Grading systems by country

 ( Academic Transfer ) 

The distribution of grades differs from standards in Western countries and strongly depends on the university. In Vietnamese universities, ten or nine is nearly impossible. Students rarely score higher than 8.0 on their final results.

Universities use 0–100 point grade scaling similar to the United States grading. 71 is required to pass, or roughly the equivalent of a C. Schools use the 1–5 point system, meaning if a student has a 4.5 that is the equivalent of an A− or somewhere around the 95-point range.

When it comes to grade point average (GPA), Panama uses a 0–3 point scale to determine the student's GPA. For instance, if a student has a 2.5 GPA, that is roughly the same as a U.S. student having a 3.0–3.5.

Most universities evaluate classes with two mid exams and a final. The final exam encompasses the whole course syllabus, whereas the mid exams usually review half. In some schools, if the average grade of the two mid exams is equal to or higher than 7.00, the student is able to pass the class without needing to take a final exam (since there are only two exams, some teachers also pass students who average 6.50; others weigh in the decision based on the student's performance in class). An average of less than 4.00 is failing; students who score such an average are not allowed to take the final exam.

In high schools, the year is divided into three trimesters and classes are usually yearlong. Students need an average of 6.00 or higher in all the three trimesters 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 third trimester, he or she would have to take a final exam, regardless of average. This is considered controversial since the last trimestral exam is not more important than the first two, but the rule stands to prevent students who have already reached the minimum average (e.g., two 10.00 in the first two give a student the lowest possible average of 6.33) from not making an effort during the last three months of the year. One's time at a university typically lasts 3–5 years.

The formalized overall grade in Austria is "pass with distinction" ( mit ausgezeichnetem Erfolg bestanden), which is given for excellent performance (average of 1.5 and better, no grade below 3) and "pass" ( Bestanden, no grade below 4).

If someone is given a "pass with distinction" in their Matura, Diploma and PhD, all curricula absolved in the regular duration time they can have a 'promotio sub auspiciis presidentis rei publicae', (literally "under the auspices of the President of the Republic", meaning that the President will personally attend the graduation ceremony), which is the highest honor in Austria only achieved by 1 out of 2,500 graduates (.04%) yearly.

Generally speaking, a cumulative Grade Point Average does not exist in the Austrian educational system and therefore has little relevance in the local job market.

To convert to percentage (on the 10-point scale), the grade is multiplied by 10.

Belgian secondary schools use a scale from 0 to 100 or even above for exams (50 usually being the passing grade). On report cards, certain schools also give grades on a percentage scale (0 to 100) while others use a 0–10 scale. Those total scores are weighted averages of exams and tests. In Belgian secondary schools, there are 6 years. In the first three years, students have to do exams every term. The scores are usually given in percentages. At the end of the school year, a total average score is given.

University colleges (another form of higher education, not comparable with American colleges) use the same scale from 0 to 20 as Belgian universities, although homework and presence may influence sometimes up to 50% or more of these 20 points (situation ). It is more common to have a final exam counting for 100% of the grade if the course does not require laboratory work. Obtaining a grade higher than 16/20 is considered as a very good grade and a 19 or 20/20 is very rare.

Scaling varies significantly depending on the university or college.

Primary and secondary education grading:

University grading:

For examinations and tests, exact grading is often used and is represented by two positions after the decimal point:

Grades like Good (3.50) or Excellent (5.75) are common. Any passing grade at or above the .50 mark is prefixed with the term of the next higher grade. The lowest grade is 2.00; grades below 3.00 are failing grades, and the highest is 6.00. Grades like "Very good" (5-) and "Average" (3+) are also given, but plusses and minuses are generally ignored in calculations. The (-) or the (+) modifier is equivalent to 0.25 marks below or above the integer, but in most cases these are affixed only for the student to see how far he is from the midpoint of the grade assigned. Up to two minuses can be used, but only one plus, e.g. (6=) or (5+). Two minuses are written similar to the equal sign and it is read "on rails" (на релси), e.g. 6= is read "six on rails" (шест на релси). Despite their being equivalent to 0.25 marks, a grade like 3= is still recorded in official documents as 3. The Bad (1.00) grade is mostly obsolete and rarely given; some official electronic documents do not even permit it to be entered.

