Launch of the Equal Opportunities Observatory

17/12/2025

The four Écoles normales supérieures (ENS Paris-Saclay, ENS Ulm, ENS Lyon, ENS Rennes) and the Institut Polytechnique de Paris are launching the Observatory of Equal Opportunities to analyze, document, and monitor access to the most selective programs in French higher education over time.

The Equal Opportunities Observatory aims to objectively assess recruitment measures for selective programs at the four Écoles Normales Supérieures and the Institut Polytechnique de Paris.

The context

In 2021, a report by the Institute for Public Policy (IPP) showed that, despite the social inclusion measures implemented by certain grandes écoles since the mid-2000s, recruitment for these programs had not changed significantly between 2006 and 2016.

Since the period covered by this study, several reforms have profoundly changed the landscape of higher education in France: the introduction of the Parcoursup platform in 2018, the reform of upper secondary education in 2019, the creation of “Talents du service public” preparatory classes, and the introduction by certain grandes écoles of bonus points in competitive entrance exams for candidates receiving social criteria-based scholarships.

The transformations of the last twenty years have profoundly changed the landscape of selective education programs; it is essential to be able to measure their effects objectively. This requirement is now shared throughout the ecosystem, and it is collectively that we can make progress. Institutions have been engaged in this work for a long time, but the creation of the Observatory marks a new stage: that of scientific, transparent, and cumulative evaluation, which will provide lasting insight into democratization policies.

— Thierry Coulhon, Chairman of the Executive Board of the Institut Polytechnique de Paris

Create a joint observatory for French grandes écoles

The observatory is the result of a collaboration between the Institut Polytechnique de Paris (IP Paris) and its six member schools (École polytechnique, ENSTA, ENPC, ENSAE, Telecom Paris, Telecom SudParis) and the network of “ENS” schools, the Écoles normales supérieures ENS – PSL, ENS Paris-Saclay, ENS Rennes, ENS Lyon).

It draws on the expertise of the Institut des Politiques Publiques (IPP) and the research teams of the founding institutions—in particular the Centre de recherche en économie et statistique (CREST - unité mixte de recherche, CNRS, École polytechnique, ENSAE) – which specialize in the analysis of selective education pathways and are equipped with data visualization tools to ensure that the results are disseminated in an accessible manner.

The scientific management of the project is coordinated by Julien GRENET, research director at the CNRS and deputy director of the Institute for Public Policy.

Understanding recruitment mechanisms to provide reliable, up-to-date indicators and levers for action

The Observatory will produce rigorous, transparent analyses based on several generations of students, providing the entire higher education and research ecosystem, and more broadly public decision-makers, with reliable, up-to-date indicators and levers for action.
It will shed light on the mechanisms that structure access to elite institutions in France and will support policies aimed at democratizing higher education.

The Observatory will take into account several aspects of recruitment:

Social background, geographical origin, educational profile, and gender;
diversity of fields of study: science, economics, literature, public/private, regional, degrees of selectivity.

It will analyze differences in access rates according to social, regional, and educational characteristics.
Long-term monitoring of students will identify the stages at which their trajectories diverge. Particular attention will be paid to post-baccalaureate choices based on APB and Parcoursup data.

Working with public actors

The Observatory will work in coordination with the national ecosystem, in particular with the Direction de l’Évaluation, de la Prospective et de la Performance (DEPP) and the Service de l’Information statistique et des études (SIES), whose data and expertise are essential to ensuring the robustness of analyses and understanding of educational dynamics.

A roadmap for sustainable results

Each year, the observatory plans to publish progress reports accompanied by updates and analyses, as well as the following outputs:

an interim report in the second year;
a final report in the third year;
thematic focus reports in the fourth year, including, for example, the representation of women in selective scientific fields.

The outputs will include reports, summary notes, academic publications, an interactive data visualization tool, and replication programs to ensure the transparency of the results.

Finally, the data collected will enable targeted experiments to be conducted

the identification of students with high potential for success in CPGE but who do not apply;
the identification of schools with the most significant gender gaps in career choices;
the implementation of awareness-raising actions aimed at encouraging high-achieving students from modest backgrounds to apply to the most selective programs.

A strategic resource for the governance of prestigious universities

The work of the Observatory for Equal Opportunities is also intended to become a strategic resource for the governance of IP Paris and ENS schools in their active policies to reduce inequalities.
Its work, designed to inform public debate and have a ripple effect, will result in scientific publications and help decision-makers and institutions better understand the dynamics of access.

Creating the conditions for genuine equal access to selective programs does not pose a risk to their excellence, but rather guarantees that they will not miss out on the great researchers and engineers of tomorrow. It is also a prerequisite for their full integration into the Republic. In line with the scientific approach, this new Observatory will enable us to build the observation and evaluation framework necessary to strengthen and accelerate the accessibility policies we are already implementing.

— Frédéric WORMS, Director of the École Normale Supérieure ENS-PSL