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Grade (education)

(Redirected from GPA)

"GPA" redirects here. For other uses, see GPA (disambiguation).

A grade education can mean either a teacher's evaluation of a student's work or a student's level of educational progress, usually one grade per year (often denoted by an ordinal number, such as the "3rd Grade" or the "12th Grade"). This article is about evaluation of students' work and various systems used in different countries and in some places called a grade point average (GPA).

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]


Contents

20-point grading scale

In Belgium, France, 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 (in contrast to the U.S. system)

Albania

see GPA in Albania

Australia

see GPA in Australia

Austria

see GPA in Austria

Bulgaria

see GPA in Bulgaria

Canada

see GPA in Canada

Central and Eastern Europe

see GPA in Central and Eastern Europe

Chile

see GPA in Chile

Costa Rica

In Costa Rica, the classification systems occur in a range between 0 and 100, where it is generally required to have at least a 70 to pass a course.

Croatia

For the grading system used in Croatia please see the section Yugoslavia (former).

Czech Republic

For the Czech system, please see section on Central and Eastern Europe.

Denmark

see GPA 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.

Grade Given for...
00 the completely unacceptable performance.
03 the very hesitant, very insufficient and unsatisfactory performance.
5 the hesitant and not satisfactory performance.
6 the just acceptable performance.
7 the mediocre performance, slightly below average.
8 the average performance.
9 the good performance, a little above average.
10 the excellent but not particularly independent performance.
11 the independent and excellent performance.
13 the exceptionally independent and excellent performance.

As of the start of the school-year 2006, a new system of grades, called the 7-step scale, was implemented in the school system, in order to make grades easier to compare internationally.Compared to former 13-scale, it looks like this:

New scale Old scale
1213,11
1010
79,8
47
026
005,03
-0300

The old scale is still in effect for those who attended a gymnasium prior 2005.

Finland

see GPA in Finland

France

The French grading system is mostly the the 20-point grading scale : it is used above all in secondary schools and universities. Primary schools generally use a 10-point grading scale or a letter grade like the ECTS grading Scale

French universities traditionnally use the the 20-point grading scale, but the ECTS grading Scale is more and more common as it is 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

see GPA in Germany

Hong Kong

see GPA in Hong Kong

Hungary

For the Hungarian system, please see section on Central and Eastern Europe.

India

see GPA in India

Nepal

Indonesia

see GPA in Indonesia

International Baccalaureate

see GPA in the International Baccalauraete

Ireland

see GPA in Ireland

Israel

see GPA in Israel

Italy

see GPA in Italy

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.

18-20: Excellent

15-17: Very Good

13-16: Sufficient

10-12: Poor but Passing

9 & below: fail

Mexico

see GPA in Mexico

The Netherlands

In The Netherlands, grades from 1.0 up to 10.0 are used, with 1 being worst and 10 being best. Generally one decimal place is used and a +/- means a quarter, rounded to either .8 or .3. Thus, a 6.75 could be written as 7- and count as an 6.8, whereas a 7+ would be a 7.25 and count as an 7.3. The grade scale with the labels:

Depending on the grade, several honors are available: total average of grades 8 with no grade under 7 and finishing in time: cum laude. For an average better than 7, but not meeting the criteria for cum laude, met genoegen (with pleasure), is sometimes awarded. This honor system is typically only used at universities.

Usually 5.5 and up constitute a pass whereas 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". This is what would have been a 5.5 if a decimal place was used.

A description (in Dutch) of the grading system in Dutch schools can be found at http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cijfer#Schoolcijfers

Grading systems compared

Converting the numbers of the Dutch grading system into the letters of systems such as those used in the United States and Great Britain, is difficult. It can really only be done if one can compare the frequency distribution of grades in the two systems.

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).

As the incidence of a 9 or 10 in HAVO examinations is considerably lower than that of the top marks in the American or British grading system, it would be a mistake to equate a 10 to an A, a 9 to a B, and so forth. If the 8, 9 and 10 are taken together, as in the table above, they represent the top S to 15% of examination results. If, in a grading system based on letters, the A represents the top 10% or thereabouts, grade A may be regarded as equivalent to grades 8 and above.

