hey everybody for a cv i need the name in english which corresponds to "brevet des collèges" in france. Is it O-level? If not if someone knows, thank you very much....
claire
cv .... it's urgent!!
Moderators: kokoyaya, Beaumont
my knowledge of the French qualifications is not very good
however i know the system in england
O Levels were replaced by GCSEs about ten years ago
GCSEs are taken at the age of 16 - they represent the end of compulsory education, that means that normally everyone has to take them .
usually students take 9 or 10 GCSEs.
however i know the system in england
O Levels were replaced by GCSEs about ten years ago
GCSEs are taken at the age of 16 - they represent the end of compulsory education, that means that normally everyone has to take them .
usually students take 9 or 10 GCSEs.
Not O-Level in my view
O-Level is the final high school exam in the British Isles. Its history virtually spans the whole 20th century and at times raised heated debates pitching those favouring social equality against those who pressed for meritocracy. (Tests are highly selective and students on the O-Level path have a hard time in their final year while readying themselves for the nationwide set of tests).
Recently, an umpteenth reform came which based O-Level test on modules. Old-timers contend that the exam has been watered down and that there is no guarantee that the Britain of the futures will be run by the brightest and most capable citizens. In fact, the pass rate is now above 90% - but one must consider that the screaming of students begin very early in the school curriculum (those who don't drop out along the way have to be mentally gifted; most drop-outs are shunted to vocational schools which don’t head towards O-Level but entitle to less prestigious diplomas).
It makes little sense to me to label a non-British diploma as "O-Level" in a CV.
While few people outside the UK are familiar with the O-Level, everybody in the UK knows the North American school grade system.
Depending on US states and Canadian provinces, it varies from grade one to grade 12 or 13. There is hardy any final exam to speak of; the student leaves the high school with a mark which is computed as a performance average of several subjects (most of them elective) over an extended time.
The same system is applied in colleges and universities in a number of countries worldwide.
So I suggest that you stay neutral and label that French diploma "grade 8 certificate" if - as Kokoyaya writes - it is obtained at the age of 14.
Recently, an umpteenth reform came which based O-Level test on modules. Old-timers contend that the exam has been watered down and that there is no guarantee that the Britain of the futures will be run by the brightest and most capable citizens. In fact, the pass rate is now above 90% - but one must consider that the screaming of students begin very early in the school curriculum (those who don't drop out along the way have to be mentally gifted; most drop-outs are shunted to vocational schools which don’t head towards O-Level but entitle to less prestigious diplomas).
It makes little sense to me to label a non-British diploma as "O-Level" in a CV.
While few people outside the UK are familiar with the O-Level, everybody in the UK knows the North American school grade system.
Depending on US states and Canadian provinces, it varies from grade one to grade 12 or 13. There is hardy any final exam to speak of; the student leaves the high school with a mark which is computed as a performance average of several subjects (most of them elective) over an extended time.
The same system is applied in colleges and universities in a number of countries worldwide.
So I suggest that you stay neutral and label that French diploma "grade 8 certificate" if - as Kokoyaya writes - it is obtained at the age of 14.
ldngli I don’t know where you get your information from but it has little relevance today
Before GCSEs, there were O-Levels and CSEs.
Traditionally, pupils were selected for either path at at the age of 11. O-Levels were more academic and CSEs were less prestigious. The GCSEs were supposed to end this selection at such a young age.
Most of my peers do not know the American school system and I doubt that today's youth would know. Why should they? In my opinion, all they know is that Americans call Secondary School a High School, and they have grades instead of years (and this gleaned from US sitcoms and films)
I would opt for a neutral generic formula rather than using a US expression
The key question is whether the CV is for US or UK applications.
Before GCSEs, there were O-Levels and CSEs.
Traditionally, pupils were selected for either path at at the age of 11. O-Levels were more academic and CSEs were less prestigious. The GCSEs were supposed to end this selection at such a young age.
Most of my peers do not know the American school system and I doubt that today's youth would know. Why should they? In my opinion, all they know is that Americans call Secondary School a High School, and they have grades instead of years (and this gleaned from US sitcoms and films)
I would opt for a neutral generic formula rather than using a US expression
The key question is whether the CV is for US or UK applications.
Correction
You are right, I should not have written that O-Level is the final secondary school exam. It probably is the point in a student's career when they are set on one path or another.ldngli I don’t know where you get your information from but it has little relevance today
Most of the information I related above was learned from BBC's Have Your Say, plus some research I did through Google at the time (at the British Education Ministry and such institutions) in order to understand the topic better.
[Heve Your Say is found at
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/talking_point/default.stm
but the items shown these days don't include anything about the British school system.]
That having being said, I still feel it is inappropriate to translate a French degree with "O-Level".
The North American denomination just points to the school year to which any certificate is attached. It says nothing about its content nor to the type of learning path being followed.