How can you improve in maths in 3e and prepare for the Brevet?

You can understand an exercise perfectly when your teacher solves it, then get stuck on a slightly different question. The gap between these two situations often shows where to work: not redoing the whole chapter, but learning to identify the right tool, justify each step and check the result. The aim is not to pile on hours or learn corrections by heart, but to reduce your recurring mistakes and become more independent. Here is a method for organising this work during 3e (the final year of collège, lower secondary school) and arriving at the Brevet (the end-of-collège exam) with clear benchmarks.

1. Identify the chapters that are really holding you back

Start with three documents: your last test, two or three exercises done on your own and your lesson notes. For each question you got wrong, note the point where you stopped. “I’m useless at geometry” does not help you decide what to revise. “I can recognise a right-angled triangle but I mix up Pythagoras’ theorem and its converse” points to a possible action.

Sort your mistakes into four families. A missing prerequisite stops you from getting started: fractions, order of operations or algebraic expressions. A concept not understood blocks you even when the question tells you which method to use. A choice error appears when you know several properties but do not know which one to use. Finally, an execution or write-up error occurs after broadly sound reasoning: a forgotten sign, a missing unit, an unjustified step.

Mistake observed	What to check	First useful work
Unable to solve an equation containing fractions	Can you already calculate with fractions?	Go back over that calculation before the equation.
You write Pythagoras in any triangle	Have you checked for the right angle?	Work on the conditions for applying it.
You know the formula but do not recognise the situation	Do you understand what each quantity represents?	Compare several questions with and without the method.
Correct result, no justification	Does the reasoning appear on your paper?	Write out the steps on a short exercise.

To find out whether you are making progress, redo an exercise of the same type a few days later, without looking at the correction. If you only succeed on the one you already know by heart, the difficulty is not yet solved. If you can explain why you choose the method and reuse it on another question, that is a more solid signal.

2. Understand what is expected in maths at the 2027 Brevet

For the 2026-2027 school year, the new cycle 4 (the last three years of collège) maths curriculum published in March 2026 applies only to 5e (the second year of collège): it is due to come into force in 3e in 2028-2029. So revise from the 3e curriculum and end-of-year expectations currently in force, not from a list intended for future 3e students. The official text setting out the gradual introduction of the new curriculum lets you check this distinction.

The knowledge to work on covers the main areas of collège: numbers and calculations, data handling and probability, proportionality and functions, quantities and measurement, space and geometry, algorithms and programming. Behind these headings, you need to be able to search, model, represent, reason, calculate and communicate: the ministry presents these six skills as fundamental. This list describes a field of revision, not a prediction of the chapters in the next paper.

To turn these areas into concrete tasks, test yourself on different questions: carry out a calculation with fractions and then justify it; solve an equation without a model; interpret the graph of a function; decide whether two quantities are proportional; use a geometry property while checking its conditions; work with data or a probability; read the instructions of an algorithm. This is not about learning seven standard exercises. Above all, try to find out whether you recognise the skill being tested when the chapter is no longer written at the top of the page.

A two-part exam since 2026

The official text applicable to the 2027 Brevet, published on 17 September 2026, sets out a two-hour maths exam, with a coefficient of 2, marked out of 20:

• Part 1: automatic skills and direct applications, 20 minutes, 6 points, without a calculator, with short answers.
• Part 2: reasoning and problem solving, 1 h 40, 14 points, with a calculator; the exercises are independent.

The two parts follow on without a break, on two separate answer sheets: the first is collected after 20 minutes. In the second, the clarity of reasoning and command of language are taken into account, with 2 points allocated within this part. Do not add them to the 20 points of the exam. This description applies to the maths exam in the general series; check the documents for your own series and any special arrangements that apply to you.

For school candidates, the final Brevet result combines the final exams at 60% and continuous assessment in 3e at 40%. You therefore need to work on maths all year, without mistaking the 6 points for automatic skills for “6 free points” or 30% of the final Brevet mark. If you are preparing for the 2027 session in mainland France, the official calendar schedules maths for Monday 28 June 2027.

