France and PISA: An Unfinished Dialogue

A recent study showed that the 2000 PISA results have had an influence on policy reform in the majority of participating countries/economies (Breakspear, 2012). This was not the case in France by far, a country where PISA methodology was under strong criticism at the time the PISA 2000 results were released. However, improvements came progressively: first, national curriculum standards were introduced a few years later that aimed at drastically changing the educational goals in France. Second, an evaluation based on PISA’s methodology was introduced for eighth graders. Third, at the time of the third and subsequent PISA surveys, the validity of PISA as a tool was recognized. Finally, the policy impact of PISA reached its highest level at the time of the fifth survey in 2012. Yet, many teachers and school principals do not know much about PISA. This chapter seeks to analyze the reasons why it took France so long to fully recognize the value of PISA.