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In Education , a grade (or mark) is a teacher's standardized Evaluation of a Student 's work. In some countries, evaluations can be expressed quantifiably, and calculated into a numeric '''grade point average''' (GPA). A ''cumulative grade point average'' (CGPA) is the Mean GPA from all Semesters , whereas GPA may only refer to a single semester. The concept of grading students' work quantitatively was developed by a tutor named William Farish , and first implemented by the University Of Cambridge in 1792 . 1 INTERNATIONAL GRADING SYSTEMS Most nations have individual grading systems unique to their own schools. However, several international standards for grading have arisen recently. 20-point grading scale In Algeria , Belgium , Ecuador , France , Greece , Morocco , Portugal , Peru , Venezuela , Senegal , Mali , Iran , and Tunisia , a 20-point grading scale is used, in which 20 is the highest grade and 0 is the lowest. A score of 20 is considered perfect; accordingly, it is rarely if ever awarded in courses that are graded subjectively. The "passing" grade is usually 10; a common categorization follows: European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System See Also: European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System The European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) is a standard for comparing the study attainment and performance of students of Higher Education across the European Union . For successfully completed studies, ECTS credits are awarded. One academic year corresponds to 60 ECTS-credits in all countries, irrespective of standard or qualification type, and is used to facilitate transfer and progression throughout the Union." European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System ". ''EUROPA: Education and Training''. ECTS also includes a standard grading scale" European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System: What are the key features of ECTS? ". ''EUROPA: Education and Training''.: The grade FX indicates that "some more work required before the credit can be awarded." The grade F indicates "considerable further work required." European Baccalaureate This degree that is awarded by the European Schools. Pupils are graded on an analog scale of 0 to 10. Half marks may be awarded, and in computing the total average two decimals are shown : International Baccalaureate In the IB Diploma Programme , an internationally-practiced baccalaureate program for secondary school students, candidates are graded on a scale of 1 to 7:
GRADING SYSTEMS BY NATION Africa Egypt A student with ''gayyid giddan'' earned the second highest mark possible, on par with a "B" student.2 South Africa In South Africa , the system used in schools until 2008:
An aggregate is calculated by adding a student's best six subjects - each higher grade subject is out of 400 but counts out of 300 (thus 100%+ is achievable), and each standard grade subject and second language is out of 300. An aggregate of over 1680 is an 'A' aggregate (80%), an aggregate of 2100 is 100% and an aggregate of 2400 is possible (114.29%). Tunisia The Tunisian grading system is mostly a 20-point grading scale: it is used in secondary schools and universities. For primary schools, a new system has been introduced, based on a letter grade scale; the old system uses a 10-point grading scale for the first term and a 20-point scale for the second and third terms. Currently, Most Tunisian universities uses the traditional 20-point grading scale, but after the introduction of the new National Higher Education Reform , a new grading scale, similar to that of the ECTS Grading Scale , is becoming more and more common. Most of the time, the formal grades used in Tunisia are not considered in graduate programs acceptance. A grade of 12 (which is actually a passable grade in Tunisia but equivalent to 60% in the US where it is considered a below average) is generally a good starting grade to apply for graduate studies and financial aids or scholarships. This is due to a severe testing and evaluation system employed in most Tunisian universities. Generally, at the national level, a grade of 12 or above is considered a good grade. This is why some European universities use a different admission requirement for Tunisian students. Tunisia's neighboring country, Algeria , has a very similar grading system. North America Canada In Canada , grade point averages vary by Province , by level of education (e.g., high school or university), by institutions (e.g., Queen's or Toronto ), and even by different faculties in the same institution (e.g., Ryerson or Université Du Québec à Montréal ). The following are commonly used conversions from percentile grades to letter grades. = Alberta In Alberta universities: = British Columbia In British Columbia universities: (In British Columbia colleges, these grades are typically knocked down a notch; an A+ is 95-100 (%)).F is the worst grade possible(rarer than I.). = Newfoundland and Labrador In Newfoundland And Labrador universities: Grade F is the sole failing mark. = Ontario In Ontario schools: There are also + and − modifiers. A+ is close to 100% and better than A, A is better than A−, A− is better than B+. So on and so forth. There are no modifiers for R or F. E sometimes appear in the place of R or F to match the order of the four grades above it. Ontario universities also use a similar grading system as the above and the system used in the United States. = Quebec In Quebec universities: Quebec's passing mark is 60%. Costa Rica In Costa Rica , the systems work on a 100 point scale (and sometime in an analog 10 point scale). For primary school level, a 65 is good enough to pass, while in high school and fruther levels the pass grade is 70. Students who attain from 60 to the pass grade get the chance to take on one extra test that reviews the whole year's topics, and where a 70 is needed to achieve a pass grade. Mexico Mexican schools use a scale from 0 to 10 to measure the students' scores. Since decimal scores are common, a scale from 0 to 100 is often used to remove the decimal point. The grades are:
Students who fail a subject have the option of taking an extraordinary test (''examen extraordinario'', often shortened to ''extra'') that evaluates the contents of the entire period. Once the test is finished and the score is assessed, this score becomes the entire subject's score, thus giving slacking students a chance to pass their subjects. Those who fail the extraordinary test have 2 more chances to take it; if the last test is failed, the subject is marked as failed and pending, and depending on the school, the student might fail the entire year. As a result, the extraordinary tests often cause a lot of stress among students, because they have to study for the entire period often in a couple of weeks. Some private schools (particularly in higher levels of education) require a 70 to pass instead of the regular 60. Grades are often absolute and not class-specific. It may be the case that the top of the class gets a final grade of 89. Curve-adjustment is rare. Grad-level students are usually expected to have grades of 80 or above to graduate. Students in honor roll are usually those with an overall GPA of 90 or more upon graduation, and some private universities will award them a "With Honors" diploma. United States See Also: Grading in the United States Classical five-point discrete evaluation is the system most commonly used in the United States , but there are many variations. There are also a few schools that eschew discrete evaluation (letter grading) in favor of pure discursive evaluation. Here is a common example of an American quality index, showing letter grade, qualitative definition and correlative quantitative value.
