{"id":28944,"date":"2025-09-08T08:49:15","date_gmt":"2025-09-08T06:49:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/educationalevidence.com\/?p=28944"},"modified":"2025-09-09T08:48:23","modified_gmt":"2025-09-09T06:48:23","slug":"the-dantesque-baccalaureate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/educationalevidence.com\/en\/the-dantesque-baccalaureate\/","title":{"rendered":"The Dantesque baccalaureate"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Dantesque baccalaureate<\/h1>\n

Or the havoc wreaked by the scarcity of university places in certain degrees and the inflated grades handed out in private schools \u2013 with a few closing remarks<\/p>\n

\"\"
Dante and the Mountain of Purgatory (detail). Formerly attributed to Giovanni Battista Naldini \/ Unknown painter \/\u00a0 Giovanni Battista Naldini<\/span><\/a> \/\u00a0\u00a0Wikimedia<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

License Creative Commons <\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Antoni Hern\u00e1ndez-Fern\u00e1ndez<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

There is no such thing as the<\/em> baccalaureate<\/strong>. There are many. Many versions of that liminal passage, that halfway point in academic life \u2014 to borrow from Dante \u2014 and they differ widely depending on latitude, specialism, and, above all, what pupils hope to do once it\u2019s over.<\/p>\n

I won\u2019t go into the tragedy of those left behind. The sharp edges of school dropout, academic failure or that old chestnut \u2014 meritocracy \u2014 are many and keen. What follows concerns mainly those who, having made it as far as the baccalaureate, want to go on to Spanish state universities<\/strong> \u2014 because they can\u2019t afford private ones \u2014 and find themselves faced with entrance grades that are sky-high. Their original sin is wanting to be doctors, dentists, aerospace engineers, mathematicians or physicists \u2014 to name just a few of the degree courses with the highest entry thresholds in Spain, without even touching on joint honours degrees<\/strong>: programmes designed from the start to admit only the rare few who can cope with two demanding courses at once.<\/p>\n

The university system ought, at the very least, to expand the number of places<\/strong> on those degrees where the current supply fails to meet social needs. The case of medicine is a well-worn one. We need to import doctors, because we don\u2019t train enough of them \u2014 especially in certain specialities. In the face of this situation, private universities<\/strong> \u2014 both Spanish and international \u2014 have a field day<\/strong>. For those who can afford them, of course. A greater offering, in medicine and other essential and oversubscribed degrees, would make a real difference to those students who, by just a few decimal points, remain locked in their own private Dantesque circle.<\/p>\n

Would such a measure make no statistical difference? Perhaps not. But it would mean everything for the lives of those individuals who, thanks to that marginal increase, could have a go at realising themselves \u2014 and in doing so, help resolve a national problem. Even so, a boost in available places<\/strong> would merely shift cut-off marks by a fraction \u2014 perhaps a whole point at most \u2014 but it would do little to soothe the anxiety, the nerves or the pressure bearing down on today\u2019s baccalaureate students. The unlucky ones caught in the brutal competitiveness that scarcity breeds. They can\u2019t afford to slip up. Some cry when they get a mere B. They suffer, and break down \u2014 because they know that meagre triumph simply won\u2019t cut it.<\/p>\n

Families with the means have already paid for private schooling, where a generalised grade inflation at baccalaureate level (which accounts for 60% of the final university entrance grade in Spain, with the remaining 40% coming from the Selectividad<\/em> exam) is the norm compared with state schools \u2014 and topped this up with private tuition as needed. Not to pass but to raise their grades. There is meritocratic doping1<\/sup><\/strong>. The poor, when left to their own devices, have taken lately to consulting some generative AI, if they\u2019re lucky enough to have internet access.<\/p>\n

Inequality has reached such proportions that perhaps it\u2019s time to reconsider the weighting of the university entrance exam \u2014 the Selectividad<\/em> \u2014 and have it count for at least 50% of the total score. Or 60%. Or 70%, just to be safe. Yes, your whole future hangs on a few days. But looking back, I think I\u2019d rather have taken my chances there, even knowing I was already at a disadvantage compared with the doped \u2014 those who got their grades up over several attempts, with support in all its forms \u2014 as varied as the devil\u2019s tricks, simply because their parents could afford to pay.<\/p>\n

By the way, we teachers are now receiving emails not only from parents but also from tuition centres and from the many university students making a bit of extra money running tutoring sessions<\/strong>. Pressure, following Pascal\u2019s principle, is transmitted in all directions. And it reaches us too.<\/p>\n

Now, not all baccalaureate teachers are the same<\/strong>. Some go out of their way for their students \u2014 they teach, support and comfort when needed. Professionals who do their best to be the system\u2019s own b\u00e1lsamo de Fierabr\u00e1s2<\/sup><\/em>. But others, self-styled gatekeepers of the purity of their discipline, lose all sense of perspective. Why not bump that C up to a B, if the student worked solidly all year? That\u2019s not grade inflation \u2014 it\u2019s justice. Especially if you\u2019re in a state school, and you\u2019re aware of what goes on in the private sector. And why not bump that B down to a C, if the student barely handed in any work all year, even though they passed the exams? That\u2019s fair and just \u2014 this time for the pupils who did put the work in. Often, teachers are morally compelled (or instructed by the board, or subject to other pressures) to pass a student<\/strong> \u2014 and yet, the student who gets a D is not allowed to pass with a C, the C doesn\u2019t move up to a B, and so on. Make a note of it: I am generalising. These are complex realities, and best understood by those who live them every day on the educational front line.<\/p>\n

