Burkina Faso CEP common mistakes
Burkina Faso CEP · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
In dictation, writing words by sound alone and omitting silent endings or agreements, e.g. writing "les enfant" for "les enfants" or "il mange" for "ils mangent", without checking number and person of the subject.
Pupils are trained to decode sounds letter by letter and rarely reread the sentence to link each verb and adjective to its subject or noun; the final letters carry no audible cue in French, so the ear gives no warning.
What to do instead
After writing each sentence, reread it aloud slowly and underline the subject, then draw an arrow to the verb and ask 'who does what, singular or plural?'. Practise a short daily dictation of five sentences where pupils explicitly circle every plural marker before handing in.
In the composition française, producing a text with no clear plan: the story starts, jumps between events, and stops abruptly without a conclusion, and paragraphs are not separated.
Pupils are asked to write at length without being taught a structure, so they write whatever comes to mind in one block; limited time and fear of the blank page push them to start immediately instead of planning.
What to do instead
Teach a fixed three-part frame (situation de départ, événement, fin) and require a five-minute rough plan on the margin: three bullet points, one per paragraph, before any full sentence is written. Mark plans separately so pupils see that planning earns credit.
In reading comprehension, copying a whole sentence from the text as the answer to a question asking for a specific piece of information, or answering with a personal opinion when the question says 'd'après le texte'.
Pupils equate 'find the answer in the text' with 'copy something from the text' and lack practice distinguishing question types (literal, inference, opinion); they also want to fill the line to look complete.
What to do instead
Give a question-type drill: colour-code questions as 'dans le texte' (copy the exact words), 'avec tes mots' (reformulate) and 'ton avis' (personal). Practise ten short questions on one paragraph, with the instruction that copying the whole sentence scores zero when a phrase suffices.
In maths problem solving, picking the operation by spotting a keyword ('de plus' means add, 'reste' means subtract) without reading what the quantities represent, producing answers like adding the price of one object to the number of objects.
Keyword strategies are taught as a shortcut in early grades and survive into the CEP; pupils do not build a mental model of the situation and cannot tell which numbers are the same kind of quantity.
What to do instead
Require a written 'je cherche / je connais' line before any calculation, listing each known quantity with its unit, and forbid writing an operation until that line is complete. Use paired problems with the same keyword but opposite operations so pupils see the keyword is not decisive.
In measurement and geometry, giving a result without its unit, mixing units (adding metres to centimetres, minutes to hours), or computing an area when a perimeter is asked.
Units are treated as decoration rather than part of the quantity, and the formulas for perimeter and area are memorised as strings of letters without meaning; conversions are learned as tables to recite rather than as changes of the same quantity.
What to do instead
Impose the rule 'no answer without a unit' and deduct points every time. Have pupils convert all data to one unit before calculating, and draw a rectangle, shade the border for perimeter and the inside for area, computing both from the same figure so the difference is visible.
In sciences d'observation, answering questions about an experiment from memory or from what pupils believe should happen, instead of describing what was actually observed, and confusing a conclusion with a guess.
Science lessons are often taught as facts to recite, and pupils rarely handle materials themselves; they write the expected result because that is what the textbook or the teacher said, without distinguishing observation from interpretation.
What to do instead
Run simple experiments in class (water evaporation, germination, a lever) and require a three-column notebook page: 'je fais / je vois / j'en déduis'. Insist that the 'je vois' column contains only what was seen, and mark any interpretation placed there as misplaced.
In histoire et géographie, placing events in the wrong order or on the wrong century, and confusing the geography of Burkina Faso with that of neighbouring countries (locating the capital, rivers or borders incorrectly).
Dates are memorised as isolated numbers without a timeline, and map work is often copied from a book rather than drawn, so spatial relations are never internalised; the syllabus covers a lot of ground in little time.
What to do instead
Build a wall timeline pupils add to each lesson, and have them draw a sketch map of Burkina Faso from memory weekly, then correct it against the real map in a different colour. Test with ordering exercises ('classe ces événements du plus ancien au plus récent') rather than date recitation.
In éducation civique et morale, giving abstract definitions of values (respect, honesty, solidarity) but being unable to apply them to a concrete school or village situation, or answering a moral-dilemma question with a slogan.
Lessons are learned as lists of words to define, and assessment often rewards recitation; pupils have little practice reasoning about a situation with conflicting duties, such as telling on a friend who cheats.
What to do instead
Use short case studies ending in 'que fais-tu et pourquoi?'. Require answers in two sentences: the chosen action, then the reason referring to a value or a rule. Discuss two different acceptable answers in class so pupils see that justification matters more than the slogan.
In French grammar, confusing the past participle with the infinitive ('il a manger' for 'il a mangé', 'il veut mangé' for 'il veut manger') and making subject-verb agreement errors with compound subjects or with 'on'.
The two forms sound identical in most verbs, and pupils apply the 'er/é' choice by ear; agreement rules are recited but not applied because pupils do not identify the subject before writing the verb.
What to do instead
Teach the substitution test explicitly: replace the verb with 'prendre/prendu' style pairs ('il a pris' versus 'il veut prendre') and drill ten sentences daily. For agreement, require underlining the subject and writing its person and number above the verb before conjugating.
In written expression and dictation, ignoring punctuation and capital letters: one long sentence with no full stops, no capital at the start of sentences or proper nouns, and no question mark in direct questions.
Pupils dictate mentally at the speed of speech and treat punctuation as an optional extra; it is rarely read aloud, so it is not heard, and marking often focuses on spelling alone.
What to do instead
Make punctuation a separate marked criterion on every written task. Train pupils to read their text aloud pausing at each full stop, and to count sentences against the number of capitals. Give dictations where the teacher reads punctuation marks aloud at first, then withdraws that support.