Percentage ranges may vary from one school to another. In some schools, these ranges may even vary from one ''class'' to another. Many schools add .5 to the value of an AP class if a student takes the AP Test (thus, an A would be a 4.5, a B would be a 3.5, etc). Also in California and many other states, taking the AP test adds a full point to a grade. Whether the failing grade is F or E typically depends on time and geography. Some states, but not many, have tended to favor E since World War II while the majority of the country tends to use F. Ultimately, the grade F traces to the days of two-point grading as Pass (P) and Fail (F). Chromatic variants (+ and −) are often used. In hypomodal grading on a 100 point scale, the prime letter grade is assigned a value centered around the one's digit 5, the + grade is assigned the top values of near the one's digit 9 and the − grade is assigned the bottom values near 0. Thus, 80 to 83 is B−, 84 to 86 is B, and 87 to 89 is B+. In straight modal grading on a 4.0 decimal scale, the prime number is the prime letter grade. The + range of the grade begins at X.333 (repeating), rounded to X.30, above the prime number. The − range of the grade begins at X.666 (repeating), rounded up to X.70, below the prime number. Thus, B = 3.0, B+ = 3.3, and B− = 2.7. However, the A range is often treated as a special case. In most American schools, a 4.00 is regarded as perfect and the highest GPA one can achieve. Thus, an A, being the prime grade, already achieves the mark of a 4.00; for the A+ mark, most schools assign it a value of 4.00, equivalent to the A mark, so as to not deviate from the standard 4.00 GPA system. The A+ mark, then, becomes a mark of distinction that has no impact on the student's GPA. A few schools do assign grade values of 4.33, however. In schools, the grade point average is computed by taking the mean of all grades. In colleges and universities that use discrete evaluation, the grade point average is calculated by multiplying the quantitative values by the credit value of the correlative course, and then dividing the total by the sum of all credits. For example:
In a standards-based grading system, a performance standard is set by a committee based on ranking anchor papers and grading rubrics which demonstrate performance which is below, meeting, or exceeding the "Standard". The standard is intended to be a high, world class level of performance which must be met by every student, regardless of ability or class, although they are actually set by a committee with no reference to any other national standard. Levels are generally assigned numbers between zero and four. Writing papers may be graded separately on content (ideas) and conventions (spelling and grammar). Since grading is not based on a curve distribution, it is entirely possible to achieve a grading distribution where "all children succeed" and meet the standard. While such grading is generally used only for assessments, they have been proposed for alignment with classroom grading. However, in practice grading can be much more severe than the traditional letter grades rather than more generous. Even after ten years, states like Washington continue to grade over half of students as "below standard" on the state mathematics assessment. South America Argentina In Argentina , the grade point average ranges from 10 to 0 (1 being the lowest possible mark, including for cheating. 0 means that the student was absent for all the possible tests and is rarely given) with decimals, the most common being 25, 50 and 75.
Colombia In colleges and universities, the grades are quantitative ranging from 0.0 to 5.0. Being 0.0 the worst possible grade and 5.0 the maximum grade. In high schools, the grades are qualitative ranging from I (insufficient) to E (excellent). Chile In Chile , a grade point average ranges from 1.0 up to 7.0 (with one decimal place) are used, where:
Generally, it's a linear scale, with 1.0 meaning 0% achievement, 4.0 meaning 50% or 60% achievement (depending of the scale used), and 7.0 meaning 100% achievement. Rounding of averages is generally done to the second decimal; hence, a 3.95 is rounded up to a 4.0, whereas a 3.94 is rounded down to a 3.9. Venezuela In Venezuela, students are evaluated by a 20-point system with 10 being the lowest passing grade. Anywhere above 16 is considered a good grade and 19 and 20 are rarely awarded. Asia China In China, the grading system is divided into five categories.
