literature written by people living in France who speak traditional languages of France other than French. Literature written in French language, by citizens... , philosophy Philosophy Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational... , history History History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians... & geography Geography Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes... , and foreign languages Language Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication... heavily.

The baccalauréat permits students to choose to sit for exams in over forty world languages or French regional languages (such as Alsatian

Alsatian language

Alsatian is a Low Alemannic German dialect spoken in most of Alsace, a region in eastern France which has passed between French and German control many times.-Language family:...

, Catalan

Catalan language

Catalan is a Romance language, the national and only official language of Andorra and a co-official language in the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencian Community, where it is known as Valencian , as well as in the city of Alghero, on the Italian island...

or Norman

Norman language

Norman is a Romance language and one of the Oïl languages. Norman can be classified as one of the northern Oïl languages along with Picard and Walloon...

).

It has typically been seen as more prestigious to choose the "bac S", as it is said to open more doors as more numerate. This in turn can offer a greater range of post-graduation opportunities. This bias is inherent to the French educational system as some "Classes Preparatoires" (post bac specialised classes for entry into the Grandes Écoles

Grandes écoles

The grandes écoles of France are higher education establishments outside the main framework of the French university system. The grandes écoles select students for admission based chiefly on national ranking in competitive written and oral exams...

) catering to prospective students of scientific or business 'Grandes Écoles’, such as Polytechnique or HEC often require the S series. The "gold-plating" of the S series creates a vicious circle detrimental to the ambitions of L and ES students, as the simple act of repeating that the bac S is superior reinforces the dubious consensus that it is.

Série scientifique (S)

The S stream prepares students for work in scientific fields such as medicine

Medicine

Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....

, engineering

Engineering

Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...

and the natural sciences. Natural sciences students must specialise in either Mathematics

Mathematics

Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...

, Physics

Physics

Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...

& Chemistry

Chemistry

Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....

or Earth

Geology

Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...

& Life Sciences

Life sciences

The life sciences comprise the fields of science that involve the scientific study of living organisms, like plants, animals, and human beings. While biology remains the centerpiece of the life sciences, technological advances in molecular biology and biotechnology have led to a burgeoning of...

Subjects	Weight	Format of exam	Duration
Anticipated subjects
French Language	2	Written	4 hours
French Language	2	Oral	20 minutes
Travaux personnels encadrés (TPE)	2^c	Oral	ten minutes for each pupil (TPE is an exam generally prepared by groups of 3 pupils)
Terminale subjects
Mathematics	7 or 9	Written	4 hours
Physics & Chemistry	6 or 8	Written and Laboratory	3 ½ hours plus 1 hour
Earth & Life Sciences Engineering Sciences Biology-Ecology	6 or 8 4 + 5 5 + 2	Written and Laboratory Written and Laboratory Written and Laboratory	3 ½ hours plus 1 hour 8 hours ( 1 hour for electronic, 1 hour for mechanic, 4 hours for particle works and 2 hours for TPE or PPE) 3 ½ hours plus 1 ½ hour
History & Geography	3	Written	4 hours
First Foreign Language (LV1)	3	Written	3 hours
Second Foreign Language (LV2) or Regional Language (LVR)	2	Written	2 hours
Philosophy	3	Written	4 hours
Physical Education	2	Year-end Average
Specializations
Mathematics or Physics & Chemistry or Earth & Life Sciences	2^b	Oral or Laboratory (except for Mathematics)	1 hour
Supplementary Physical Education	2	Year-end Average
Optional Subjects^d
Foreign Language	2^c	Oral or Written (depending on the language)	20 minutes or 2 hours
Regional Language		Oral	20 minutes
Latin		Oral	15 minutes
Ancient Greek		Oral	15 minutes
Physical Education		Year-end Average or Examination
Arts		Oral	30–40 minutes
Langue Vivante Européenne (European Foreign Language) : Advanced language + History class in that language	1° (+ Special mention on the diploma)	Oral
^aExam at the end of première. French is replaced by Philosophy in terminale. ^bAdded to general subject above. ^cOnly points above 10 out of 20 (50%) are taken into consideration. Multiplied by two for first subject (except Latin & Greek, where the multiplier is 3) and by one for the second subject. ^dTwo-subject maximum.

