France is among the OECD countries where the academic performance of pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds has declined over the past twenty years, and where social inequalities have the greatest impact on educational outcomes. Yet France has pursued a continuous policy of priority education since 1981, in a context of expanding access to education and persistent social inequalities. At the request of the Senate Finance Committee, the Court carried out an assessment of this policy, whose most recent relaunch, referred to as the “restructuring of priority education”, took place at the start of the 2015 school year.
Priority education must now be incorporated into a broader, more efficient, and more integrated approach, focused on improving pupil achievement. The Court therefore recommends an urgent reform based on two key priorities: aligning all policies and resources contributing to social diversity and equal opportunities, simplifying and improving graduation of the funding allocation mechanisms that support the implementation of priority education.