Hong Kong In Hong Kong, the system of grade point average (GPA)http://www.cityu.edu.hk/arro/exam1/contentsassessment.html is used in universities. Some universities don't include A+ in the grades, section 13.2, or set the grade point of A+ to be 4.00, section UG5, so that the maximum GPA attainable is 4.00 instead of 4.30. Some universities use a 12-point based system called "CGA" instead, section 21.4. India The grading system in India varies somewhat as a result of being a large country. The most predominant form of grading is the percentage system. An examination consists of a number of questions each of which give credit. The sum of credit for all questions generally counts up to 100. The grade awarded to a student is the percentage obtained in the examination. The percentage of all subjects taken in an examination is the grade awarded at the end of the year. The percentage system is used at both the school and university. Some universities also use the grading system and a CGPA on a 4 or 10 point scale. Notably, all the IITs, IIITs, BITS Pilani (Pilani, Goa campuses), Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and most NITs use a 10-point GPA system. DA-IICT, Gandhinagar uses a 4 point scale whereas LPU, Jalandhar uses a 9 point scale (for an Hons. degree program). However, the grades themselves may be absolute (as in NITs), exclusively relative (as in BITS Pilani and Manipal University), or a combination of absolute, relative and/or historic, as in some IITs and IIIT Hyderabad. There are several universities and recognized school boards in India which makes an ''objective'' comparison of percentage grades awarded by one examination difficult with those for another, even for an examination at the same level. At the school level percentages of 80-90 are considered excellent while above 90 is exceptional and uncommon. At the university level however percentages between 70-80 are considered excellent and are quite difficult to obtain. It should be pointed out that the percentage of marks at university vary from one to another which makes direct comparison of percentages obtained at different universities difficult. =Official Grading System Official Grading System for all Government/Autonomous/Deemed Indian Universities. Indonesia In Indonesia , a grade point average ranging from 1 to 10 is used, where:
A student is to repeat a year if they get a failing grade in any subject. Israel In Israel there are two scales, 0-10 (usually small quizzes, surprise quizzes etc.) and 0-100 (usually exams). The grading scale is as follows: 10 or 95-100 = (excellent) 9 or 85-94 = (very good) 8 or 75-84 = (good) 7 or 65-74 = (almost good) 6 or 55-64 = (sufficient) 5 or 45-54 = (hardly sufficient) <4 or <44 = (insufficient/failed) In secondary school (grades 7-12), any grade below 55 is considered a failing grade. It's worth mentioning that the Israeli education system does not employ curved grading at any stage (incl. in the academic level). To compensate for this, most academic institutions require that candidates undergo a psychometric exam, which in Israel provides examinees with an overall score of 200-800, the average being 535 (according to the National Institute of Scoring and Evaluation's {Link without Title} report of 2005 results). As previously mentioned, though, the vast majority of Israeli academic institutions also refrain from grading on a curve. Only certain law faculties use curved grading, and one management faculty recently announced its intention to gradually introduce curved grading at the undergraduate level as well. Iran The Iranian grading system is similar to that of Belgium in secondary schools and universities; the passing grade is 10. Graduate programs require 12 as passing grade. Nepal
Recently, there are also other grading systems in Nepal.... Pakistan Two grading scales are commonly used in higher education: Philippines The Philippines has varied university grading systems. Most universities, particularly public institutions follow the grade point system scale of 5.00 - 1.00, where 1.00 is the highest grade and 5.00 as the lowest grade that could be obtained. = Grade point scale (5.00 - 1.00) In particular, De La Salle University & FEU-East Asia College follows the 1.000 - 4.000 grading system which patterns those of American Universities. This system uses 4.0 grade point equivalence as the highest grade while 0.0 grade point equivalence is considered as the lowest grade one can obtain. 0.0 grade point equivalence is considered a failing mark. = Grade point scale (1.000 - 4.000) Other universities, such as the Ateneo Universities, use the letter grade system with varied grade equivalence range. = Letter grade system More importantly, Philippine universities do not have standard grade equivalence. Different universities have varied equivalence range, while passing grades are subject to imposed academic quality of an institution. Russia and Former Soviet Union / CIS (without Moldova and Belarus ) In Russia , Ukraine , Hungary and likely the rest of the former Soviet Union (with the notable exception of Moldova, that switched to the Romania n system) and some countries formerly associated with the Eastern Bloc , a five-point grading scale is used, where:
