Particle.news

Download on the App Store

Education Ministry Recommends More Flexibility for 'Groupes de Besoins' After IGESR Finds Limited Impact

The IGESR found that small-group sessions improved classroom dialogue without reducing learning gaps for the most vulnerable students

Les groupes de besoins, mis en place à la rentrée dernière pour s’adapter aux différents niveaux des élèves de sixième et cinquième, n’ont pas tenu leurs promesses, d’après un rapport de l’Inspection générale.
Manifestants opposés aux groupes de niveaux en 2024
Image

Overview

  • The groupes de besoins were launched in September 2024 under Gabriel Attal’s choc des savoirs reform to tailor French and math instruction to student needs
  • A June 17 IGESR interim report acknowledged better visibility of academic struggles but concluded the initiative failed to narrow performance gaps for the most fragile pupils
  • Schools faced uneven rollout due to shortages of classrooms, teachers and substitutes and difficulties in reshaping timetables
  • Educators and the SNES FSU union warned that level-based grouping risked stigmatizing struggling pupils and widening educational inequalities
  • The Education Ministry plans to grant principals greater autonomy and introduce more flexible implementation rules ahead of a final review in autumn 2025