Série économique et sociale (ES)

Students of the Baccalauréat économique et social prepare for careers in the social sciences

Social sciences

Social science is the field of study concerned with society. "Social science" is commonly used as an umbrella term to refer to a plurality of fields outside of the natural sciences usually exclusive of the administrative or managerial sciences...

, in Philosophy

Philosophy

Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...

(and other human sciences) in management

Management

Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...

and business administration, and in economics

Economics

Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...

. The subject Economics & Social Sciences is the most heavily weighed and is only offered in this stream. History

History

History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...

& Geography

Geography

Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...

and Mathematics

Mathematics

are also important subjects in ES.

Subjects	Weight	Format of exam	Duration
Anticipated subjects^a
French Language	2	Written	4 hours
French Language	2	Oral	20 minutes
Earth & Life Sciences	2	Written	1 ½ hours
Travaux personnels encadrés (TPE)	2^c	Oral	ten minutes for each pupil (TPE is an exam generally prepared by groups of 3 pupils)
Terminale subjects
History & Geography	5	Written	4 hours
Mathematics	5 or 7^f	Written	3 hours
Economics & Social Sciences	7 or 9^f	Written	4 hours^b
First Foreign Language (LV1)	3	Written	3 hours
Second Foreign Language (LV2) or Regional Language (LVR)	3	Oral	20–30 minutes
Philosophy	4	Written	4 hours
Physical Education	2	Year-end Average
Specializations
Economics & Social Sciences or Mathematics or LV1/LVR^g	2^c	Written or Oral	1 hour or 20 minutes
Supplementary Physical Education	2	Year-end Average
Optional Subjects^e
Foreign Language	2^d	Oral or Written (depending on the language)	20 minutes or 2 hours
Regional Language		Oral	20 minutes
Latin		Oral	15 minutes
Ancient Greek		Oral	15 minutes
Physical Education		Year-end Average or Examination
Arts		Oral	30–40 minutes
^aExams at the end of première. French is replaced by Philosophy in terminale. ^bThe exam is 5-hours long for students in this specialization. An additional topic with a duration of 1 hour is distributed at the beginning of the test to all students who choose this specialization. ^cAdded to general subject above. ^dOnly points above 10 out of 20 (50%) are taken into consideration. Multiplied by two for first subject (except Latin & Greek, where the multiplier is three) and by one for the second subject. ^eTwo-subject maximum. ^fThe highest coefficient is applied to students who choose this specialization. ^gThe test of specialty economy is included in the compulsory economy test, it is the same thing for mathematics. The test of English specialty is not included in the compulsory English test.

Série littéraire (L)

Students in the L stream prepare for careers in the humanities

Humanities

The humanities are academic disciplines that study the human condition, using methods that are primarily analytical, critical, or speculative, as distinguished from the mainly empirical approaches of the natural sciences....

such as education

Education

Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...

, linguistics

Linguistics

Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....

, and public service

Public services

Public services is a term usually used to mean services provided by government to its citizens, either directly or by financing private provision of services. The term is associated with a social consensus that certain services should be available to all, regardless of income...

. They also have interests in the arts

ARts

aRts, which stands for analog Real time synthesizer, is an audio framework that is no longer under development. It is best known for previously being used in KDE to simulate an analog synthesizer....

. The most important subjects in the literary stream are Philosophy

Philosophy

and French language

French language

French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

& literature

French literature

French literature is, generally speaking, literature written in the French language, particularly by citizens of France; it may also refer to literature written by people living in France who speak traditional languages of France other than French. Literature written in French language, by citizens...

and other languages, usually English, German and Spanish.