3. Build a realistic twelve-week progression

Twelve weeks is not a guaranteed timeframe for “catching up on the whole curriculum”. It is an example of a working framework, to be started whenever suits you and adapted to your class tests. If your diagnosis reveals a single difficulty, there is no need to follow every step with the same intensity. If your basics are very shaky, keep more time for the first weeks.

Period	Priority	Evidence of progress to look for
Weeks 1 and 2	Diagnose, go back over blocking calculations and prerequisites.	Redo basic exercises alone after correction.
Weeks 3 and 4	Work on two priority concepts with increasing difficulty.	Choose the method without a hint in the question.
Weeks 5 and 6	Add problems combining several chapters.	Justify every choice, even on an unfamiliar exercise.
Weeks 7 and 8	Practise automatic skills and Brevet exercises by topic.	Fewer recurring mistakes, without sacrificing accuracy.
Weeks 9 and 10	Do one part, then a full paper, under real conditions.	Spot difficulties with time, choosing questions and write-up.
Weeks 11 and 12	Correct the last blocks, retest with new questions.	Handle the shaky skills again without help.

A precise example: equations with fractions

Suppose you are stuck on “x/3 + 1/2 = 5/6”. The wrong response is to copy out ten equation corrections. Start by checking that you can add fractions and calculate with a common denominator. Next, multiply the equation correctly by 6: 2x + 3 = 5, so 2x = 2, then x = 1. Check in the original equation: 1/3 + 1/2 = 5/6.

The next day, work on a similar equation with different numbers. A few days later, find this type of calculation in a problem where nobody tells you that you need to “solve an equation”. You will know the point is improving if you spot the method yourself, explain why the operations are allowed and check the result.

A weekly rhythm that works alongside other subjects

An example routine, to adapt to your homework: two slots of targeted exercises, two short practice sessions on automatic skills and a look back at mistakes at the weekend. The number of minutes is not a scientific prescription. Allow time for correction and keep a free slot in case of an unexpected test. A 30-minute session with a precise objective is easier to evaluate than a whole evening labelled “revise maths”.

If you miss a session, do not automatically move all the tasks to the next day. Keep the prerequisite that is blocking what comes next and postpone recalling a concept that is already solid. The progression should follow your answers, not the other way round.

4. Work on automatic skills without neglecting the write-up

The first part of the Brevet makes practice without a calculator essential. For automatic skills, practise on short tasks: numerical calculation, fractions, percentages, proportionality, reading data, properties and formulas applied directly, according to the official objectives for your year group. Éduscol (the French education ministry’s resource site) offers an indicative list of automatic skills and sample papers so you know the possible formats. An indicative list is not a promise that all of these questions, or only these, will come up.

Sometimes test yourself on a 20-minute set without a calculator, but then correct it without a timer. A fraction you got wrong because you mixed up the denominators calls for revisiting the method; a repeated sign error calls for a checking routine. Simply increasing your speed solves neither.

Keep time for proving and explaining

The second part accounts for 14 points out of 20. You need to be able to present an approach: information from the question, the property used and its conditions, a readable calculation, a conclusion with a unit where necessary. A paper made up only of results can leave the examiner without any proof of your reasoning. The official text specifies that attempts and approaches taken can be credited even when the exercise is not finished.

For example, in a geometry question, do not simply write “AB = 5”. Identify the triangle, justify that it is right-angled before using Pythagoras, write the correct equality and finish with the length and its unit. The aim is not to add decorative sentences, but to make your reasoning verifiable.

Also practise rereading your answers: a proportionality result that does not fit the question, a probability greater than 1 or a negative length all signal a problem. This check will not remove every mistake, but it turns rereading into a targeted check.

5. Use Brevet papers to learn, not to collect scores

Past papers help you discover the wording, mix chapters and learn to manage a two-hour exam. They become less useful if you read the answers after five minutes, copy out the solutions and then count the paper as “done”. For the 2027 session, give priority to the official 2026 maths paper and Éduscol’s sample papers to work on the two-part format. Older papers are still useful chapter by chapter, but their structure and marking scheme do not exactly reproduce the format introduced in 2026.

