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OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT
Name: Date of Birth: Sex: Male Female Address: Phone: international access code + 33 +
Email:
Freshman year /9th grade academic year 2011-2012 absences:
3ème
Teacher
French (honors)
Mathematics (honors)
Physics and Chemistry (honors)
Earth and Life Science (SVT) (honors)
History/Geography (honors)
Physical Education
Art
Music
Technology
English (honours)
German/Spanish/Italian/ (honors)
---= no grade given
Overall Average 9th grade, French system:
Hrs/ Trimestrial Grades (French system)
Overall equiv.:
Overall
wk
U.S.
1st 2nd 3rd 1+2+3/3 class ave. class min class max (see table)**
4
4
1.5
1.5
3
3
1
1
1.5
3
3
(U.S. equiv: **) Converted into U.S. system before averaging: **
** since the French scale does not reward proportionately to the U.S. scale, translating the French average into the U.S. system will give different results than translating
each grade and then averaging. Grades may go above the total possible of 4.00 because the French system uses grades from 14 to 20 to distinguish between levels of
achievement among the select A+ group. The proportion of students going over a 14 average or 4.00 average is only 4% of the total student population in France (see
school and system profile enclosed)
2
Name:
Seconde/10th grade academic year 2012-2013
Subject and Level
Taught in French
French (honors)
Mathematics (honors)
Economics and Social Sciences (honors)
Physics and Chemistry (honors)
Earth and Life Science (honors)
History + Geography (honors)
Physical Education
Option
Taught in another language
English (honors)
Spanish/German/Italian foreign language
(honors)
Literature and Society (honors)
Latin (honors)
Teacher
Absences:
Hrs/
wk
Trimestrial Grades (French system)
1st
2nd
3rd
Overall
class ave.
Class min
Class max
Overall Equiv:
US
(see table)**
4
4
1.5
3
1.5
3
2
1
3
2.5
1.5
2
---= no grade given
Overall Average French system 10th grade: (U.S. equiv: **) Converted into U.S. system before averaging: **
** since the French scale does not reward proportionately to the U.S. scale, translating the French average into the U.S. system will give different results than translating
each grade and then averaging. Grades may go above the total possible of 4.00 because the French system uses grades from 14 to 20 to distinguish between levels of
achievement among the select A+ group. The proportion of students going over a 14 average or 4.00 average is only 4% of the total student population in France (see
school profile enclosed)
3
Starting in the 11th grade, courses are weighted in accordance with their relative weight on the graduation exam, the Baccalaureat.
Name: Première/11th grade SCIENTIFIC BRANCH
Subject and Level
academic year 2013-2014
Absences:
Teacher Hrs/ Trimestrial Grades (French system)
wk
Taught in French
French (honors)
Mathematics (honors)
Physics and Chemistry (honors)
Earth and Life Science (honors)
History and Geography (honors)
Physical Education
Maths/Physics-Chemistry/Earth and Life Sciences specialty
(honors)
Art, Music, Sports Option
H
1st 2nd 3rd Overall class Class min
total
ave.
4
5
3
3
3
2
2
Class
max
Overall
Equiv
U.S.
(see
table)**
Coefficient
Weighting
French
for
US
4
7
6
6
3
2
2
score-10(fr)
3(us) x 2
2
Points
Average
or
Taught in another language
English (honors)
3
3
German/Spanish/Italian foreign language 2 (honors)
3
2
score-10(fr) or
German/Spanish/Italian/Chinese/Greek/Arabic/Latin foreign
3(us) x 2
language 3 (honors)
th
---=no grade given French average 11 grade before coefficients: (US equiv: **) US average before coefficients: ** coefficient divider: 35
points: French () US () French average after coefficients:
(US equiv: **)
Converted into US system before averaging with coefficients: **
** since the French scale does not reward proportionately to the U.S. scale, translating the French average into the U.S. system will give different results than
translating each grade and then averaging. Grades may go above the total possible of 4.00 because the French system uses grades from 14 to 20 to distinguish between
levels of achievement among the select A+ group. The proportion of students going over a 14 average or 4.00 average is only 4% of the total student population in France
(see school profile enclosed)
Cumulative average 10th and 11th grades/Years 11 and 12: In French =
(US equiv: ** )
or converted into U.S. system with coefficients before averaging: **
4
is enrolled in the Scientific branch of the French Bac.