Roughly, the Bulgarian grade system can be equated to the American one like the following: 6=A, 5=B, 4=C, 3=D, and 2=F. Also, in accordance with the Australian system, 6=HD, 5=D, 4=Cr, 3=P, and 2=F.

The most common formula used in Bulgarian schools is currently Grade=(6* number of correct answers)/ total number of questions. That way if a student has answered 7 out of 10 questions correctly, their mark should be: (6*7)/10=4.20, which is graded as Good 4 or average performance. Another common formula is Grade = 2 + ((4* number of correct answers)/total answers). That way if a student has answered 7 out of 10 questions correctly, their mark would be: 2 + (4*7)/10 = 4.80, which is graded as Very Good 5.

At the end of each semester the grades are averaged to form a Grade Point Average ( prosječna ocjena), according to this scale:

In colloquial Croatian, grades are referred to be their numerical values: jedinica, dvojka, trojka, četvorka, petica. Students with failing grades (1 or F) are allowed to carry those grades throughout the school year, but are required to improve them to passing grades (2 or better) in order to finish the year. Failure to pass one class results in the student being held back a year.

Plus and minus signs are often used to further differentiate marks. For example, "2+" corresponds to the U.S. 'B+'. Half-intervals may also be used, such as "2–3", a grade halfway between 2 and 3.

At the university level, only grades 1, 2 and 3 are passing; anything worse than 3 is automatically a failing grade. Some universities use a six-point scale, with 'A' corresponding to "1", 'B' to "1–2", etc.

Syv-trins-skalaen consists of seven different grades, ranging from 12 to −3, with 12 being the highest. This new scale remains an "absolute" scale, meaning that, proportions are not taken into consideration.

In universities:

Before university, there's usually no minimum required to pass to the next year, and the decision is upon the council of the school, which means an average grade under 10 can be sufficient to pass. This follows a tendency of failing and retrying a year being less and less frequent in France.

In more difficult curricula, such as CPGE or 1st year of medicine, the average grade is usually so low that students pass or fail depending on their rank within the class, and anything above 7 or 8 can be considered a good grade.

World Education Services grade equivalence between France and the U.S.

• Scale: 0.00–10.00 (0–100%)
• Pass (module): 5.00 (50%)

The table below depicts the Greek Grading system while illustrates approximately how the Grades are compared with ECTS, US and UK grades:

For the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) the above grades are different: 9–10 is "excellent", 7–9 is "very good", 5–7 is "good", 0–4.9 is "fail".

The bare five-point scale is used for final grades at all educational levels (elementary school, high school, university). During the academic year, however, teachers may use various modifiers, especially in elementary school. A comma (,) after the grade has a minus effect ("alá", below), and an apostrophe (’) after the grade has a plus effect ("fölé", above); a grade halfway between two integers is indicated by the lower and higher one separated by a solidus: 3 /4 ("háromnegyed") is equivalent to 3.5, and 4 /5 is between 4 and 5, etc. Sometimes 5^*, five starred ("csillagos ötös") is used to indicate outstanding performance throughout the semester (only in primary school, as it would be considered childish in secondary school).

The three-point scale may be used in college/university settings as a final grading for some courses.

Primary school grades were changed in 2011, with the adoption of a new national curriculum from 0–10 into the following:

Passing or failing the Junior Cert (or any exams in Irish secondary schools), has no bearing on whether or not students can graduate or continue on.

For the Leaving Certificate, a points system is used. Previously, this consisted of lettered and numbered grades (A1, A2, B1, B2), with each grade separated by 5%, bar an A1 which was given for a mark over 90%. However, this was updated for the 2016/2017 Leaving Cert cycle and these letters were replaced by H (higher level), O (ordinary level) and F (foundation level). Each grade is separated by 10%. A maximum of 6 subjects are counted, with a possible 100 points in each subject. For students sitting the higher level maths paper, an extra 25 points can be obtained by getting a grade above a H6. In practice, most students take 7 or 8 subjects and their best 6 results are counted. Each subject has 2 or 3 levels: higher, ordinary and foundation. The points are:

The points system allocates all university places in Ireland for Irish applicants.

Irish universities vary in their grading systems. For example, UCD (University College Dublin) awards letter grades and corresponding GPA values similar to the United States system, but 1, 2.1, 2.2 etc. for degrees, while TCD (Trinity College Dublin) awards all grades as 1, 2.1, 2.2 etc.

