By Constance Laprise

Publié le 12 mars 2026

For thousands of Quebec students, a simple number decides their future. 

Used to evaluate college students for university admissions, the R-score measures academic performance with other students. It was designed to make grading fair across all schools and programs in Quebec. However, this system often creates stress, inequality, and a sense of worth based entirely to a number.  

The R-score ruins students’ lives because it reduces their value to a number, create toxic competition and create more inequality between schools and programs.  

In  “On ne peut pas réduire la valeur d’un jeune à sa cote R,” published in Le Devoir, Jean Crevier explains that the R-score dehumanizes students by summarizing their potential, effort, and intelligence in a single statistic. Many feels defined by this number exactly like me, making us feel less confident and motivated. As the article notes, “We cannot reduce a young person's value to their R or Z rating and decide their academic future based on subjective and imperfect assessments, while imposing cruel and unnecessary stress on students that increases dropout rates.” This obsession with numerical value will determine your entire academic future and causes fear to students.  

In “Ce que la cote R nous dévoile” Francis Vailles highlights how the R-score encourages constant competition among students. Rather than promoting collaboration, this increases rivalry and, above all, anxiety. College students push themselves to exhaustion to maintain or improve their R-score, which has cause to rising levels of burnout and mental health issues. The article even shows that even students with strong results are not guaranteed to be accepted.  

While, in “La cote R est la mesure connue la plus équitable,” Richard Guay claims the system is fair, it’s still not the perfect system. The article points out that student’s results can vary depending on their program’s average and the academic strength of the group. A hardworking student in a weak group may be unfairly penalized compared to one in a high performing class. This structure means that fairness if only theoretical.  

In conclusion, the R-score was created to promote fairness, but it’s now a symbol of pressure and inequality. The system discourages learning and defines young people by statistics rather than passion or perseverance. Until Quebec finds a better way to evaluate students, many will continue to see their future and their worth dictated by a single unfair score.