Qualifiers + and – are often used to add some degree of differentiation between the grades, eg. 4+ is better than 4 but a little worse than 5–. Grading varies greatly from teacher to teacher and tends to be entirely subjective even for courses that lend themselves to objective marking such as mathematics and applied sciences. Even though the grades technically range from 1 to 5, 1 is uncommon and is rarely given for academic reasons—in many cases a failure to show up for an exam or to answer any questions only results in a 2 (in Russia/Ukraine, but not in Hungary). Students in these countries may be labeled by their teachers according to their average grade, the labels stemming from the respective digits. For example, someone with a 5-point average is a ''отличник'' (m) (pronounced: otlichnik, from Russian excellent, отлично (otlichno))/ ''отличница'' (f) (otlichnitsa), while someone with a 2-point average is a ''двоечник'' (m) (dvoyeshnik, hard to see if you don't know Russian, but from Russian 2, два(dva))/''двоечница'' (f) (dvoyeshnitsa). It's fair to mention that 1 is a very exotic grade in Russian schools. It is used rarely by some teachers in primary school. The four-point grading scale (five to two) is employed in middle school and university. Plus and minus modifiers follow the same tendency: they are used rarely in middle school, and almost never in colleges or universities. Some institutions and teachers, unsatisfied with the four-point scale, work with various larger ones, but these grading systems are not recognized by the state and have to be converted for official use. There are certain courses that are graded on ‘Pass/Not pass’ basis. So the grade is ‘Pass/Not pass’, or ‘Credit/No credit’. Also there are certain courses that are not marked at all, so the grade ‘Attended’ is issued if the attendance requirements are met by a student. Actually, since couple years ago all these countries impliment 12-point grading system. In comparison to an old 5-point one, note that plusses and minuses are now ully acceptable
Singapore See Also: GPA in Singapore Vietnam Schools and universities in Vietnam use the 10-points grading scale with 10 is the highest and 0 is the worst. Often, 5 is the lowest passing grade
United Arab Emirates At most universities and colleges the United Arab Emirates grading system is very similar to the United States grading system. See United Arab Emirates . Europe Albania In Albania , grades from 1 (sometimes 0) up to 10 are used, with some schools allowing decimals (up to 0.01 precision) and some others only allowing whole numbers. Most universities evaluate classes with two mid exams and a final. The Final Exam encompasses the whole course syllabus whereas the mid exams usually take just half. In some schools, if the average grade of the two mid exams is equal to or higher than 7.00, the student passes the class without the need for a final exam (since there are only two exams, some teachers also pass students who average 6.50, others weigh in that decision the student's performance in class). An average of less than 4.00 is failing, the student doesn't even have the chance to take that final exam. In high schools, the year is divided into three trimesters and classes are usually year-long. The student needs an average of 6.00 or higher in the three trimestral exams to avoid having to take a final to pass the class. In the event of a student scoring less than 6.00 in the 3rd trimester he will have to take a final exam regardless of his average. This last point is considered controversial since the last trimestral exam is not more important than the first two but the rule stands to prevent students that already reached the minimum average (e.g.: two 10.00 in the first two give you a lowest possible average of 6.33) from not making an effort the last three months of the year. Austria In Austria , Scholastic Grades use a 5-point grading scale, where:
Bosnia and Herzegovina In Bosnia the following grades apply to elementary and high school students: The following apply to university students: Bulgaria In Bulgaria , the following Grade s are used in schools:
For exact grading, two positions after the decimal point are used. Thus grades as e.g. ''Poor'' 2.50 or ''Excellent'' 5.75 are common. Every passing grade at or above the .50 mark is prefixed with the term of the higher grade. The minimum is 2.00, grades below 3.00 are failing grades, and the maximum is 6.00. Roughly, the Bulgarian grade system can be equated to the American one as the following: 6=A, 5=B, 4=C, 3=D, and 2=F. Croatia In Croatia the following grades apply to elementary school, high school and university students: Czech Republic
Universities use a 4-point grade system where 1 is the best and 4 means fail, or an expanded version of this: a six-grade system with half-grades between 1 and 2, and 2 and 3. The grades are then 1 (also A), 1.5 (B), 2 (C), 2.5 (D), 3 (E), and 4 (F, or fail). Denmark See Also: Grading in Denmark The current Danish gradation scale is called the 13-scale and consists of 10 grades ranging from '''00''' to '''13''', with '''00''' being the worst. - The scale normally goes from 00 to 11, with 13 being an exceptional grade. - Best way to make equivalences with other grading scales is to use percents, where 00 = 0% and 11 = 100%. - An 11 is also a pretty hard grade to achieve, but easier than a 13. The gaps between 00 & '''03''', '''03''' & '''5''' and '''11''' & '''13''' are there to signify a larger difference between those grades. The leading 0 in 00 and '''03''' are used to prevent fraud with grades (as otherwise a student could add a leading 1, yielding a perfect 13) 00 is nearly impossible to achieve, presuming one knows even a single fact taught in that particular class, it is given for the truly incompetent performance. 13 is a fairly rare grade outside of exams and requires a performance way beyond the expected. The average of grades given in Danish High Schools in 2003 was 8.22. = New system From the 2006-07 school year, a new scale will be introduced, made to be compatible with the ECTS -scale. Furthermore, undervisningsministeriet (the Ministry of Education) will adapt to a more international way of grading, by handing out a set amount of grades per class, this is due to the fact that in foreign countries, the grade A (12) is handed out two times as often as in Denmark (because of the strict, absolute grading in Denmark). Finland Several systems are in use in Different Educational Institutions In Finland . The "school grade" system has historically been a scale of 0 to 10, but all grades lower than 4 were discarded. Thus, it is divided between 4, the failing grade, and 5–10, the succeeding grades. This is similar to the Grading Scale Used In Romania .
