Madagascar CEPE common mistakes
Madagascar CEPE · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
In the Malagasy section, the candidate writes the answer to a comprehension question in the words of the text verbatim, copying a whole sentence instead of reformulating it, and loses marks on the 'resaka' (expression) item.
Primary-school Malagasy practice in Madagascar is dominated by dictation and recitation, so pupils are trained to reproduce text rather than to reformulate it; the CEPE comprehension items explicitly reward answering 'amin'ny teny anao manokana' (in your own words), which is a skill rarely drilled.
What to do instead
During practice, after reading a text, have the pupil answer each question in one short sentence with the book closed, then compare with the text and rewrite without copying more than two consecutive words. Build a bank of reformulation starters ('Ny antony...', 'Satria...', 'Hita fa...') and drill two texts per week.
In Malagasy grammar items, the candidate confuses the passive and relative verb forms (matoanteny mpanao vs. mpanao anarana / voambolana) and misidentifies the 'fototeny' (root) when the word carries a prefix such as maha- or mampi-.
Malagasy verb morphology is agglutinative and the same root generates many voices; classroom teaching often lists forms by memory rather than teaching the root-plus-affix logic, so pupils guess from the surface shape of the word.
What to do instead
Teach a fixed procedure: strip affixes step by step (maha-, mampi-, -ana, -ina, -ana) to reach the root, then classify the voice from the remaining affix pattern. Use a table of 15 common roots (asa, vaky, sasa, vola, tory) with all their derived forms filled in by the pupil, and require the pupil to justify each classification aloud.
In Français, the candidate writes a production écrite of 5–8 lines with no paragraph breaks and no linking words, producing a single run-on sentence that mixes narration and dialogue without punctuation for the dialogue.
Written production is the least-practised component in many schools, and pupils transfer oral narrative habits into writing; they also lack an explicit checklist of what the examiner rewards (organisation, linking words, punctuation of direct speech).
What to do instead
Give a fixed 4-part plan to memorise (situation initiale / événement / réaction / conclusion), a list of 8 connectors (d'abord, ensuite, soudain, alors, enfin, pourtant, donc, finalement), and require the dialogue punctuation pattern « ... », dit-il. Pupils write one 6-line text per week against a self-check grid before it is marked.
In Français grammar, the candidate applies the wrong agreement rule: plural -s on a verb ('ils mange'), no agreement of the past participle with avoir when the direct object precedes it, and confusion of -é / -er / -ez in verb endings.
These are homophone endings that sound identical in spoken French, and pupils rely on sound rather than on grammatical substitution tests; the agreement rules are taught as labels rather than as testable procedures.
What to do instead
Drill the substitution tests explicitly: replace the verb with 'prendre/prendu' style probes ('il a mangé' → 'il a pris'; 'il va manger' → 'il va prendre'), and for -er/-é use 'vendre/vendu'. For participle agreement, teach the question 'qui? quoi?' placed before the verb. Ten short sentences per day with the test written in the margin.
In Mathématiques, the candidate solves a 'problème' by picking the two numbers in the statement and applying an operation that 'looks right', without writing the operation sentence or the unit, and gives an answer with no phrase response.
Word problems require a translation step from text to operation, which is under-taught compared with bare calculation drills; pupils also lose marks because the marking scheme awards points for the operation and the answer sentence, not only the number.
What to do instead
Impose a four-line layout for every problem: 'Fanontaniana' (what is asked), 'Fantatra' (given data), the operation line with units, and the answer sentence ('Ny ... dia ...'). Do 10 problems a week with the layout enforced even when the pupil can do it mentally, and mark the layout separately from the number.
In Mathématiques, the candidate mishandles units and conversions: mixing metres and centimetres in a perimeter or area calculation, writing an area in cm instead of cm², and converting hours/minutes incorrectly in duration problems.
Measurement is usually taught as formula recall (P = 2×(L+l), A = L×l) without systematic work on unit homogeneity, and the written Malagasy notation for squares and minutes is often copied carelessly from the board.
What to do instead
Require every measurement calculation to start with a conversion line to a single unit ('3 m = 300 cm'), and require the unit to be written at each step and in the final answer. Run a weekly 10-item conversion sprint covering m/cm, kg/g, L/cL, h/min, and check the exponent on every area and volume answer.
In Mathématiques, the candidate performs long division or operations with decimals by misaligning place value - writing the decimal numbers flush left instead of aligning commas, or forgetting to place the decimal point in the quotient.
Decimal operations are introduced late in the primary cycle and pupils carry over the right-alignment habit used for whole numbers; the position of the comma in the quotient depends on a rule (multiply both numbers to remove the decimal) that is often memorised without understanding.
What to do instead
Enforce squared/graph paper for all operations, with one digit per square and the comma written on a ruled vertical line. Teach division of decimals by first writing the equivalent whole-number division ('4,5 ÷ 0,9 → 45 ÷ 9'), and have pupils state the rule before starting each exercise.
In Sciences et technologie, the candidate answers observation questions with a definition learned by heart instead of describing what the experiment or the stated observation shows, and cannot name the stages of an experiment (hypothesis, observation, conclusion).
Science is frequently taught as recitation because of lack of equipment, so pupils never practise the observe–describe–conclude sequence; CEPE items that present a short described experiment therefore look unfamiliar.
What to do instead
Practise with short written scenarios (no equipment needed): 'A plant is placed in the dark for a week; the leaves turn yellow.' Pupils must write observation, explanation, conclusion in three labelled lines. Do two scenarios a week across the SVT and physical-science topics on the syllabus (germination, water states, simple circuits, digestion).
In Histoire-Géographie, the candidate confuses dates and periods (independence 1960 with the 1972/1975 political changes, the monarchy with the colonial period) and places Madagascar regions or rivers on the wrong coast.
History and geography are often revised as isolated date lists and map labels without a timeline or a mental map, so items that ask for order or location break down; the map of Madagascar is also studied without repeated blank-map practice.
What to do instead
Build one wall timeline from 1896 to 1975 with five anchor dates and have the pupil place events on it weekly. For geography, use a blank outline of Madagascar: the pupil labels six rivers, six regions and the capitals from memory twice a week, then checks against the reference map.
In Éducation civique, the candidate answers a situation item about rights and duties with a moral slogan ('il faut respecter') rather than naming the institution or the concrete procedure (e.g. the fokontany, the school council, the court, the role of the police).
Civic education is often reduced to slogans and values in class, while exam items ask the pupil to apply a rule to a described situation and to name who is responsible; pupils have no vocabulary for institutions.
What to do instead
Teach a fixed answer frame: 'Ny olana / Ny fitsipika / Izay tompon'andraikitra / Ny vahaolana' (problem, rule, responsible body, solution). Work through 15 short situations (bullying, waste dumping, a stolen bicycle, a dispute with a neighbour) and require the institution to be named each time.