The conversion of the lowest passing grade may present another problem. A grade of 4 is a clear fail, although one 4 at the examination is acceptable if high grades are obtained in all the other subjects. A 5, on the other hand, is 'almost satisfactory'. For purposes of assessing a pupil's progress throughout the year, a 5 is usually considered to be good enough, provided the pupil does better on the next test. For examinations, a 5 is unacceptable only as an average, but is condoned in one or two subjects. Its use is comparable to that of the D in many systems: a weak pass, but as an average too low for admission into a higher cycle of education.

For the award of the HAVO diploma, the average final grade should be a 6. In view of the high frequency of 6's, coupled with the fact that it is the minimum requirement for admission into a higher cycle of education, there are good grounds for equating a 6 with a C, which has a similar frequency and purpose.

New Zealand

NCEA
Official Name Common Name Meaning
Achievement with excellence Excellence / E The candidate has demonstrated in depth understanding of the material tested
Achievement with merit Merit / M The candidate has met the criteria of the standard which demonstrates substantial knowledge of the material tested
Achievement Achieved / A The candidate met the criteria of the standard to a level which demonstrates adequate understanding of the material tested
Not achieved Not achieved / NA Fail
University grading system
Grade Percentage Grade Value Averaged GPA
A+ 90-100 9 8.5-9
A 85-89 8 7.5-8.49
A- 80-84 76.5-7.49
B+ 75-79 65.5-6.49
B 70-74 54.5-5.49
B- 65-69 43.5-4.49
C+ 60-64 32.5-3.49
C 55-59 21.5-2.49
C- 50-54 10.5-1.49
D 40-49 00.4-0.49
E 0-39 00.0-0.39

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+)

Norway

Most of Norway's university-level study programs have now introduced the Bologna system of grading. Thus, in classes above high school, letter grades A, B, C, D, E and F are used. A is the highest and E is the lowest passing grade. F is fail.

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.The grading scale looks like this:

Peru

Peru's grading system is very similar to Belgian, please see that entry.

Philippines

Most schools and universities, such as De La Salle University (DLSU), use the 4-point number grading system.

(DLSU-Manila Grading System)

A student who has a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 3.0 is entitled to graduate "With Honors". Those having a CGPA of 3.4 to below 3.6 will graduate with a "Cum Laude". From 3.6 to below 3.8 is a "Magna Cum Laude", and from 3.8 above is a "Summa Cum Laude".

There are also schools, such as the Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU), that use letter grades. The equivalent percentages for each letter grade varies depending on the passing grade of the subject (some have a passing grade of 70%; others, 50%).

The state university, University of the Philippines (UP), uses a reverse 5.0 scale, with 1.0 as the highest grade, 3.0 as the passing, and 5.0 as the failing grade. Below is the usual grading scale:

A student with a GWA (general weighted average) of 1.75 to below 1.45 will graduate as a "Cum Laude", 1.45 to below 1.20 is a "Magna Cum Laude," and 1.20 to 1.0 is a "Summa Cum Laude."

Poland

For the Polish system, please see section on Central and Eastern Europe.

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

For the Romanian system, please see section on Central and Eastern Europe.

Russia

For the Russian system, please see section on Central and Eastern Europe.

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:

Singapore

Singapore's grading system in schools is differentiated by the existence of many types of institutions with different education focus and systems. The grading systems that is used at Primary, Secondary, and Junior College levels are the most fundamental to the local system used.

Primary Schools

Primary schools in Singapore implement a grading system along an "Achievement Band", until the system disregarded the EM3 stream and concentrate on an "Overall Grade" scheme, which grade students as below:

Lower Primary (Primary 1 to 3)

Upper Primary (Primary 4 to 6)

PSLE

Secondary Schools

Secondary schools are the first institutions in Singapore to have implemented the “Overall Grade” grading system for academic subjects. Since the 2000s, the education system allow more capable Normal (Academic) stream students to participate in the O Levels examination for Mother Tongue and Mathematics (Elementary) a year instead of taking the N Levels equivalents. This has resulted with a quasi-O Levels grading system used for such students, although their N Levels subjects are graded along the Overall Grade grading system, thus in their result slip, some subjects will be graded along the Overall Grade, and some with the O Levels grading system.