In the individual exams, but not in the final results, it is also possible to divide the scale further with '½', which represents a half grade, and '+' and '−', which represent one-fourth a grade better or inferior. For example, the order is 9 < 9+ < 9½ < 10− < 10. The grade '10+' can also be awarded to represent perfect performance added with extra effort by the student. The Matriculation Examination grades are similar to the above, but in Latin. Universities and vocational institutions use a scale of 0 (fail) and 1-5 (pass), or fail/pass. The professor selects which grading scheme is used; short, compulsory courses typically have pass/fail grades. France The French grading system is mostly the (above mentioned) 20-point grading scale: it is used above all in secondary schools and universities. The '' Baccalauréat '' uses the 20-point scale, with the following ''mentions'' (honors) :
Primary schools generally use a 10-point grading scale or a letter grade like the ECTS grading Scale French universities traditionally use the 20-point grading scale, but the ECTS Grading Scale is more and more common as it is the standard for comparing the study performance across the European Union . Some Grandes écoles use 'exotic' systems, like Ecole Centrale De Lille , which uses a three letter scale system, called A, S, I:
Germany Germany uses a 6-point ''' Grading Scale (GPA) ''' to evaluate the performance of school children:
Five and six are both considered to be failing grades, though in earlier years students are not required to repeat classes with 5 grades if they perform well in other classes. Grades 1 to 5 can be suffixed with + and −. To calculate averages of suffixed grades, they are assigned fractioned values, where 1 is 1.0, 1− is 1.3, 2+ is 1.7, 2 is 2.0, 2− is 2.3 and so on. There is even the grade of 1+ or 0.7, which means more or less 'with distinction'. (But there is neither 6+ nor 6− since 6 means null.) As schools are governed by the states, not by the federal government, there are slight differences. Sometimes there is 1− equal to 1.25, 1-2 = 1.5, 2+ = 1.75 and so on. And sometimes the grades are in tenth of a number, 1.0, 1.1, 1.2 and so on. Some states replace this system in higher grades (usually 12th and 13th) by "points" whereas 15 points represent the highest possible score, "1+". 14 points equal a "1" (sehr gut), 13 points a "1−" and so on. 1 point equals a "5−", 0 points represent a "6" (ungenügend). This system is used for easier calculation of averages and to ease the admission process for the "Abitur", the final exam. The written marks below are replaced by numbers, too. (Instead of using fraction values such as 1.2) In school reports, only unmodified integer grades may be used; they are written in text form in some parts of Germany:
"In-between" grades such as 1-2, 2-3, 3-4 etc., which used to count as 1.5, 2.5 and so on, have largely been discontinued due to ambiguities when converting the averages back to integer values. In the final classes of Gymnasiums the grades are converted to numbers ("points") in order to calculate the average for Abitur . In this case an 1+ exists (and counts as 15), 1 is 14, 1− is 13, 2+ is 12, etc. up to 5− is 1 and finally 6 is 0. Although 1+ exists in this system, ultra-perfect Abitur averages below 1.0 are not possible, even if one has got an 1+ in every subject. When the point system is used, 4 (5 points) is the lowest passing grade, and 4− (4 points) the highest failing grade. In converting German grades to the A-F scale, a 1 = A, ... 4 = D scale is often used (with 5 and 6 both converted to F's). The accuracy of this conversion is often debated, since expected performance averages vary among schools. For example, a 2 in the German is often given for a performance of 90%. A 90% will almost always be equivalent to an A among the U.S. grading scale. Both situations will vary depending on the school's, faculty's and/or instructor's guidelines. For the conversion of Gymnasium grades, the following must be taken into account: Only 23% of the German population obtain the ''Abitur - Allgemeine Hochschulreife'' (General Maturity for University), implying that a 4.0 (passed) is applied to students within the best 23% of the population. Another 17-21% obtain a ''Fachabitur'' limiting their university choices to more application oriented studies at a '' Fachhochschule '' ("University of Applied Sciences") in a field they majored in for their ''Fachgebundene Hochschulreife''. The public often use the name ''Fachabitur'' for the ''Fachgebundene Hochschulreife'' graduation. Consequently, even a 4 (pass) in a university exam is awarded to students within the top 23% (or top 40% for Fachhochschule) group of the German population. In former East Germany , a 5-point grading scale was used until July of 1991, where:
The textual form of the grades was:
This scale is identical to the current Austrian grading scale. At training institutions approved by the German Chamber Of Commerce (IHK), the following grades are awarded:
Example: 91 % counts as grade 2 but, when specified as a decimal, is actually a 1.5 grade. A person who attains 91 % would, obviously, rather state that they have a grade of 1.5 as opposed to stating that they got a 2 grade. In German Universities (besides the law schools) also the 1 to 5 scale for the grade (Note / Zensur) is used:
Sometimes, esp. with a Dr. Phil. (D.Phil. / Ph.D.) also the Latin versions are used for the grading (here then the grade (Note / Zensur) is called ''Prädikat''):
