The macabre constant is a theorized bias in educational assessment that happens when a professor unconsciously splits students into three subjective categories—good, average and poor—regardless of their actual objective scholarly level.
This phenomenon can form a large part of the cause of the distress and scholar disengagement for many students facing those issues, and thus it could be one of the main causes of educational failure.
[2][3] Many parameters may contribute to the prevalence of this phenomenon, but the two main causes are: Thus, the macabre constant would create an "artificial failure of students",[4] which may potentially lead to a school disengagement of failing students[5] by a mechanism similar to the learned helplessness.
[7] In October 2011, a debate organized by SGEN-CFDT (syndicate for French national education and public research) gathered 150 teachers-researchers with André Antibi to discuss this phenomenon.
[4] Beginning from the 2011 school year, the French ministry of education produced an official circular letter of instructions, in which a first step towards the EPCC is initiated by advising that teachers should give a list of specific learning material to be reworked before a test.