___Forecasts for French Bac Series S for (equivalent U.S. score in parentheses):
Mathematics AP equivalent (with specialty): (*)
Earth/Life Sciences AP equivalent (with specialty): (*)
Physics/Chemistry AP equivalent (with specialty) : (*)
Philosophy: ()
German/Spanish/Italian/English 1st foreign language: (*)
History/Geog:: (*)
German/Spanish/Italian/Greek/Latin/Chinese 2nd foreign language: (*)
Gym/Sports: (*)
Art/Music Option: (*)
___Tests taken at the end of 11th grad
French Literature: written: () oral: (*)
Personal Research Project: (*)
___Overall weighted average: (* U.S.)
(French research shows, roughly speaking, that among all 12th grade high school students, for those taking a general bac, above 14=top 4%, above 15=top 1%, above
16=top 0.5%, above 17= top 0.3%, above 18= top 0.1%)
*A 10=a B, a 12 and above is an A, grades of 14 and above are used to distinguish between levels of achievement within the selective A+ group. As these grades
represent only the A+ group, they may go over 4.00.
student profile: Before preparing this reference, I consulted all of
* The above results are hereby certified accurate and complete. We will send further records as they become available.
Gregg West, English section coordinator for university applications abroad
(School and diploma profile on pages that follow):
A brief explanation of the French National Education system and its exams, to help your university understand this candidate's application
A system that focuses on qualifications
French high schools prepare students for a battery of exams administered by the university system called the Baccalaureat or BAC. There are several versions of these
exams. Just under 80% of students who take the exams pass them, but they represent only about 61% of their age group, because 39% have opted for lower qualifications
following orientation with a counsellor, or have attained no qualification. Among the 61% who get a BAC, just under half (28.5% of the age group) have studied for a degree
which will allow them to enter professional life directly (vocational, technical and professional BACs), most often because they are not fully qualified for university level work.
The other half of these BAC recipients (32.4% of the age group) have obtained a general BAC, far more difficult academically, in one of three branches: scientific, literary
and economic/social studies. Over 80% of those who take this exam pass it due to prior streaming and selection. The exam includes separate tests, each several hours long,
in every subject area studied (please see "academic program" below). Scores are multiplied by coefficients, then added and averaged to get the overall score which must be
above 10 out of 20 to pass. (see "grading system" below) (for example, on the literary Bac, French scores are multiplied by 9, Philosophy scores by 7 and science scores
only by 2. In contrast, on the scientific Bac, Math scores are multiplied by 7, each subject in science scores by 6 and French by 4.)
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A very heavy academic program
Whichever branch college-bound students opt for, all face a class schedule in high school with 28 hours MINIMUM of obligatory classes weekly in French, Mathematics,
Physics and Chemistry, Earth and Life Science, History and Geography, Physical Education, one foreign language, PLUS extra classes in Economics and Social Sciences,
Extra math and science, or extra foreign languages, depending on their branch, as well as optional classes like music, dance, theatre, art, etc. exams (as opposed to
vocational-technical high schools that prepare students for easier exams). All students have at least 8 subjects a week; many take options which add extra hours and work.
In their senior year, all students are additionally required to take Philosophy. Compared with a general American high school, these classes demand much more of these
students in terms of memory work, analysis and synthesis ability, reasoning, organisation, quantity and quality of homework, and writing skills. Indeed, with school from 8 to 6
four days a week and half days on Wednesdays and Saturdays with several hours of homework every night, students who manage to do the work well deserve enormous
credit. The material is studied here in greater depth, much more like the work of university students. As a consequence, much course work itself can be considered as honors
in every year and AP quality in the junior year. Academically-oriented courses in the final year are all AP level or higher.