There is no grade for failing then, because in that case the dissertation is just ''formally rejected'', without any kind of grading. For law students at German universities, a similar system to the 1 to 5 scale is used that comprises one more grade that is inserted between 2 (gut) and 3 'befriedigend', named "vollbefriedigend." This is due to the fact that the grades "gut" and "sehr gut" are extremely rare, so an additional grade was created below "gut" to increase differentiation. Every grade is converted into points very much like the Gymnasium system described above, starting at 18 points (excellent) down to 0 points (poor). 4 points is the lowest passing grade. Often the German grades are treated like an Interval Scale to calculate means and deviations for comparisons. Despite it ''lacks any psychometric standardization'', the grading system is also used like a normal distributed statistical scale for norm-referenced assessments (with an expected value of 3 and a standard deviation of 1). So, transformations into other statistical measures like Percentiles, T, Stanine etc. or (like in the PISA Studies ) the very often used IQ are then possible, here e.g. a transformation into Percentiles and IQ:
(note: this is the statistical norm ''IQ'' (expected value of 100, standard deviation of 15) which is nowadays widely used outside of intelligence tests, and which is '''not''' a measure for intelligence!) This transformation is - as mentioned above - ''highly'' questionable at the least. E.g., substantially far more than 14% (>4.0) of German students at universities fail in an exam (usually about 20-40%, often even more, in very rare cases at technical universities up to 98% fail an individual exam as they first try and know they are entitled to a second chance). Grades awarded vary widely between fields of study and between universities/schools. In reality, nevertheless, independent from field and school students normally have to get more than half of the tasks given within an examination right to even pass it (to get a 4.0). So, also the reality contradicts the treatment of grades as statistical norms. . In Germany, due to the lack of German psychometric tests (like the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) or the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) and the like in the US) mainly the GPA is used (has to be used as the most valid criterion available) as the only criterion within an application process. . Greece There are four grading systems in Greece; two for primary education -grades 1 to 3 and 4 to 6-, one for secondary education and one for higher education. The primary education grading system for grades 1 to 3 is as follows, with letters being used:
The primary education grading system changes after grade 4, where numbers only are used:
The grading system's range is widened in secondary school, and ranges from 1 to 20. Each grade from every individual subject from a total of 13 is worth one point:
In higher education, the primary grading system from grades 4 to 6 is used, with the addition of zero and non-integral grades:
Hungary
Ireland In Irish secondary schools grades are awarded using letters along this scale:
Anything below 40% is considered a failing grade and is awarded an E (40% - 25%) or F (25% - 10%) grade. Any score below 10% is classed as NG or No Grade. At Higher Level a C grade and above is considered an 'Honor' grade. For some purposes the grade letter ranges are further sub-divided from 15% ranges to 5% ranges yielding grades A+, A, A−, B+, B, B−, etc. (or A1, A2, B1, B2, B3...). Leaving Certificate results are measured by the number of 'points' awarded to the student. It is usually the amount of points awarded to the student that forms the basis for the student's acceptance or otherwise into a course of higher education (e.g. a university degree course). A number of points between 0 and 100 are awarded to the student for each Leaving Certificate exam sat. The student then combines the points from his or her six top scoring exams giving a final total score between 0 and 600. The number of points awarded for a particular grade depend on whether the student sat the exam for the 'Higher Level' course or the 'Ordinary Level' course. The number of points awarded for each grade at the two levels are as follows: Anything below a D3 is considered a failing grade, and no points are awarded. Italy In Italian Primary School , a 5-point grading scale is used, where:
In High School a 10-point scale is used , being 6 the minimum grade for passing. Specifications such as +, −, "double minus" ("="), half grades ("double plus") and grades like 6/7 are often used. Note that the grades used in primary school are derived from this scale, with Non Sufficiente meaning "5 and under", and the other grades standing respectively for 7, 8, 9, 10. A 10 is very rare to score, as well as a 1. The weakest grade you normally can get is a 3 or a 4. An 8 is usually considered as a very good grade, whilst 9 yet is an excellent grade. The average grade goes between and 6 and 8. Universities in Italy use a 30-point scale simply divided in two, non passing (0 to 17 points), and passing grades (18 to 30 points), for ordinary exams, and a 110-point scale for the final dissertation, divided in two as well, being 66 the minimum grade for passing. For outstanding results the Lode "praise", is added at the maximum grade. To someone familiar with both the Italian and the U.S. college systems, Italian grades are best translated into American grades (and vice versa) according to the following table: Latvia The grading system in Latvia has been changed to a 10-point grading system. 