07 the baccalauréat examination and baccalauréat holders

At the 2015 session, 618,800 of the 703,900 candidates obtained their baccalauréat (87.9%), bringing the proportion of baccalauréat holders in a generation to 77.2%. Over half of these candidates obtained a general baccalauréat.

At the 2015 session of the Baccalaureate, 703,949 candidates sat the exam in France and 618,844 obtained their diploma. The pass rate of 87.9% is generally stable (-0.1 point) compared to 2014 (chart 07.01). The fall in the pass rate for the vocational Baccalaureat (-1.7 points) is compensated for by the rise in the general Baccalaureat (+0.5 points).

At this session, 317,100 candidates obtained a general Baccalaureat, 125,100 a technological Baccalaureat and 176,600 a vocational Baccalaureat. Over 11,000 Bac holders more than in 2014 were included in the general path, specifically due to the fact that Bac holders in the bi-national sections, of which there were 2,700, were taken into account for the first time in 2015.

In 2015, 13,000 Bac holders fewer than in 2014 were included in the vocational path, including 11,000 in services specialisms. Numbers in the technological path lost the benefit of the increase noted in 2014, with the STMG (management sciences and technology) and ST2S (health and social sciences and technology) series having 5,700 fewer graduates.

Between 1995 and 2014, the distribution of Baccalaureat holders (table 07.02)shifted in favour of vocational specialities. The proportion of vocational Bac holders increased sharply between 2010 and 2014 (nearly 8 points), i.e. nearly 17 points higher than in 1995 when the vocational path was reformed. The vast majority of pupils in their 4th year of secondary education ('troisième') who choose the vocational path now opt for a course leading to the baccalauréat. In turn, the proportion of general Bac holders has fallen by nearly 10 points and technological Bac holders by nearly 7 points. In 2015, the vocational path fell by 2 points, with a decline in services specialities. At the same time, the general path grew in importance (+2.3 points), especially due to scientific (S) series. The technological path remained stable.

In 2015, 77.2% of young people in a generation (excluding Mayotte) obtained the Baccalaureat: 39.5% a general Baccalaureat, 15.6% a technological Baccalaureat and 22.2% a vocational Baccalaureat (chart 07.03). Since 1985, the annual number of Baccalaureat diplomas awarded has more than doubled and the proportion of Baccalaureat holders in a generation has increased from 29.4% to 77.2%. This sharp increase is mainly due to the growth in the number of general Bac holders and the rapid development of the vocational Baccalaureat, introduced in 1987. Between 1995 and 2008, in contrast to the long period of growth that had gone before, the proportion of Bac holders in a generation reached a ceiling and stabilised at around 62%, then it increased by 3 points in 2009 following the introduction of the vocational Baccalaureat resit session. Stable in 2010, it fluctuated during the transition phase following the reform of the vocational Baccalaureat (Bac in 3 years ratherthan 4), and increased by over 12 points between 2010 and 2015.

More than one Bac holder in four comes from a background of managers and higher intellectual professions, the socio-occupational category that is most represented (table 07.04). This is particularly true for the general path, with more than one Bac holder in three coming from this background. Children of employees are proportionally most numerous among holders of the technological Baccalaureat, while children of manual workers in the vocational path.

Fanny Thomas