Subjects	Weight	Format of exam	Duration
Anticipated subjects^a
French Language & Literature	3	Written	4 hours
French Language & Literature	2	Oral	20 minutes
Natural Sciences	2	Written	1 ½ hours
Mathematics & Computer Science	2	Written	1 ½ hours
Travaux personnels encadrés (TPE)	2^c	Oral	ten minutes for each pupil (TPE is an exam generally prepared by groups of 3 pupils)
Terminale subjects
Philosophy	7	Written	4 hours
Literature	4	Written	2 hours
History & Geography	4	Written	4 hours
First Foreign Language (LV1)	4	Written	3 hours
Second Foreign Language (LV2) or Regional Language (LVR)	4	Written	3 hours
Physical Education	2	Year-end Average
Specializations
Latin or Ancient Greek	4	Written	3 hours
Mathematics	3	Written	3 hours
Arts & Crafts or Cinema & Audiovisual Studies or Art History or Music or Theatre & Dramatic Expression or Dance	6	Written and Oral	3 ½ hours and ½-hour
Supplementary Physical Education	2	Year-end Average
Optional Subjects^c
Foreign Language	2^b	Oral or Written (depending on the language)	20 minutes or 2 hours
Regional Language		Oral	20 minutes
Latin		Oral	15 minutes
Ancient Greek		Oral	15 minutes
Physical Education		Year-end Average or Examination
Arts		Oral	30–40 minutes
^aExams at the end of première. French is replaced by Philosophy and Literature in terminale. ^bOnly points above 10 out of 20 (50%) are taken into consideration. Multiplied by two for first subject (except Latin & Greek, where the multiplier is three) and by one for the second subject. ^cTwo-subject maximum.

Note: The tables in this section were adapted from the French Ministry of Education website.

Format

The majority of the baccalauréat examination takes place in a week in June. For lycée students, this is the end of the last year, terminale. This is a very stressful period for students and preparation starts early in the school year, sometimes even a few years beforehand.

Most examinations are given in essay-form

Essay

An essay is a piece of writing which is often written from an author's personal point of view. Essays can consist of a number of elements, including: literary criticism, political manifestos, learned arguments, observations of daily life, recollections, and reflections of the author. The definition...

. The student is given a substantial block of time (depending on the exam, from two to four hours) to complete a multiple-page, well-argued paper. The number of pages filled-out varies from exam to exam but is usually substantial considering all answers have to be written down, explained and justified. Mathematics

Mathematics

and science

Science

Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...

exams are problem sets but some science questions also require an essay-type answer. Foreign language

Language

Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...

exams often include a short translation

Translation

Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. Whereas interpreting undoubtedly antedates writing, translation began only after the appearance of written literature; there exist partial translations of the Sumerian Epic of...

section as well. Although multiple-choice exams (questionnaire à choix multiples) do exist in the French educational system, they do not appear for the baccalauréat (except in mathematics where they occasionally appear but often require justification).

Some students also have the opportunity to work on a research project called the travaux personnels encadrés or TPE. These are generally conducted in groups of 2, 3 or 4 and focus on a subject determined by the students under supervision of a faculty member.

When taken in mainland France, the baccalauréat material is the same for all students in a given stream. Secrecy surrounding the material is very tight and the envelopes containing the exams are unsealed by a high-ranking school officer (usually a principal or vice-principal) in front of the examinees only a few minutes prior to the start of the examination. The procedure is the same for each subject, in each stream. Students usually have an identification number and an assigned seat. The number is written on all exam material and the name is hidden by folding and sealing the upper right corner of the examination sheet(s). In this fashion, anonymity is respected. The correcting staff is usually a member of the teaching staff in the same district or, at a larger scale, in the same académie. To avoid conflicts of interests, a teacher who has lectured to a student or group of students cannot grade their exam. Also, to ensure greater objectivity on the part of the examiners, the test is anonymous. The grader sees only an exam paper with a serial number, with all personally identifying material stripped away and forbidden from appearing, thus curbing any favoritism based upon sex, religion, national origin, or ethnicity.

Unlike the English GCSEs, Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

Standard Grade

Standard Grades are Scotland's educational qualifications for students aged around 14 to 16 years, which are due to be fully replaced in 2014 when Scottish Qualifications Authority's Higher Still system becomes the main qualifications as part of the major shake up of Scotland's education system as...

s or the American SAT

SAT

The SAT Reasoning Test is a standardized test for college admissions in the United States. The SAT is owned, published, and developed by the College Board, a nonprofit organization in the United States. It was formerly developed, published, and scored by the Educational Testing Service which still...

, the French baccalauréat is not a completely standardised test. Since most answers — even for biology questions — are given in essay form, the grades may vary from grader to grader especially in subjects like philosophy

Philosophy

and French literature

French literature

.

Students generally take the French language

French language

and literature exam at the end of première, due to the fact that this subject is not taught in terminale (where it is replaced with a philosophy course). It also has an oral examination component, along with the written part. The oral exam covers works studied throughout première.

