EIs this the result of a “mathematical plan” launched in 2017 by Jean-Michel Blanquer following France’s poor results in international surveys? Teacher training in this subject? The needs group is launched in 2024 and the integration of Singapore methods into the program? Unfortunately statistics do not allow us to go beyond simple correlation, emphasizes the Ministry of National Education. But they are clear: the math level of French children is rising. It’s small, and only visible at the primary level, but it’s remained constant since 2019.
This is what was revealed from the results of the national assessment published this morning. Implemented at the beginning of the school year, this year it applies to all classes from first to second grade, except third grade. In total, more than 7 million students were assessed in more than 30,000 schools and 11,000 educational institutions. Concretely, what are they saying?
In mathematics, results generally increase up to CM2
In CP, the level has increased on three skills since 2019 – “problem solving” (+3.2 points), “writing numbers” (+1.9 points) and “comparing numbers” (+4 points) – and one skill since 2022 – “placing numbers on a graded line” (+3.2 points) –, while it has remained stable elsewhere. Progress has been particularly driven by students enrolled in priority education zones – into which classes have been split since 2017 – and levels have increased significantly since 2019.
At CE1, comparisons show better results across all maths skills. In writing numbers, mastery levels increased by 4 points between 2019 and 2025.At CE2, for which students were assessed only in two consecutive years, progress was seen in two math skills: “recognizing numbers from their additive decomposition” (+1.7 points) and “placing numbers on a graduation line” (+1 point); levels stabilized in the other seven.
In CM1, the improvement in outcomes observed in 2024 across all skills continued this year. Specifically, the observed mastery rate for the skill “recognizing numbers from their additive decomposition” increased by 4.6 points.
In CM2, results were stable for five of the seven skills assessed and improved for two of them: “using different representations of numbers and “memorizing numerical facts.”
The stationary trend reflects the results recorded in higher education.
In sixth grade, average results have increased since 2017, but have remained unchanged since 2020. In fifth grade, students are assessed for the first time, making comparisons impossible. But the figures are worrying: less than half of the students have a satisfactory mastery of automation (47.3%). In public institutions located in priority education zones, this proportion drops to 31.4% in REP and 23.0% in REP+. Evaluated for two consecutive years, fourth graders showed stagnation… just like second graders whose levels have not changed since 2023.
What about French?
In CP, the proportion of students who were able to recognize the names of letters and the sounds they produce increased by 3.6 points. This progress was also seen in spoken word comprehension (+1.6 points). However, in the other five skills, the results were stagnant.
In CE1, performance stagnated compared to 2019 for four of the seven skills assessed and decreased for three of them: – 4.7 points in writing words, – 1.4 points in comprehending texts read alone, and – 1.1 points in reading words aloud.
At CE2, where students are assessed for two consecutive years, results in French are generally stable.
The same stagnation occurred in CM1, where progress was only seen in three grammar skills. However, the result lies in the student’s ability to “know how to find synonyms”.
In CM2, compared to 2024, French results were stable for seven of the nine skills assessed, and improved in students’ ability to “distinguish the main word groups” (+2.1 points) and “master conjugated verb agreement” (+1 point).
“Alarming” results in French in fourth grade
In high school, despite significant improvements in fluency (which refers to the ability to read text aloud and understand it), student performance stagnates, or even declines, in many areas.
In sixth grade, students enrolled in REP+ were the ones who made the most progress in French: the number of students in the lowest performing group decreased by 6.8 points in this priority group. In fifth grade, only 52.1% of students mastered French well. This proportion is 34.6% in REP and 24.9% in REP+. In fourth grade, there was a decline described as “alarming” by the ministry: the proportion of students fell in the best-performing group and increased in the worst-performing group. “This decline occurred in all education sectors,” continued the ministry. The decline occurred in general and technology second grade: 20.1% of students were in the low-level group in 2025, compared to 12.4% in 2021.
If, on rue de Grenelle, we are pleased with students’ progress in mathematics and fluency, the union’s vision is more nuanced. For Aurélie Gagnier, one of the general secretaries of the majority primary school union Snuipp-FSU, increasing student levels cannot be achieved without “improving the learning conditions” of students: this involves, she says, reducing the number of students per class, increasing the attractiveness of the teaching profession, increasing the time dedicated to dialogue with families, etc.
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Meanwhile, Jean-Rémi Girard, French teacher and president of the National Union of High Schools, Colleges, Schools and Higher Education (Snalc), stressed the need to end the dysfunction of inclusive schools. “Currently this system works in a terrible way, causing suffering for everyone, students as well as teachers and AESH: this cheap and guilt-inducing management cannot continue like this,” denounced the union members, who called for truly ambitious reforms “rather than changing the program for the umpteenth time.”
A much more urgent project, much to the chagrin of teachers, because there is another danger that learning and student levels present: the massive use of artificial intelligence anywhere, at any time, and increasingly in homework.