Three rounds, three different objectives

1. Discovery by topic: choose a few exercises matching the chapters you have already studied, without a strict time limit. Really search before opening the correction.
2. Practice by part: do 20 minutes of automatic skills without a calculator, then a selection of problems with justification.
3. Full mock exam: once enough concepts have been covered, do two hours in a row, using the two answer sheets, the calculator only in the second part and pretending the first sheet is collected.

The correction should lead to a decision for the following week. Do not just note “exercise 3 wrong”, but “I didn’t recognise a proportionality situation”, “I didn’t know which data to use” or “my reasoning was correct but there was no justification”. Try again a few days later on another exercise using the same skill, without having the solution to the first one in front of you.

An example: you get the questions on standalone percentages right, but fail when a problem combines a reduction followed by an increase. The work to plan is not “do a fourth full paper”. Go back over calculating with multipliers, apply it to two new situations, then return to a Brevet problem. The paper reveals the need; targeted exercises are there to address it.

During mock exams, adopt an explicit strategy: read all the independent exercises, start with the one whose aim you understand, then come back to the others without getting stuck indefinitely. If you cannot reach the result, write down the useful data and a correct approach rather than leaving the whole question blank. After the mock exam, distinguish a lack of knowledge from a time-management problem: they do not call for the same practice. Also compare the time you actually spent on the two parts with the official durations, without using the calculator during the first twenty minutes.

How many papers should you complete?

There is no magic number. Two papers that have been properly analysed can be more useful than ten corrected superficially. Increase the number of mock exams if your main problem is lasting the full two hours; favour targeted exercises if the same knowledge is still missing. Keep at least one paper you have not seen so you can measure your independence without recognising the answers from memory.

6. Organise revision between two maths tutoring sessions

Progress often happens when you close the explanation and try to do it again alone. At the end of a session, leave with a single, well-defined priority and a few suitable exercises: for example, “tell Pythagoras and its converse apart on three different triangles”. Note the first step where you get stuck instead of rubbing out all your rough work.

The same day or the next, attempt a question without looking at the solution; a few days later, come back to the same objective with a different question. Retrieval practice and spacing are principles documented in educational research syntheses, but the exact pace must remain compatible with your curriculum and your difficulties.

Simple tracking can fit into three columns: skill, current evidence, next action. Write “I recognise the property with a hint, but not on my own” rather than “geometry: bad”. Once you have succeeded at the exercise independently and some time after the correction, change its status. A better average may follow, but it is not the only indicator of progress.

If you cannot get started, prepare a precise question for your tutor: “how do I decide between two properties when no name appears in the question?”. Sessions become more effective when you bring your incomplete reasoning rather than a list of answers to obtain.

7. When should you call on a private maths tutor in 3e?

A single poor mark is not enough to conclude that you need tutoring. Support becomes relevant if a prerequisite is blocking several chapters, if you only succeed with the answers in front of you, if the same mistakes keep coming back despite your work or if you do not know how to turn your difficulties into suitable exercises. First ask your class teacher which skills to prioritise.

The Education Endowment Foundation finds that one-to-one tutoring can support students when it targets identified needs and stays linked to regular lessons. Its synthesis does, however, include variable results, and the average effect observed does not predict your future marks. A private tutor’s role is to diagnose, explain differently, make you search and check what you can then do again alone.

On NOEO, you can look for a maths tutor suited to collège level and exchange messages with them free of charge before booking an online session. The tutor works with you in NOEO Live, then writes a Session report after each session. It can set out the points to go back over and the exercises to prepare for next time. If the session was recorded, its replay, available for 3 months, can help you find a specific explanation again; you then need to close the video and redo the exercise without help.

To think further about choosing support, read our article on private maths tutoring at collège. The wider changes at the start of the school year are explained in our overview of the 2026 back-to-school changes.