Has the baccalaureate reform already had a positive impact on student orientation?

The specialty doublets chosen by final year students have allowed them to study more in line with their choices and to better meet training expectations, judge two reports.

Ouest-France Arnaud BÉLIER.Modified on Published on

What are the consequences of the baccalaureate reform that came into effect at the start of the 2020 academic year? What impact has it had, in particular, on the students' career choices? How did the higher education courses, for their part, welcome these new baccalaureate holders? Two reports from the statistics department of the Ministry of Higher Education and Research (SIES) and the General Inspectorate of Education, Sport and Research (IGÉSR) have just drawn up an initial assessment.

To understand what is at stake, it should be remembered that the old scientific (S), literary (L) and economic (ES) series have disappeared in favor of a common core and specialties: three in first, two in final . For the SIES, the reform has borne fruit: The 66 possible doublets in terminale have allowed the diversification of candidate profiles. There is a strong consistency between the choices of specialty courses made in terminale and the wishes expressed by the candidates on Parcoursup​, the platform which centralizes the higher education wishes of the students.

The level and the “decisive” mention

Essentially, the new system works well, judges the SIES. “It is the school level and the mention obtained in the baccalaureate which appear to be the most determining factors for quickly receiving a proposal. Finally, the candidates continue their studies in a course related to their choice of terminal education, even when they had chosen to follow rare specialty courses in high school. »

Even satisfaction from the side of the IGESR. On the student side, the reform was well understood​, the choices of orientation were coherent with the choices of specialties​. On the higher education side, there is a strong adequacy ​between their wishes and the expectations.

New profiles (mathematics/economic and social sciences; physics-chemistry-numeracy and computer sciences) have appeared. The sectors that require strong profiles in maths, to meet the challenges of the future (artificial intelligence, computer science) have been reassured. But math is no longer the only royal road.

More diversified profiles

The physical-chemical-science and life profiles of the Earth have been particularly well received in health studies​, notes for example the IGESR . The same goes for the institutes of political studies which today welcome much more diversified profiles, with a strong representation of the "history-geography, geopolitics and political sciences" and "economic and social sciences" doublets, where the “S” series still represented 26% of admissions in 2020.

In general, the IGESR observes that "students who have made the same choice of specialty doublets in terminale are divided into various courses, with, at the same time, a greater concentration on courses that appear consistent with the specialties pursued.

Orientation, a big challenge

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This means that in the eyes of the SIES and the IGESR, which benefit from a real autonomy of expertise within the Ministry of National Education and the Ministry of Higher Education and research, the baccalaureate reform is already bearing fruit. The fact remains that for the students concerned, making a choice of orientation, and therefore of specialties, from the end of the second, is a hell of a challenge and puts terrible pressure on still young shoulders.

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