Hi, I am a parent that is wondering as to the importance of the French Brevet in 9th grade (to colleges and universities). Our child attends an international school and is fluent in French (from a non French speaking family). It seems to us that while US schools are focusing on PSAT prep in 9th grade, the French system puts so much emphasis on the Brevet, there is little to no time to start a more sensible slow pace prep to SAT prep (a marathon not a sprint) vs. cramming it all in at the end. Is there any sort of benefit to having passed the Brevet if our child applies to US Universities? Any admissions people out there? He will be French and Spanish irregardless of the Brevet. We are asking because we would like to help prioritize where he spends his study time. Thank you in advance.
From the little that I know about this exam, it would have no impact on US college admissions. It is an assessment tool for the French system to determine mastery and future HS class placement. It is similar to the various state assessment exams in the US. College admissions in the US in general, place an emphasis upon SAT, ACT, class rigor, and class rank. Some institutions have moved toward a more holistic approach. The standardized scores for PSAT, SAT/ACT can determine admission and merit aid. If you are confident that your child will achieve mastery level, I would suggest to start to prep for the PSAT.
I am also a parent whose child attended an international school. She is now at a traditional US high school. I believe the brevet has little to no influence on US college admissions. Your child’s experiences may lead to some great experiences for essays but the Brevet itself won’t.
good luck.
They get this after 10th grade (so like IGSCE)?..does it affect what further French HS classes she could take?
US schools wont care about the brevet but if you are applying to schools in France as well, your child may need it. This may be a good question for the school guidance counselor.
When is the exam given? Usually after 9th grade? If so, there is plenty of time to do PSAT prep afterwards.
I know nothing about the French Brevet, but…
US schools are NOT focusing on PSAT prep in 9th grade. The only PSAT score that matters is the one taken in 11th grade and it only matters for the top group of students who score well enough to be commended or become National Merit Semifinalists. A MINORITY of schools have students take the test in 10th grade to give students a practice. The results can be used to formulate a study plan that focuses on the student’s weak areas.
The idea that anyone needs to start focusing on PSAT --or, for that matter, SAT–prep in 9th grade is preposterous. It really is.
Brevet doesn’t matter. The Bac would if results were posted earlier.
Are you American citizens? Where are you living? Is your child in the French section? Are you expecting your child will attend the lycée and prepare the BAC?
Frankly, the DNB (“brevet”) is so easy compared to lycée that it shouldn’t require any prep whatsoever. Except perhaps the French part since he’s not a native French speaker, but he should be able to take AP French and get a 5 in May as prep.
Compared to IGCSE’s it’s not really important - it only matters in one main way, confirming your child’s standing in relation to peers, nationally -and assessing whether your school has grade inflation. If your child has a 16 average and scores a 13 it looks bad, if she as a 13 average and scores a 14 it looks good.
I agree with jonri noone needs to be prepping for the PSAT or SAT in ninth grade, so your kid might as well do whatever is normal prep for the Brevet. Honestly the best prep for the SATs is to be able to read English fast and to read math problems carefully. My oldest in particular used to get at least one easy peasy math question wrong each time he took the SAT by not reading the question carefully.
Thank you for your response. I may have phrased the “PSAT prepping” incorrectly. Since 80% of his classes are in French (since 5 years of age) and they follow a French curriculum, they are not learning English and US Math in the same way. French math is taught in a different order and has difference nuances. By prepping, I actually meant that the everyday classwork is not tied back to the information that will be on PSAT’s or it has differences. In my mind, despite the great education they are receiving, they appear to be “behind” in those test taking subjects as they haven’t had exposure to many of them…because it’s just different. The school’s students seem to be very smart, but they don’t do well on U.S. standardized tests. I believe it is because they aren’t learning in the same way.
If your kid has been taking state-mandated standardized test all through elementary, middle, and high school, you should have a notion of whether it is reasonable to expect that test prep can pull a possible PSAT exam score up into NMScholarship range. If that lloks like it would be pretty much impossible, then don’t expend any energy on that exam. Focus instead on the ones that will be meaningful for college admission and placement.
@lynxm: that’s very true. Students educated in the French system do abysmally on standardized tests. It’s common for excellent students to score 4 to 6 points lower than would be “normal” on the ACT, for instance. When you look at elite universities, the French students educated in France that I know/worked with, ALL scored in the bottom 25% of published ranges - and, as mentioned, those were elite students who had worked hard and whose scores didn’t match their other accomplishments. (French students who attend American-style or international schools however score “on level”.)
Note that subject-based tests tend to match their skills better, except for Math and Physics (different content taught). So, taking the subject test after the subject was taken is a good idea - ie. Biology subject test in June/Seconde, LV2 (if LV1 is English) in June/1e as well as Latin or LV3…
Also, note your child will fall under the “new bac” system, so it might be a good idea to see if some subjects resemble AP content and have them take the AP tests that match these (probably Human Geography, LV2, Statistics, Environmental Science, European History). Indeed, we don’t know how colleges will regard the “new bac” - in a way, it’s a mix between A-Levels and IB.
That’s why I asked if you lived in the US (where they’d have ALSO been made to take “state tests” ie., “QCMs”) or in another country (where they would be wholly ignorant of this way of testing and unprepared for the skills it requires.)
If you live in France, you shouldn’t worry about the PSAT: unless abnormal for his/her peer group, your kid will NOT qualify for NMF since the worldwide NMF has the highest cutoff.
However, preparing for standardized testing is a necessity for American kids in French-patterned schools. If they wait till junior year, it’s often too late to understand the “way” these work.
The post from MYOS6134 got me thinking. Make sure your child tries the ACT and not just the SAT. My oldest came out of the French system in high school and did ok on the SAT, but really good on the ACT. Not sure if the French education influenced that at all.
@Lynxm In my opinion, the best preparation for the reading sections of the PSAT/SAT is 10 or so years of thoughtfully reading–and at least occasionally discussing–a wide variety of materials: non-fiction, novels, poetry, magazines and newspapers. There is no prep in the world that can make up for it. It is great that your kid is being educated in French. If I were you, I would also encourage him to read some good stuff in English.
The math is pretty standard stuff, and not advanced You don’t have to be a mathy kid to do well on it. If coming from a different system, it would be wise to get a straightforward review book, take a practice test, and review the materials covered on the exam to make sure there is no new ground. But not in 9th grade! 
Well, obviously SOMEONE makes it! It seems that the NMSF qualifying score for US citizens studying abroad in 2019 is 223, the same as DC, Massachusetts, and several other states. There is no reason to assume that the OP’s kid would not be one of those kids who scores really well on such tests, with or without significant prep. Sure, it would be unwise to count on it at this stage.
French-system educated kids tend to do better on the ACT because there’s more reading, specific grammar question, no strange word - but they still do pretty poorly.
@consolation: yes, kids who are trained in taking standardized tests. The French system trains in writing long, elegant proofs/essays/literary analyses - one question, 4 hours to outline everything relevant from all angles (Humanities) or in STEM three problems, 3 hours, with the mark depending on your ability in finding all the steps to get to a solution (finding the solution is good, but figuring out the steps in the most elegant manner matters as much if not more). Also, the French program is very light on trigonometry but includes statistics, probability, matrices, discrete math…
My son had this happen today. One question. 2 hours to answer/write about it.