This survey, conducted every four years (the previous two took place in 2015 and 2019), assesses the mathematical proficiency of fourth- and 8th-grade students in around fifty countries.
At both grade levels, France ranks near the bottom among the countries surveyed, with lower scores than in 2019!
In fourth grade, 15% of French pupils do not meet the basic benchmark. With an average mathematics score of 484, France is well below the European Union average of 524 points. The same holds for OECD countries, where the average is 525. The gap between girls and boys is widening, with boys scoring higher: it has grown from 13 points in the 2019 survey to 23. Furthermore, France is one of the countries with the widest gap between the most and least advantaged students.
The picture is similar in 8th grade: 17% of French middle-school students have a very low level of proficiency! With an average score of 479, they remain well below the average of 507 for participating countries in both the European Union and the OECD. Here too, the gap between girls and boys is widening: it has grown from 9 points to 11.