Express and Special stream students are graded along the Overall Grade grading system for the first 3 academic years in their secondary schools, and then graded along the O Levels grading system in their final secondary school year (year 4). Normal (Academic) students are graded for first 3 academic years and the N Levels year (year 4), and subsequently graded along the O Levels grading system in their final secondary school year (year 5). Normal (Technical) stream students are graded along the Overall Grade grading system throughout their entire education in secondary schools.

Non-academic subjects like Religious Knowledge, Civic & Moral Education and Music are graded with an alphabetical grading system of A, B, C or D.

Overall Grade

GPA

In some Secondary Schools, Grade Point Averages are used. The Grade Point Average is calculated by taking the Grade Point of each subject, adding them together, then dividing the total by the amount of subjects the student takes. This value is rounded to two decimal places, giving the student's GPA. A minimum GPA of 2.0 will usually be required for promotion.

Grade Percentage Grade Point
A+ 80-100 4.0
A 70-79 3.6
B+ 65-69 3.2
B 60-64 2.8
C+ 55-59 2.4
C 50-54 2.0
D 45-49 1.6
E 40-44 1.2
F <40 0.8

O Levels Grades

Junior College Level (GCE A and AO levels)

In addition, students offering Special Papers (offered for the last time in 2006) will be awarded either 1 (Distinction), 2 (Merit), or U (Unclassified). Grades 1 and 2 may only be awarded with a grade E and above in the main A level paper. Grade U will be awarded if a candidate fails to achieve at least a grade E in the main subject paper, and will not be reflected in the A level result cerificate.

Different JCs have different expectations and thus, the school reserves the discretion to moderate the marks when deemed necessary. For example, some JCs may regard 50% as the passing mark instead of 45% by others.

Note: AO level grades at Junior College level follows the O level system above.

All percentages with their corresponding grades shown here are just approximate guidelines because ultimately at the end of all major examinations (Primary School Leaving Examinations or PSLE in short, GCE N, O and A Levels) the Ministry of Education, Singapore, will moderate the results. Hence, an A grade for instance may no longer be at 70%. It could possibly be 68% or even 73% depending on the performance of the cohort. This is usually done to prevent grade inflation.

In addition, some schools are also offering the International Baccalaureate diploma program.

Polytechnic (Diploma)

Grading

Grade Point Average

The graduation criteria is to accumulate at least 1.0 for their GPA. For entrance into local university, the minimum criteria is to accumulate at least 3.2-3.5 for their GPA depending on each course. As for overseas university, the criteria is slightly lower which can range from 2.0-3.0. The matriculation requirement for local university is very high because there is only 15% of vacancy is allocated to polytechnic graduates. CCA is also taken into consideration for matriculation.

Slovakia

For the Slovak system, please see section on Central and Eastern Europe.

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.

ECTS grading scale
ECTS Grade Definition Spanish Grade Definition University Spanish Academic Record Grade
A Excellent 10 Matrícula de Honor 4
B Very Good 9-9.9 Sobresaliente 3
C Good 7-8.9 Notable 2
D-E Sufficient 5-6.9 Suficiente 1
FX-F Fail 0-4.9 Insuficiente

Sweden

These grades are used in the Grundskola (primary school) and the Gymnasium (secondary school):

When grading tests, the following limits are sometimes used:

but the grades relate to stated goals and not to a certain percentile of students.

Until 1994 relative grades on the scale 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 were used. The scale was intended to have a national average of 3 and a standard deviation of 1, where 5 was the highest grade.

Up until 1962 yet another scale was used:

A was the highest grade, but rarely given.

Universities (such as Stockholm University), with some exceptions, use the grading:

Many of these univerities are in a transition phase towards the ECTS credit system with an A to F grading, where A is the highest, following the Bologna process.

The Stockholm School of Economics uses:

Engineering colleges and universities such as KTH or Chalmers use a truncated five-point numeric scale, where 5 is the highest possible grade:

School of Economics and Commerce Law, Gothenburg University uses the same system as Stockholm University:

Switzerland

In Switzerland, a 6-point grading scale similar to that in Germany is used, but in reverse order and with a higher failing grade.