Weight system

Each baccalauréat stream has its own set of subjects that each carry a different weight (coefficient). This allows some subjects to be more important than others. For example, in the ES stream Economics

Economics

& Social Science carry more weight than the Natural Sciences. Therefore the former is more important than the latter. Students usually study more for exams that carry heavier weights since the grade they obtain in these exams may have a bigger impact on their mean grade. It is in the calculation of this mean that passing the bac and eventual honours are determined.

Option Internationale du Baccalauréat

The general baccalauréat offers several additional variants. The best known subset is the "option internationale du baccalauréat", the OIB. This is sometimes confusingly translated as the "French international baccalaureat". However it is in no way related to the International Baccalaureate (IB).

The OIB adds further subjects to the French national exam. Students choose one of the L, ES or S streams. It differs as students take a two year syllabus in literature, history and geography in a foreign language. This syllabus and the way it is examined is modelled on the national exam of the target nation. For instance, the British Section (administered by the University of Cambridge

University of Cambridge

The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...

) models the programmes on A-levels in English, History and Geography. It is therefore necessary to be fully bilingual to complete this degree.

At the end of the "Terminale", OIB students have extra exams in Literature and History/Geography. These exams have a high weight in the final mark of the bac and they do not give extra points to the OIB students. Overall, these students work much more than the other general baccalauréat students and many of them tend to go to foreign universities.

Different languages at Baccalauréat

To test their foreign or regional language students can choose among these different languages (all languages listed are not necessarily taught in all schools): English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

, German

German language

German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....

, Arabic, Armenian

Armenian language

The Armenian language is an Indo-European language spoken by the Armenian people. It is the official language of the Republic of Armenia as well as in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The language is also widely spoken by Armenian communities in the Armenian diaspora...

, Cambodian, Chinese

Chinese language

The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...

, Danish

Danish language

Danish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...

, Spanish

Spanish language

Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...

, Finnish

Finnish language

Finnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland Primarily for use by restaurant menus and by ethnic Finns outside Finland. It is one of the two official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden. In Sweden, both standard Finnish and Meänkieli, a...

, Modern Greek

Modern Greek

Modern Greek refers to the varieties of the Greek language spoken in the modern era. The beginning of the "modern" period of the language is often symbolically assigned to the fall of the Byzantine Empire in 1453, even though that date marks no clear linguistic boundary and many characteristic...

, Hebrew, Italian

Italian language

Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...

, Japanese

Japanese language

is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...

, Dutch

Dutch language

Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...

, Norwegian

Norwegian language

Norwegian is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is the official language. Together with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants .These Scandinavian languages together with the Faroese language...

, Persian

Persian language

Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...

, Polish

Polish language

Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...

, Portuguese

Portuguese language

Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...

, Russian

Russian language

Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...

, Turkish

Turkish language

Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...

, Vietnamese

Vietnamese language

Vietnamese is the national and official language of Vietnam. It is the mother tongue of 86% of Vietnam's population, and of about three million overseas Vietnamese. It is also spoken as a second language by many ethnic minorities of Vietnam...

; regional languages: Basque

Basque language

Basque is the ancestral language of the Basque people, who inhabit the Basque Country, a region spanning an area in northeastern Spain and southwestern France. It is spoken by 25.7% of Basques in all territories...

, Breton

Breton language

Breton is a Celtic language spoken in Brittany , France. Breton is a Brythonic language, descended from the Celtic British language brought from Great Britain to Armorica by migrating Britons during the Early Middle Ages. Like the other Brythonic languages, Welsh and Cornish, it is classified as...

, Catalan

Catalan language

, Corsican

Corsican language

Corsican is a Italo-Dalmatian Romance language spoken and written on the islands of Corsica and northern Sardinia . Corsican is the traditional native language of the Corsican people, and was long the vernacular language alongside the Italian, official language in Corsica until 1859, which was...

, Auvergnat, Gascon

Gascon language

Gascon is usually considered as a dialect of Occitan, even though some specialists regularly consider it a separate language. Gascon is mostly spoken in Gascony and Béarn in southwestern France and in the Aran Valley of Spain...

, Languedoc

Languedoc

Languedoc is a former province of France, now continued in the modern-day régions of Languedoc-Roussillon and Midi-Pyrénées in the south of France, and whose capital city was Toulouse, now in Midi-Pyrénées. It had an area of approximately 42,700 km² .-Geographical Extent:The traditional...

