Identifying First-Year Science Students’ Difficulties: Results From The Online French Physical Society Questionnaire

A large-scale study involving 5891 first year science students from various French tertiary education tracks (University, preparatory classes for engineering schools and technological university institutes, etc.) conducted over 9 years allows us to document the understanding of physics concepts and the mastery of basic mathematical tools after completion of the baccalauréat (French high school exit examination). We observe a level of mastery well below the skills expected at the end of high school, which first-year university teachers rely on to organize their courses. We also observe a significant decline over time of student achievement scores during the 9 years of the study. We discuss the need to adapt first-year university courses to the actual skills of new students, rather than those they are assumed to have acquired.