Every grade below 4 is a failing grade, so a 3.9 is considered insufficient. In exams, quarter steps are usually used to indicate grades in between integer grades, for example 5.25. Sometimes, finer grained systems are used with steps of one tenth. This is often the case in exams where the grade is a linear function of the number of achieved points (Grade = achieved_point/max_points*5 + 1). In certificates, grades are either rounded to integers or to half integers. After having rounded the individual grades, a weighted mean is used to calculate the overall result. The weight of a grade is normally proportional to the number of hours the according subject was taught per week. To pass a year, this overall result needs to be sufficient. Sometimes further conditions need to be fulfilled, such as a maximum allowed number of grades below four. At university level, classes can often be repeated individually in case of an insufficient grade, so not the whole year or semester needs to be repeated.

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 lain 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). Promotionsordnung der Rechtswissenschaftlichen Fakultät (German). Retrieved on August 5, 2005.

Ukraine

For the Ukrainian system, please see section on Central and Eastern Europe.

United Arab Emirates

At most universities and colleges The United Arab Emirates grading system is very similar to the United States grading system. Please see that entry.

United Kingdom

This does not cite its references or sources.
You can help Wikipedia by introducing appropriate citations.This article has been tagged since June 2006.

The whole of the United Kingdom does not use the same grading (marking) scheme.

Scotland

See also: Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework and Scottish Qualifications Certificate

Scotland's education system uses the following structure:

Standard Grade

Credit level

General level

Foundation level

It should now be noted that Scotland is moving on from the old System,and now uses the Higher Still Programme, which is Part of the National Qualifications Package.These are as follows:

National Qualifications

Advanced Highers

Highers

Intermediate 2

Intermediate 1

For each qualification grades are divided into Band 1 and Band 2, the former indicating a higher mark. These bands are not shown on certificates issued by the SQA and do not need to be stated on CVs.

The Intermediate 1 Grading is equivalent to Standard Grade General Pass,Intermediate 2 Grading is equivalent to Standard Grade Credit,Highers are equivalent to the old Highers whilst Advanced Highersare equivalent to the old CSYS.

Most Secondary Schools have moved to this new system, however there are stillsome schools that use the old System of Standard Grades.

National Courses

Any lower standard of work will simply result in the failing of an exam, which is not graded.

England, Wales and Northern Ireland

England, Wales and Northern Ireland use a unified system for grading secondary school qualifications.

General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE)

General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is graded on scale of A*-A-B-C-D-E-F-G, with U as Ungraded (Fail).

Although any grade from A*-G is officially a pass, many employers accept only A*-C. The headline official school league table also measures only A*-C grades achieved. There is no consistent correlation between exam percentages and the grade awarded, which will vary depending on the subject, exam board, and year.

Advanced Level

The General Certificate of Education (GCE) Advanced Level (A level), is graded on a scale of A-E, with U as Ungraded (Fail).

As with the GCSE, there is no consistent correlation between exam percentages and the grade awarded, which will vary depending on the subject, exam board, and year.

United States

Main article: 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, colleges and universities 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.

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).

In schools, the grade point average is computed by multiplying the summing the quantitative values (4.0, etc.) and dividing the total by the number of factors. 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:

ClassCreditsGradeGrade Points
Speech 1012A2 x 4.0 = 8.0
Biology 1024B+4 x 3.3 = 13.2
History 1033B-3 x 2.7 = 8.1
Physical Education 1041C1 x 2.0 = 2.0

Chromatic variants (+ and -) are often used. In hypomodal grading on a 100 point scale, the prime letter grade is assigned a value of X5, the + grade is assigned the top value of X9 and the - grade is assigned the bottom value of X0. Thus, 87 to 89 is B+, 83 to 86 is B, and 80 to 83 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.

Yugoslavia (former)

In Croatia and likely the rest of the former Yugoslavia, a similar five-point grading scale is used, where:

Teachers in grade schools and high schools are also allowed to record individual exam results with grades such as "3+" or "5-" or "3/4" which indicate varying ambiguities, but final grades at the end of the year need to be one of the basic five. An arithmetic mean is usually calculated, with X.45 being the threshold.

See also

Degree grades:

References

  1. ^ Postman, Neil (1992). Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology (in English). New York City: Alfred A. Knopf, 13.

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