Levels are used to underpin descriptive judgments on a set of specific learning objectives for each school subject. They are not used to evaluate the single task but the pupils performance on a long period on the report cards (mid-term and finals), as the dimension of continuity needs more than one assessment task to be evaluated.

Levels can be accompanied with longer descriptive judgments on the specific characteristics of each student for each subject, and are oriented toward a formative approach and students improvement.

Italian secondary school grades may vary from 10 (excellent) to 1 (impossible to assess), with passing being 6.

Note: 0 is used very rarely.

When a professor wants to apply a more precise scale and ranking for students assessments, instead of using the full 1–10 scale (which would make the scale inconsistent with that of other professors), s/he may sometimes have recourse to a plethora of symbols and decimals: the range between 5 and 6 is then expressed, in ascending order, by 5+, 5½, and 6− (or 5/6, named "5 to 6"). The minimum passing is 6. As these symbols (except ½) have no clear mathematical value (usually ±0.25), calculating end-year averages can be somewhat arbitrary and inconsistent; therefore, there has been a push since 2008 with the Gelmini reform to uniform the system to the 1–10 scale.

Before this reform, primary and secondary school grades used a different grading scale that expressed an assessment of the pupil's progress:

• Ottimo ("Excellent")
• Distinto ("Very Good")
• Buono (Good)
• Sufficiente (Pass)
• Insufficiente (Fail)

A recent school reform provides for the average grade of a student to include the grade for behavior; as in academic subjects, acceptable ratings range from 6 to 10.

In universities, a point system is used for exams, with 30 points being the best grade and 18 the minimum passing grade. This stems from the practice that exams were traditionally given by 3 examiners. Each had to rate the student's examination performance on a 1–10 scale, and the final grade was the sum of the three ratings. On a 1–10 scale, passing is 6, so on a 1–30 scale the minimum passing grade is 3*6 = 18. Nowadays the form of each examination is decided by the professor (number of examiners, whether written, oral, or both, etc.), but the traditional grading system remained.

Degrees have an analogous point system, in which however the highest grade is 110. A cum laude notation ( e lode in Italian language) is used to augment the highest grade for both exams and degrees, in all its levels, to reflect truly outstanding performance.

• Primary and secondary school
• 10-point grading scale; highest result 10, pass result 6
• Licenza media (commonly known as "Terza media")
• 10-point grading scale; highest result 10 e lode, pass result 6
• Maturità
• 100-point grading scale; highest result 100 e lode, pass result 60
• University
• Exams: 30-point grading scale; highest result 30 e lode, pass result 18
• Laurea (bachelor's degree) and laurea magistrale (master's degree): 110-point grading scale; highest result 110 e lode, pass result 66

The absence of any kind of performance is indicated by "nv" ( 'no assessment possible'); in the past, The mark for absence of work was "0" (). Teachers for minor assignments are encouraged to award either grades by percentage or STAP system. For percentage grades, 0% is awarded for extremely poor performance and 100% is awarded for exceptional work. The grade of 10 is reserved for exceptional achievements. 9 is most commonly used for a United States equivalent of an A. In some cases, the grade can be rounded for example if a student got 67% the grade can sometimes be rounded to a 7.

The lowest grade for passing a subject in the secondary education institutions is 4, while in the higher education institutions 5 is the lowest passing grade.

• *No answer provided, failed to complete the task ().

A 5.5 constitutes 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 is a fail; however, in this case of grading in full numbers there exists sometimes "6-", which would officially translate to 5.75, but can be interpreted here as "barely, but just good enough". If the grade would be a 5.49 and one decimal is used, the 5.49 will be a 5.5, but if no decimals are used (usually at the end of the year) the 5.49 will end up as a 5 which indicates a fail.

Depending on the specific university, some students who finish their studies with an average of 8.0 or higher, could get the nomination cum laude (which is comparable with summa cum laude as awarded in Germany and the United States).

The grade scale with its labels:

University grading:

Lower secondary school ( Ungdomsskole; age 13–16) and upper secondary school ( Videregående skole; age 16–19) use a scale running from 1 through 6, with 6 being the highest and 2 the lowest passing grade. It is not possible to fail a grade in Lower Secondary School; even 1 is a passing grade. For non-final tests and mid-term evaluations the grades are often post fixed with + or − (except that there is no 6+ or 1−). It is also common to use grades such as 5/6 or 4/3 indicating borderline grades. However, the grades students get on their diploma ( Vitnemål), are single-digit grades 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6. The student's non-weighted grade point average is also given on the Vitnemål.

