The brevet is the first examination of the French system, and it teaches one lesson for the first time: part of the mark is earned before the exam.
First term
The continuous assessment of competences starts accumulating here. Regular participation and classroom assessment convert directly into marks.
The project used for the oral is also identified in this term. A project chosen late does not mature into something worth presenting.
Second term
Work on past papers begins. One or two past papers per subject are answered and the format becomes familiar.
The brevet blanc usually falls in this term. Its mark does not count, and it produces a diagnosis: which subject, and which section within it, is losing marks.
Third term
Intensive revision and full length timed papers. French and mathematics are worked on in separate blocks in this term.
The oral presentation is rehearsed here. A student who has only prepared on paper will otherwise be speaking aloud for the first time in front of the panel.
Reading the brevet blanc result
The total tells you little. What matters is the distribution by subject and by section, and the remaining time is divided accordingly.
A student who looks at the total and moves on repeats the same mistakes in the real examination.
A note for francophone students in Turkey
For a student who does not speak French at home, the French paper takes the most time and that has to be built into the plan at the start of the year.
On the mathematics side the content is already known; the work is doing the terminology and the written justification in French.
How much time
For a student who works steadily through the year, the third term is enough. Where there are gaps on the French side, work begins at the start of the year, because writing ability does not close quickly.