10 is the highest achievable grade, while 1 is awarded for extremely poor performance. The minimal passing grade is 4 (though some universities have a minimum passing grade of 5). The absence of any kind of performance is awarded with 'nv' (nav vērtējuma - no grade). Teachers in lower classes are encouraged to award one of two grades 'i' (ieskaitīts) for a passing grade and 'n/i' (neieskaitīts) when the performance is not acceptable. Liechtenstein Liechtenstein uses the Swiss Grading System. Lithuania In Lithuania, the grading system has been changed to a 10-point one. 10 is the highest achievable grade for an excellent performance and 1 is the lowest. Usually 1 is written when where is no work present at all, as most teachers tend to keep 2 the lowest grade and they would rarely write 1. Some teachers would not write 1 and write 2 even when there is no work present. The minimal grade for passing is usually 4, although some universities can choose it to be 5. Teachers in lower classes are encouraged to write marks such as lg - labai gerai (very good), g - gerai (good), patenkinamai (sufficient to pass) or nepatenkimai (insufficient to pass). Some subjects (like Physical Culture or Music) can be chosen to only have įsk - įskaityta (passed) or neįsk - neįskaityta (not passed). Moldova ''See Romania '' Netherlands, The See Also: Education in the Netherlands#Grading In The Netherlands , grades from 1.0 up to 10.0 are used, with 1 being worst and 10 being best. The grades 9 and 10 are hardly ever given on examinations (on average, a 9 is awarded in only 1.5%, and a 10 in 0.5% of cases). Generally, either one or two decimal places are used, and a +/− means a quarter (rounded to either 0.8 or 0.3 if only one decimal place is used). Thus, a grade of 6.75 (or 6.8) could be written as 7−, whereas a grade of 7+ would count for 7.25 or 7.3. The grade scale with the labels:
Usually 5.45 (or 5.5) and up constitute a pass whereas 5.44 (or 5.4) and below constitute a fail. If no decimal places are used, 6 and up is a pass and 5 and below a fail. Sometimes, when no decimal place is used, an additional grade, 6−, is used as "barely passed". In contrast with the usual interpretation as a 5.75, this grade represents what would have been a 5.5 if a decimal place were used. In some other situations, the decimal point is expressly forbidden to be used for any grade between 5.0 and 6.0, so that graders are forced to specify a clear pass/fail decision. Depending on the grade, several honors are available, including ''met genoegen'' and '' Cum Laude ''. This honor system is typically only used at universities. For an average grade of at least 7, but not meeting the criteria for ''cum laude'', ''met genoegen'' (with pleasure) is sometimes awarded; this is strongly dependent on the criteria the university maintains. The criteria for the '' Cum Laude '' honor vary aswell, usually requiring at least an 8 or 8.5 average grade. Various other conditions often apply as well, such as receiving no grades below a certain limit (6 or 7), or finishing within certain time bounds. Norway The formerly most common system of grades used at university level was based on a scale running from 1.0 (highest) through 6.0 (lowest), 4.0 being the lowest passing grade. The way the new Bologna system was introduced implies that students who had started their studies while the old system still was in effect will graduate with transcripts containing grades from both systems (i.e. both numbers and letters). Lower levels of education use a scale running from 0 through 6, with 6 being the highest and 2 the lowest passing grade. For non-final tests and mid-term evaluations the grades are often postfixed with + or − (except 6+ and 0−) and it is also common to use grades such as 5/6 or 4/3 indicating borderline grades. But the grades you have on you final paper is only 2,3,4,5 or 6. The grading scale looks like this:
Poland At Poland 's primary, middle and high schools a 1 to 6 point grade system is used, with 1 - fail, 2 - pass but very low performance, 3 - satisfactory, 4 - good, 5 - very good and 6 - above requirements (the student's knowledge exceeds what is taught). Until the 1990's, there was a 2 to 5 grade system with plus and minus marks, such as: 3− (passed but barely), or 4+ (between good and very good). Since the mid-90s, Polish primary and secondary schools expanded this system to include the sixth grade. At universities, a traditional four-point system is used; the grades are: 2.0 (fail), 3.0 (pass), 3.5, 4.0, 4.5, 5.0 (very good, the highest grade). Some universities use non-standard, additional 5.5 and 6.0 grades; some add 6.0 while forbidding 5.5. Portugal In Portuguese middle-schools the 5-1 Central European System is used, please see that entry. In high-schools and universities the 20-point Grading Scale is used. Romania In Romania n Primary School , a 4-point grading scale is used, where:
In secondary schools, High School s and universities a 10-point scale is used, 5 being the minimum grade for passing. Specifications such as + and −, half grades, and grades like 6/7 are sometimes used. Note that the grades used in primary school are derived from this scale, with ''Insufficient'' meaning "4 and under", and the other grades standing respectively for 5-6, 7-8, 9-10. A 10 is not rare to score, especially in low-interest subjects. An 9 is usually considered an excellent grade. The average grade goes between 7 and 8. A very poor performance is usually awarded a 3 or 4, while a 1 is often reserved for cases of academic dishonesty or some other unacceptable behavior. Grades with 2 decimal digits can also be awarded, e.g. 7.38 means "'very' satisfactory", although in the register (''catalog'', where grades are written) the grade will be rounded. Grades with 2 decimal digits can also be awarded in certificates of final examinations in secondary schools, but in that case this are not rounded. The same system (10-point scale) is used in Moldova , including in the primary school. Grading scale in Moldova Serbia In Serbia a five-point grading scale is used in Elementary schools and Secondary schools, where:
At universities, a six-point grading scale is used, where:
