What do student assessments in France tell us ?

For several decades now, France has been developing standardized assessment systems to measure student achievement against the expectations of the school system. These observation systems are part of the major statistical surveys carried out by the Direction de l'évaluation, de la prospective et de la performance (DEPP), the statistical department of the French Ministry of Education. They make it possible to objectivize the state and evolution of student learning, drawing on a proven body of methodology in the fields of educational measurement and psychometrics, as well as on the results of educational research. Over and above statistical indicators, these assessments provide information on the very product of education: they can thus question learning processes and shed light on pedagogical practices. The aim of this presentation is to provide an overview of current assessments in France, and to illustrate their contribution to advancing knowledge of student learning.

Thierry Rocher is Head of the Student Evaluation Office at the French Ministry of Education's Department of Evaluation, Performance and Forecasting (DEPP). Trained as a statistician (INSEE), with a doctorate in psychology, he specializes in educational measurement and psychometrics. Thierry Rocher also holds various positions in the field of international comparisons: President of AEA-Europe (Association for Educational Assessment - Europe), French representative on the General Assembly of the IEA (International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement) and on the PISA Governing Board.