But let\u2019s turn to a couple of classroom-level suggestions. Personally, I always included in my syllabus the possibility of \u201crounding\u201d the mark at baccalaureate level \u2014 and used it at the end of the year to take account of a student\u2019s overall effort. And in this age of potential parental complaints, it\u2019s best to have such rounding mechanisms written down \u2014 and explained to students on day one. They serve both to reward those who have put in the work, and to penalise those who\u2019ve been dossing about. Continuous formative assessment implies that teachers ought to assess effort, perseverance and progress. With clear evidence gathered throughout the year, I\u2019d argue that rounding up the mark is entirely appropriate. It\u2019s a way of documenting and justifying, for example, how a borderline fail might easily be bumped up to a pass \u2014 an extreme case, but illustrative.<\/p>\n

Another issue is end-of-year exams<\/strong> to raise marks. These are standard practice in private schools \u2014 in state schools, they\u2019re used far less, depending on the teacher. Most subjects are cumulative, so a weighted term-based evaluation system (e.g. weighting terms 1, 2 and 3 as 1, 2 and 3 respectively) makes sense, with a final exam at the end of the year offering the chance to raise marks \u2014 and retake the subject if needed. This option should, once again, be stated clearly in the course plan, and explained in good time. These final exams also help familiarise students with the format of the university entrance tests. That said, the rules surrounding these exams \u2014 both for grade improvement and recovery \u2014 need to be crystal clear.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the case of improvement exams, participation should be voluntary. It is absurd \u2014 unless one is being lazy or unethical \u2014 to threaten students with lowering their mark if they perform worse on the exam than throughout the year. One may advise them not to hand in the paper if things aren\u2019t going well, of course. But given the current climate, my recommendation is that the exam for improving one\u2019s mark and the recovery exam should be the same \u2014 pitched at the course level. And who sets that level? Thankfully, the university entrance exams do. Teachers have plenty of past papers<\/strong>. In short, one sets a final exam that matches Selectividad<\/em> conditions. If the course has been taught properly, this shouldn\u2019t be a problem.<\/p>\n

And what should the maximum achievable grade be? If the exam is only for passing, there should be a cap. But if it\u2019s for raising one\u2019s mark \u2014 why impose a limit? I assure you: with a well-designed exam, student performance regulates itself. I never once saw, in science or technology subjects, a student score more than a B on a retake, or increase their mark by more than two grades in a final exam.<\/p>\n

But, just like in the Divine Comedy<\/em>, beyond the many Dantesque circles of primary, secondary and baccalaureate education, there are more to come. The spheres of paradise \u2014 where the fruits of all this effort might finally be reaped \u2014 still lie far ahead:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
E sappi che dal grado in gi\u00f9 che fiede
\na mezzo il tratto le due discrezioni,
\nper nullo proprio merito si siede,ma per l\u2019altrui, con certe condizioni:
\nch\u00e9 tutti questi son spiriti asciolti
\nprima ch\u2019avesser vere elez\u00efoni.Ben te ne puoi accorger per li volti
\ne anche per le voci p\u00fcerili,
\nse tu li guardi bene e se li ascolti.Or dubbi tu e dubitando sili;
\nma io discioglier\u00f2 \u2019l forte legame
\nin che ti stringon li pensier sottili.<\/td>\n		And know that there, below the transverse row
\nthat cuts across the two divisions, sit
\nsouls who are there for merits not their own,but\u2014with certain conditions\u2014others\u2019 merits;
\nfor all of these are souls who left their bodies
\nbefore they had the power of true choice.Indeed, you may perceive this by yourself\u2014
\ntheir faces, childlike voices, are enough,
\nif you look well at them and hear them sing.But now you doubt and, doubting, do not speak;
\nyet I shall loose that knot; I can release
\nyou from the bonds of subtle reasoning.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

Students<\/strong>: when someone tries to downplay the merit of all those years of investment, to belittle or scorn your achievements, your sweat and your struggles \u2014 do not hesitate to send them off to a suitable circle of torment. You\u2019ll always find one that fits.<\/p>\n

___\u00a0<\/sup><\/p>\n

1<\/sup> artificial boosting of grades through tutoring, repeated attempts and financial privilege.<\/p>\n

2<\/sup><\/em> A<\/em>ccording to Cervantes\u2019 Don Quixote, <\/em>a mythical panacea that promises much and cures little.<\/p>\n

\n
References:<\/strong><\/h6>\n

Dante Alighieri, Divine Comedy, Paradise<\/em>, Chant XXXII, verses 37\u201351. This translation, from Digital Dante,<\/em>\u00a0is a collaboration among the\u00a0Department of Italian,\u00a0Columbia University Libraries, and Columbia University Libraries’\u00a0Humanities and History Division.<\/p>\n

\n

Source:\u00a0educational EVIDENCE<\/strong><\/p>\n

Rights:\u00a0Creative Commons<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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