When and where did the first students take a baccalaureat exam?

skysmom65

Much like British A-Levels or American high school diplomas, the baccalauréat allows French students to go on to tertiary education or to obtain a professional qualification that will enable them to get a job in a particular field upon completion of high school. Howewer, it's legally an academic degree, which means the examination must be headed by a university professor. The students in lycée could choose not to sit for the baccalauréat at the end of the lycée, as it is in law more an exam for entrance into university than a lycée completion exam. The word bac is also used to refer to one of the end-of-year exams that students must pass in order to get their baccalauréat diploma: le bac de philo, for example, is the philosophy exam (which all students must take, regardless of their field of study). Aug 31 06, 1:06 PM

zbeckabee

Despite the many reforms of Duruy’s Ministry, the baccalaureate exam, first administered in France 1808 under the auspices of the First Empire, continues to be the final hurdle for lycee students aspiring to gain entrance to a university at the present time. http://www.princeton.edu/~jmatsui/laicite.html Aug 31 06, 1:33 PM

lanfranco

It is worth noting that the terms "baccalaureate" and "bachelor's [degree]" have the same root: http://www.answers.com/topic/bachelor-s-degree Aug 31 06, 4:27 PM

bloomsby

The idea was somewhat older and not confined to France. Prussia introduced the "Abiturium" (as it was then called) in 1788. This school leaving certificate was an official qualification granted by the state and presided over by a 'royal commissary'. It entitled the holder to attend the Prussian university of his choice and enrol for any subject (subject to some religious restrictions). It was soon accepted by nearly all the Central European universities. Aug 31 06, 5:47 PM