, Limousin, Niçard

Niçard

Niçard , Nissart/Niçart , Niçois , or Nizzardo is considered a distinct subdialect of the Occitan language spoken in the city of Nice and in the historical County of Nice Niçard (Classical orthography), Nissart/Niçart (Mistralian orthography), Niçois (French, IPA: ), or Nizzardo (Italian, IPA: )...

, Provençal, Vivaro-Alpine

Vivaro-Alpine

Vivaro-Alpine or Vivaroalpenc, Vivaroaupenc is the northeastern dialect of the Occitan language. It belongs to the Northern Occitan dialectal group. Vivaro-Alpine is spoken in Southern France and North-Western Italy, and in the remote Guardia Piemontese, Calabria, where it is known as gardiol...

, regional languages of Alsace

Alsace

Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...

regional languages of Moselle

Moselle

Moselle is a department in the east of France named after the river Moselle.- History :Moselle is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...

), Tahitian

Tahitian language

Tahitian is an indigenous language spoken mainly in the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is an Eastern Polynesian language closely related to the other indigenous languages spoken in French Polynesia: Marquesan, Tuamotuan, Mangarevan, and Austral Islands languages...

, Albanian

Albanian language

Albanian is an Indo-European language spoken by approximately 7.6 million people, primarily in Albania and Kosovo but also in other areas of the Balkans in which there is an Albanian population, including western Macedonia, southern Montenegro, southern Serbia and northwestern Greece...

, Amharic, Melanesian languages

Melanesian languages

The Melanesian languages are the indigenous languages of Melanesia. They include about 400 Austronesian languages and numerous families of Papuan languages....

, Bambara

Bambara language

Bambara, more correctly known as Bamanankan , its designation in the language itself , is a language spoken in Mali by as many as six million people...

, Berber, Bulgarian

Bulgarian language

Bulgarian is an Indo-European language, a member of the Slavic linguistic group.Bulgarian, along with the closely related Macedonian language, demonstrates several linguistic characteristics that set it apart from all other Slavic languages such as the elimination of case declension, the...

, Cambodian, Korean

Korean language

Korean is the official language of the country Korea, in both South and North. It is also one of the two official languages in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in People's Republic of China. There are about 78 million Korean speakers worldwide. In the 15th century, a national writing...

, Croatian

Croatian language

Croatian is the collective name for the standard language and dialects spoken by Croats, principally in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Serbian province of Vojvodina and other neighbouring countries...

, Hausa

Hausa language

Hausa is the Chadic language with the largest number of speakers, spoken as a first language by about 25 million people, and as a second language by about 18 million more, an approximate total of 43 million people...

, Hindi

Hindi

Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...

, Hungarian

Hungarian language

Hungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....

, Indonesian

Indonesian language

Indonesian is the official language of Indonesia. Indonesian is a normative form of the Riau Islands dialect of Malay, an Austronesian language which has been used as a lingua franca in the Indonesian archipelago for centuries....

, Malaysian

Malaysian language

Malaysian or Standard Malay is the official language of Malaysia and a standardized form of the Malay language of the Austronesian family. It is over 80% cognate with Indonesian and is spoken natively by over 10 million people...

, Laotian, Lithuanian

Lithuanian language

Lithuanian is the official state language of Lithuania and is recognized as one of the official languages of the European Union. There are about 2.96 million native Lithuanian speakers in Lithuania and about 170,000 abroad. Lithuanian is a Baltic language, closely related to Latvian, although they...

, Macedonian

Macedonian language

Macedonian is a South Slavic language spoken as a first language by approximately 2–3 million people principally in the region of Macedonia but also in the Macedonian diaspora...

, Malagasy

Malagasy language

Malagasy is the national language of Madagascar, a member of the Austronesian family of languages. Most people in Madagascar speak it as a first language as do some people of Malagasy descent elsewhere.-History:...

, Persian

Persian language

, Fulani, Romanian

Romanian language

Romanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...

, Serbian

Serbian language

Serbian is a form of Serbo-Croatian, a South Slavic language, spoken by Serbs in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and neighbouring countries....

, Slovak

Slovak language

Slovak , is an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Slavic languages .Slovak is the official language of Slovakia, where it is spoken by 5 million people...