In higher education, according to the ECTS-system, grades for undergraduate and postgraduate examinations are awarded according to a graded scale from A (highest) to F (lowest), with E as the minimum passing grade. The ECTS system was implemented at Norway's universities and colleges in the early 2000s, with most schools having converted to ECTS by 2003.

Before 2003, the formerly most common system of grades used at the university level was based on a scale running from 1.0 (highest) through 6.0 (lowest), with 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).

An academic year has two semesters, from August to December and from January to June, although exceptions occur. Courses are measured in "studiepoeng" according to the ECTS standard (European Credit Transfer System credits). A normal full-time study progression awards 60 credits (studiepoeng/stp) per year (30 per semester). Most institutions either use a 7.5, 8, 10, 12, 15 or 20-credit block system.

The grade 'excellent' as a final grade is usually awarded for extracurricular merit. In examinations, it is sometimes awarded for a perfect or near-perfect score (100%+, for example by answering extra-credit questions).

Grades (especially expressed numerically) can be suffixed with + (plus) or – (minus). On rare occasions, the = (double minus, 'rails') is used, especially as 2= also called "dwa na szynach" (literally: two on rails) to express the very lowest passing grade.

Before 1990, grades 1 and 6 were not used. It was grade 2 that was called "insufficient". 3=>, also called trzy na szynach (literally: three on rails) was the very lowest passing grade. The grade 6 might have been issued on rare occasions.

Post-secondary institutions use a different system, usually consisting of the following grades (with usual corresponding score percentages):

Qualifiers + and − are often used to add some degree of differentiation between the grades: e.g., 4+ is better than 4, but not quite as good as 5−. Grading varies greatly from school to school, university to university, and even teacher to teacher, even for courses that lend themselves to objective markings, such as mathematics and applied sciences. Even though the grades technically range from 1 to 5, 1 is not common and is rarely given for academic reasons—in a number of cases, a 1 is given as a result of failure to show up for or to complete an exam. A 2 grade usually means that the student showed no or little knowledge in a subject.

It may be worth mentioning that 1 is a fairly exotic grade in Russian schools, but it does officially exist. The generally used grades are 2 to 5. Plus (+) and minus (−) modifiers follow the same tendency; they are rarely used in middle school and almost never in colleges or universities. Some institutions and teachers, dissatisfied with the five-point scale, work with various larger ones, but these grading systems are not recognized by the state and require conversion for official use.

A considerably more complex grading system has been implemented for the recently introduced Unified state examinations. In this system, a "primary grade" is the sum of points for completed tasks, with each of the tasks having a maximum number of points allocated to it. The maximum total primary grade varies by subject so that one might obtain a primary grade of 23 out of 37 in mathematics and a primary grade of 43 out of 80 in French. The primary grades are then converted into final or "test grades" by means of a sophisticated statistical calculation, which takes into account the distribution of primary grades among the examinees. This system has been criticized for its lack of transparency.

At universities some subjects are graded "Pass/No pass" or "Credit/No Credit" (зачёт/незачёт, pronounced "zachòt/nyezachòt"); the rest are typically graded on the five-point scale. The "Pass/No Pass" grades do not have any official numeric representation. When zachòt – (credit- or pass-) type subjects are graded as "Pass/No pass", this represents a student's knowledge of a subject. Each university applies its own standards with respect to the knowledge a student must have in order to pass a subject. Zachòt equival to pass with mark of minimum 77% to maximum 100%. Students in Russia must pass all prescribed courses in order to graduate.

Since the word zachòt can be translated variously into English (e.g. as "credit" or "pass"), this notation can create problems for Russian students applying to Western universities. Such grades may confuse Western universities and complicate the accurate calculation of students' GPAs in Western systems. For Western system "Pass" calculation recommended to perform based on averages. Western universities and equivalency organizations usually disregard zachòt, despite the fact that this notation is typically used for about half of a student's course results. Consequently, most Western GPA conversions of Russian degrees reflect only part of a candidate's coursework.

