A lasting and longstanding legacy from the Napoleon Bonaparte era, the Baccalauréat exam is one of France's landmark educational institutions. Through its evolution of over 200 years, the Baccalauréat has been a mirror to societal and historical eras. This book hones on the first century of the life of the exam. Through an analysis of legal texts that shaped education in France, the book traces this evolution within the changing social and political landscape of the country. Steeped in the ideals of meritocracy, the Bac morphed from a single oral exam, optional in nature, into a complex and standardized battery of tests administered across France and its former colonies and territories by the early 20th century. In 1902, with educational reforms in France that made it "Free, Mandatory and Secular" for all, the Baccalauréat anchored its position as the predestined check for the country to channel its academic elite.