Grading
It is difficult to translate the French grading system into the American system. First, a grade in a vocational-technical program or a general BAC program does not at all mean
the same thing. Second, a student studying the literary branch (chosen in 11th grade) has a much easier mathematics program to learn than one in social sciences whose
math program is a bit easier than the scientific branch, while the French literature program for the literary branch is far heavier than that faced by students in the scientific
branch. So, a student who gets quite a good grade in math or literature in a branch where that is not emphasized still may know far less about the subject than one whose
grade was much lower but who has studied in a branch where the subject is developed more fully. Third, the higher general level of difficulty in classes, though substantiated
by general statistics, is variable according to the subjects involved, and manifests itself differently depending on the quality of particular schools and the severity of particular
teachers.
To neither under or overplay student abilities, numerous statistics have been taken into account in the calculations mentioned below: average performance by students who
have gone abroad and returned or vice versa, SAT scores correlated to class grades and percentiles, French general Bac scores and percentages of students they
represent, etc.
In grading, the French use a 20 point system where the top six points are given only to the exceptionally talented student, except in more subjective artistic disciplines. The
bottom 4 points are usually given only to students who have done almost no work or are, unhappily, quite lost. Let it be clear that in the chart below we are referring to: a.
general BAC students and b. a composite, average grade that might be awarded across the whole spectrum of subjects and branches, knowing that in one branch and
subject area a "10", for example, might represent a higher standard of achievement than it would in another branch and subject area. Finally, let it be said that 15 and above
is really A+ work, for the French use the top six points of their scale to award excellence.
French grade, in
general bac
branches
Approximate ranking equivalent among all high school
seniors based on a weighted average (including
coefficients)
GPA equivalent
for averages
0-7.99
8-8.99
9-9.99
American
equivalent,
considering level
of difficulty
F
D-, D, D+
C-, C, C+
0-1.49
1.5-2.49
2.5-2.99
0-59.9%ile
60-69.9%ile
10-10.99
11-11.99
12-12.99
13-13.99
BB/B+
AA
3.0-3.49
3.5-3.79
3.8-3.89
3.9-3.99
70-77.9%ile
78-84.9%ile
85-89.9%ile
90-92.9%ile
Observations: (and comments concerning the
case where these grades are obtained on the
BAC)
a student with a C here would be held back a year
in order to improve command of basics
lowest grade to pass the BAC and
enter university
with honors on Bac
with honors on Bac
6
14-14.99
15-15.99
16-16.99
17-17.99
18-18.99
19-19.99
20
A
A+
A++
A+++
A++++
A+++++
A++++++
4.0-4.19
4.2-4.39
4.4-4.59
4.6-4.79
4.8-4.99
5.0-5.19
5.2
93-95.9%ile
96-98.9%ile
99-99.49%ile
99.5-99.69%ile
99.7-99.89%ile
99.900-99.989%ile
99.990-99.999%ile
high distinction on Bac
high distinction on Bac
with highest distinction on Bac: these levels of
achievement are not usually
measured by U.S.
high school
grading systems
Class Ranking
In explanation of the percentiles used above, I should explain that the French system doesn't run comparative statistics for class ranking for some of the same reasons it is
hard to translate French grades into the U.S. system. One can only compare a student to the 30 (or possibly if there are two classes in the same branch, 60) or so other
students who take exactly the same program, not all those who are seniors in the same high school, and statistically, such a group is too small to make ranking very
meaningful.
Nevertheless, it is clear that:
a. General BAC branches already exclude all the students who chose vocational-technical-professional BAC options and don't intend to pursue their education further after
high school.
b.Out of this 32% of students in their age group take the general BAC. Among students who chose a general BAC, students with an overall weighted average (considering
the higher coefficients applied to subjects that are emphasized in each branch) of over 16 (who get a citation for "with highest distinction" or "très bien") would comprise
about 3% of their class... but in fact, compared with all high school seniors, this means they represent only 1%. Adjusted this way, those getting from 14 -16 (with a
citation of "with great distinction" or "bien") make up only about 7% of all students their age ), and those receiving 12-14 (with the citation "honorable mention" or "assez
bien") compose 15% of all students their age.).
In Conclusion
I hope these explanations will help you interpret the performance of our students fairly. I remain at your disposal for any additional information you might wish to have.