All course examinations and zachot tests must be passed at the time each is given, as there are no repeats, resits or grade appeals. Hence only those who satisfy all the requirements during the allotted examination period for each semester graduate, leaving a huge number of students behind who in the West would have had a chance to resit examinations and even get their grades reconsidered. Furthermore, grades in Russia are determined not only by examination results but also by other criteria such as class attendance and participation, term papers and projects, in-class and homework assignments, laboratory reports, presentations, and sometimes even grooming and behavior. All these must be passed during the semester before a 'final examination mark' and final zachot is awarded.

Russian degrees do not have composite classifications such as in the British system of First Class, Upper/Lower Second Class, Third Class, Pass, etc. This is because each course is examined independently, students must pass all of them, and they do not add up or contribute to an average grade or 'class'. Another reason is that during the Russian Revolution, social stratification and classification were supposedly abolished in the interest of promoting social equality. Accordingly, all students would be expected to perform at or above the minimum level required to qualify and graduate. Calculation of an aggregate mark or GPA is not considered fair or even possible, as it would be felt to disregard much of a candidate's academic work. The zachòt notation would complicate such calculation, and the final thesis qualifying mark is usually considered as the final result. Students who have shown exceptional academic talent by getting 5's in most of their courses are awarded a 'degree with excellence', which comes in a special red cover.

At the university the grade scale used is as follows:

Star (*) is often used to further elevate the mark 1 as 1* Jednotka s hviezdičkou (Grade one with star).

At the university level, the grades are slightly enhanced as: 1 Výborný A (Excellent), 1.5 Velmi Dobrý B (Very Good), 2 Dobrý C (Good), 2.5 Uspokojivo D (Adequate), and 3 Dostatočne E (Sufficient) are passing; the failing grade is 4 Nedostatočne FX (Insufficient).

• 5 ( odlično, excellent, A)
• 4 ( prav dobro, very good, B)
• 3 ( dobro, good, C)
• 2 ( zadostno, sufficient, D) is the lowest passing grade.
• 1 ( nezadostno, insufficient, F) is the lowest possible grade, and the failing one.

Except this general pattern, the meaning and the calculation of the grades is subject to the respective cantonal office of education. The cantonal office of educations usually follow the following pattern:

An oversimplified way to calculate a grade is: (acquired points/total points ) × 5 + 1 = grade.

In Undergraduate education, regulations are generally according to the US grade system, depends on the university rules.

The Ukrainian system for middle and high school provides grades that lie within 1 and 12. The lowest passing grade is 4. Additionally, the grades are divided into four levels: initial (1–3), sufficient (4–6), average (7–9) and high (10–12).

A-Level

Grading in universities

A degree may be awarded with or without honours, with the class of an honours degree usually based on a weighted average mark of the assessed work a candidate has completed. The degree classifications are:

• First class honours (1st)
• Second class honours, upper division (2:1)
• Second class honours, lower division (2:2)
• Third class honours (3rd)
• Ordinary degree (pass)

The postgraduate grading system for master's degrees in the UK is similar to the Honours system but differs in some points. The minimum passing grade is 50% instead of 40%. The complete classifications look as follows:

• Distinction: 70-100%
• Merit: 60-69%
• Pass: 50-59%
• Fail: Less than 50%

For National 3 and 4 courses in Scotland, the only grades are as follows:

Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom

In Alberta's post-secondary colleges, technical institutes, or universities, the actual percentage associated with letter grade is up to the individual institution or professor teaching the course.

The 4.33 is scored as a 4.00 at the University of Alberta, Southern Alberta Institute of Technology, MacEwan University, and the University of Calgary. University of Calgary : F.2 Undergraduate Grading System. Ucalgary.ca. Retrieved on 14 May 2015. Archived on 4 May 2025

There is no universal percentage grade associated with any letter grade in the province of Alberta and such associations are made by professors or a bell curve. A student may be awarded an Honours designation on parchment if semester and cumulative grade point average of 3.7 is achieved on the first attempt of courses required towards graduation of major. In addition, students will need to complete graduation requirements within specific time restrictions. D is the minimum general passing letter grade to receive credit for a course. Certain faculties may require higher grades to receive course credit.

Some universities in Alberta have used a nine-point stanine grading scale: 9=A+, 8=A/A–, 7=B+/B, 6=B–/C+, 5=C, 4=D, 0 to 3=F. Grading System Explained – Office of the Registrar – University of Alberta . Registrar.ualberta.ca (1 September 2003). Retrieved on 28 September 2011.