, Slovenian

Slovenian language

Slovene or Slovenian is a South Slavic language spoken by approximately 2.5 million speakers worldwide, the majority of whom live in Slovenia. It is the first language of about 1.85 million people and is one of the 23 official and working languages of the European Union...

, Swedish

Swedish language

Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...

, Swahili

Swahili language

Swahili or Kiswahili is a Bantu language spoken by various ethnic groups that inhabit several large stretches of the Mozambique Channel coastline from northern Kenya to northern Mozambique, including the Comoro Islands. It is also spoken by ethnic minority groups in Somalia...

, Tamil

Tamil language

Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...

, Czech

Czech language

Czech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czechs worldwide. The language was known as Bohemian in English until the late 19th century...

Passing and honours

The pass mark is 10 out of 20. The 2007-2008 success rate for the baccalauréat in mainland France was 83.3%.

For the baccalauréat, three levels of honours are given:

A mark between 12 and 13,99 will earn a mention assez bien (honours);
A mark between 14 and 15,99 will earn a mention bien (high honours);
A mark of 16 or higher will earn a mention of très bien (highest honours).

Exceptional marks (usually above 18/20) can be rewarded by the unofficial félicitations du jury (jury's congratulations). There are no fixed criteria for obtaining this accolade; it is rewarded at the marking panel's discretion.

Honours are prestigious but not crucial, as admissions to the classes préparatoires (or preparatory classes) (that prepare for the grande école exams) are decided months before the exam.

French educators seldom use the entire grading scale. The same applies when marking the baccalauréat. Therefore students are very unlikely to get a 20 out of 20 or more (it is actually possible to get more than 20, thanks to options). It is also very rare to see scores lower than 5.

European section

European section is an option in French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

high school

High school

High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....

s in order to teach a subject through a European language other than French. It also gives pupils the opportunity of having more hours in the language studied. Teachers present their lessons in English

English language

, German

German language

, Italian

Italian language

or Spanish

Spanish language

.

At the end of their high school, students can receive a "European section" mention on their baccalaureat

Baccalauréat

The baccalauréat , often known in France colloquially as le bac, is an academic qualification which French and international students take at the end of the lycée . It was introduced by Napoleon I in 1808. It is the main diploma required to pursue university studies...

. In order to have this mention, they need to get at least a 12/20 mark at their language exam and 10/20 at the exam about the subject in another language.

Supplemental examination

If a student averages between 8 and 10, he or she is permitted to sit for the épreuve de rattrapage (also called the second groupe), a supplemental oral exam given in two subjects of the student's choice. If the student does well enough in these orals to raise the overall weighted grade to a 10, then he or she receives his or her baccalauréat. If the student does poorly in the orals and receives below an 8, he or she may choose to repeat the final year of lycée (terminale).

The student cannot choose to re-sit the entire examination in September, as the September exams may only be taken by those who have not been able to take the June exams for serious reasons (such as illness).

Receiving the baccalauréat in the United States

There are a small number of schools which prepare students for the baccalauréat in the United States. Otherwise, it is possible to prepare the baccalauréat with the CNED, a French public institution under the oversight of the department of education dedicated to providing distance learning material. It can, of course, only be taken after completion of the necessary coursework, which is entirely in French. Upon receiving the baccalauréat, students wishing to pursue post-secondary studies in the US generally will submit their lycée/high school transcripts to a college or university office of undergraduate admissions. If it is decided that the coursework, along with American standardized test scores, application essays, and letters of recommendation, merits admission, students holding the baccalauréat will be admitted to the undergraduate program to which they have applied

Note

The formula was taken from the Lycée Claudel website, a French lycée in Ottawa, Canada and might only be accurate for Canadian—and even Ontarian—percentage grades. In Ontario an 80% grade is an "A" on the American Scale and the student is awarded an Ontario Scholar Diploma. A 90% grade is an A+ on the American Scale is considered a grade with honours and automatically qualifies the student for government funded scholarships and bursuries. The formula should be used for comparison only.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Overview

Baccalauréat général streams

Série scientifique (S)

Série économique et sociale (ES)

Série littéraire (L)

Format

Weight system

Option Internationale du Baccalauréat

Different languages at Baccalauréat

Passing and honours

European section

Supplemental examination

Receiving the baccalauréat in the United States

See also

Note

External links