Middle School: “Needs Groups” Did Not Help the Most Vulnerable Students

Published on June 17, 2025 at 5:06 p.m.

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The "needs groups," set up last year to adapt to the different levels of sixth- and fifth-grade students, have not lived up to their promise, according to a report by the general inspectorate. GUILLAUME SALIGOT / OUEST FRANCE/MAXPPP

Deployed since September as part of the "knowledge clash" advocated by former minister Gabriel Attal, the "needs groups" in sixth and fifth grade have not kept their promise to address major educational difficulties, according to a report from the general inspectorate published on Tuesday, June 17.

They were supposed to " guarantee all students the progressive acquisition and mastery of knowledge and skills ," from the most vulnerable to the most advanced. Alas. An interim report from the General Inspectorate of Education, Sport and Research (IGESR), released on Tuesday, June 17, acknowledges that the "needs groups" set up for the start of the 2024 school year in sixth and fifth grade classes, in French and mathematics, have provided " real visibility to the significant academic difficulty ," but " without managing to resolve it ."

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