The mathematics exam for the 2024 Moroccan Baccalaureate has sparked intense reactions among educators in France, who describe it as exceptionally challenging compared to the French version.
It is the mathematics exam that has drawn significant attention on social media and in the international press. French teacher Lucas Markarian posted a video on Instagram and TikTok, asserting that the Moroccan exam was much harder than the one in France. This claim was supported by several French teachers, including Rémi Chautard, a certified mathematics professor, who told Le Figaro Étudiant that the Moroccan exam would be impossible to administer to French students due to its complexity. He pointed out that some concepts tested in the Moroccan exam, such as the Mean Value Theorem and certain summation calculations, are not even taught in the French high school curriculum.
In comparing the two exams, Chautard remarked that the Moroccan test aligns more with the level of final exams in specialized math preparatory classes in France and is even tougher than the CAPES exam. He mentioned that while French students found their own math specialty exam challenging this year, the Moroccan exam was of an even higher level.
The high standards of the mathematics and other science exams in the Moroccan Baccalaureate contribute to the success of Moroccan students abroad, especially in France. In 2023, nearly 47,000 Moroccan students went to study in France, often enrolling in prestigious grandes écoles and preparatory classes. Moroccan students form the largest group of international students in France, according to the magazine Challenges.
Moreover, several Moroccan institutions have been recognized in the rankings of the best preparatory classes for grandes écoles (CPGE) by the magazine L’Étudiant. Out of 145 preparatory classes in mathematics-physics (MP), Morocco had 30, far exceeding Tunisia’s two. For the fields of physics-engineering sciences (PSI) and technology-industrial sciences (TSI), Morocco had eight and nine top-ranked schools, respectively.
Another testament to the academic excellence of Moroccan students is that, out of the 60 places reserved for international students in the CPGE program at the École Polytechnique in Paris, 41 were taken by Moroccans in the most recent intake.