Slovakia In Slovakia there is a five-point grading scale used in primary and secondary schools. Slovenia In Slovenia a five-point grading scale is used in elementary schools and high schools, where:
In universities a ten-point grading scale is used, where:
Spain In Spain there is a ten-point grading scale used in elementary schools and high schools where:
In universities, the scale is retained, but 6 is no longer called "bien" and there are not difference between "notable alto" and "notable bajo". Instead, 5-6 is called "suficiente" and 7-8 is called "notable". "Matricula de Honor" or 10, is given to less than 1% of the student population at university level. Sweden These grades are used in the Grundskola (primary school) and the Gymnasium (secondary school):
Grades are assigned based on individual achievements rather than relative performance. Formally, the grade should reflect the degree of attainmant of stated learning outcomes and objectives. In practice, however, simple percentage limits are often used. Until 1994 relative grades on the scale 1-5, 5 being the highest, were used. The scale was intended to follow a Normal Distribution on a national level, with a mean of 3 and a standard deviation of 1. Up until 1962 yet another scale was used:
Though unused for over 40 years, this scale retains some cultural significance, and the standard Law School grading scale used today is based on it (see below). On University level the following standard grading scale has been defined:
As long as relative grading is not used, however, individual universities may choose to use any other scale. For example, in the fields of Engineering and Technology , the passing grades of VG and G are commonly replaced with 5, 4 and 3, whereas Law School s consistently employ a scale of AB, Ba and B as passing grades. Further, a number of universities are currently in the process of transitioning to an ECTS based scale, with an A to F grading, pursuant to the Bologna Process . Switzerland In Switzerland , usually a 6-point grading scale similar to that in Germany is used, but in reverse order and with a higher failing grade. In the Canton of Waadt , the scale goes up to 10 points.
In a typical exam, the average result will be somewhat above 4 with a Variance between 0.5 and 1. This of course varies depending on the kind of exam, the tested class, the school level, the region, the teacher and other factors. Since education is in the responsibility of the Cantons (except for the federal universities), grading notations may differ depending on the region. In some regions, + and − are used to indicate marks below or above an integer. Sometimes the − is used to indicate a better grade if it stands after the grade and a lower grade if it stands before the grade (in which case − is a symbol for "bis" 'to' rather than 'minus'), for example −5 is lower than 5 which is lower than 5− in that system. At university level, Latin expressions are used in some cases. The Latin grades for a passed final exam in law at the University of Zurich for example are "summa cum laude" (excellent), "magna cum laude" (very good), "cum laude" (good) and "rite" (sufficient). 6 Ukraine Ukraine has introduced some invention in grading system after 2002. New system provides grades that lay within 1 and 12 and matched with 5-point grade system used before by the following way: United Kingdom See Also: Grades in the United Kingdom Oceania Australia See Also: Grading in Australia Australia n primary and secondary schools are currently migrating to a common reporting and assessment format. Education is the responsibility of the states in Australia . In 2005 the Federal Government introduced a universal common assessment and reporting standards legislation that all states had to adhere to. The grading system is now structured as follows, though the percentages are only an approximate guide:
Most Australian tertiary institutions use close variations of the following grading structure:
Many courses also have Non-Graded Pass (NGP) and Non-Graded Fail (F), where it is considered more appropriate to have qualitative than quantitative assessment. However, in some universities, an F1 category may be given a 'Pass Conceded' if the student's Weighted Average is greater than a nominated threshold. often than not, this is around the 53 - 55 range Grade point averages are not generally used in Australia below a tertiary level. They are calculated according to more complicated formula than some other nations: Grade Point Average (GPA) = Sum of (grade points × course unit values) / total number of credit points attempted Where grade points are as follows:
Where a course result is a Non-Graded Pass, the result will only be included if the GPA is less than 4, and will be assigned the grade point of 4, otherwise NGP results will be disregarded. The term ''course unit values'' is used to distinguish between courses which have different weightings e.g. between a full year course and a single semester course. The High School Certificate system varies from state to state. For example, in New South Wales, the UAI (Universities Admissions Index) determines tertiary positions. Government Supported Positions are given to students that achieve above a certain UAI threshold. (An example of this is a UAI of 85 for Civil Engineering at the University of New South Waleshttp://www.uac.edu.au/pdf/2007_uai_coffs_csp_main.pdf) The value of the UAI corresponds with the percentile the student is placed within the state of New South Wales. New Zealand D and E are fail grades. ''Grade Value'' is used to convert ''Grade'' into GPA. (eg A+ = 9) ''Averaged GPA'' is used to convert GPA bact into ''Grade''. (eg 8.57 = A+). Note that some courses may employ different ranges in grade designation such as starting A+ from 90%. REFERENCES EXTERNAL LINKS
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