The Education Committee of the Parliament of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation adopted, this Monday, the draft decree raising the pass thresholds for external certifying exams (CEB, CE1D and CESS).
Specifically, from the 2026-2027 school year (first applied in June 2027):
- for the CEB, pupils will need to score at least 50% in each assessed subject and 60% overall for the exam;
- for the CE1D and CESS, a threshold of 60% per exam will be required.
This reform is part of the commitments set out in the Community Policy Statement, which aims to strengthen the quality and rigour of learning at every key stage of schooling, without prejudice to the autonomy of class councils and school juries, whose role and educational decisions remain central.
Unlike the CEB, obtaining the CE1D and CESS still relies on an overall assessment of the pupil's progress, combining the results of external exams with work carried out throughout the school year.
This raising of pass thresholds goes hand in hand with the introduction of the CLE Test at the start of the 4th year of primary school, as well as more personalised support (+320 FTEs) in the 3rd, 4th and 6th years of primary school, and in the 1st year of secondary school (140 additional FTEs).
This raising of thresholds is also explained by a persistent gap between a very high CEB pass rate and significant difficulties at the start of secondary school. In June 2025, nearly 87% of pupils obtained their CEB. At the same time, after a decline during the Covid period, failure and repeat rates in secondary school are rising again, reaching 13.8% of repeaters in the 2nd year of secondary school in 2022-2023 (the CEB pass rate in 2023 was 88.1%), and up to 16.6% in the 3rd year, 15% in the 4th year and 16.4% in the 5th year.
This contrast highlights the need to better ensure genuine mastery of basic learning by the end of primary school, so that pupils can approach secondary school with solid foundations and, in the long run, reduce the risk of failure and dropping out.
“Raising the pass thresholds means setting clear expectations and recognising every pupil's ability to grow and surpass themselves. Demanding but explicit pass thresholds, combined with support for pupils who may be struggling, give meaning to effort and allow every pupil to approach the rest of their school career with solid foundations and peace of mind. A diploma is only valuable if it certifies genuinely mastered skills”, concludes Valérie Glatigny, Minister of Education.