The University of British Columbia uses a percentage grading scale.

Simon Fraser University uses a 4.33-point grading scale.

Secondary schools in the School District 38 of Richmond use another grading scale.

In some faculties, such as the School of Engineering Sciences program at its Faculty of Applied Sciences, a course grade score of a D is considered a fail if it is a prerequisite course.

The University of Victoria uses a 9-point grading scale alongside a percentage-based system.

GPA is Calculated taking total "points" and divided by school credit hours.

Grade F is the sole failing mark.

Grade F is the sole failing mark.

The University of Ottawa uses a grade point average system with numbers ranging from 0 to 10 despite multiple schools using the 12 point system. University of Ottawa grade point averages . Web5.uottawa.ca. The University of Toronto, Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Retrieved on 28 September 2011.

Official grading system at the University of Ottawa: Letter grade, numerical value, and percentage equivalency Academic Regulations – Section 10: Grading System Retrieved on 20 October 2011.

This scale is used by at least UQTR. The Université de Montréal 30–8.PDF. (PDF) . Retrieved on 28 September 2011. scale is similar but goes from A+ to F. Université Laval Accueil – Faculté des sciences de l'administration – Université Laval . .fsa.ulaval.ca. Retrieved on 28 September 2011. uses a similar 4.33 scale. UQAM, UQAM | Registrariat | Étudiants | Légende du relevé de notes. Registrariat. Retrieved on 28 September 2011. Concordia University and Université de Sherbrooke uses a 4.3 scale. This scale is much alike multiple other scales used in Canada.

McGill University and the École Polytechnique de Montréal use a 4.0 scale. Université de Sherbrooke scale is from A+ to E.

The percent equivalent of each grade and the passing mark can vary. The passing mark in high school and college is 60%.

In some universities, students who fail a subject have the option of taking an extraordinary test ( examen extraordinario) 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 failing students a chance to pass their subjects. Those who fail the extraordinary test have two 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 may fail the entire year.

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 79. Curve-adjustment is rare. Grad-level students are usually expected to have grades of 80 or above to graduate. Students in the honor roll are usually those with an overall GPA of 90 or higher upon graduation, and some private universities will award them a "With Honors" diploma. Additionally, in some private universities, the pass scores are higher or lower depending from the kind of studies that are related with (for example, in some universities, in the case of Engineering, the minimum score is 7.3 and for Art, Sciences is 8.8) and lower than this score is not acceptable.

At most schools, colleges and universities in the United States, letter grades follow a five-point system, using the letters A, B, C, D and E/F, with A indicating excellent, C indicating average and F indicating failing. Additionally, most schools calculate a student's grade point average (GPA) by assigning each letter grade a number and averaging those numerical values. Generally, American schools equate an A with a numerical value of 4.0. Most graduate schools require a 3.0 (B) average to take a degree, with C or C− being the lowest grade for course credit. Most undergraduate schools require a 2.0, or C average to obtain a degree with a minimum of D or D− to pass a course. For most secondary schools, the minimum overall and course passes are both D or D−. Some districts, such as Mount Olive Township School District in New Jersey, have eliminated D as a passing grade for their students due to a high failure rate. At Some N.J. Schools, D No Longer Counts As Passing, NPR. Accessed 24 October 2010.

Whereas most American graduate schools use four-point grading (A, B, C, and E/F), several—mostly in the west, especially in California—do award D grades but still require a B average for a degree qualification. Some American graduate schools use nine- or ten-point grading scales, formerly including the Rackham School of Graduate Studies at the University of Michigan, where 9.0 = A+, 8.0 = A, 7.0 = A−, and so on. (Rackham switched to a more conventional four-point scale in August 2013.) Rackham School of Graduate Studies: GPA Conversion Announcement , University of Michigan. Accessed 6 February 2014.

In a handful of states, GPA scales can go above 4.0.

The percentage needed in any given course to achieve a certain grade and the assignment of GPA point values varies from school to school, and sometimes between instructors within a given school. The most common grading scales for normal courses and honors/Advanced Placement courses are as follows:

Some states may use an alternate grading scale such as the following which is commonly used.

Whether a school uses E or F to indicate a failing grade typically depends on time and geography. Around the time of World War II, several states began to use E, while the majority of the country continued to use the F, which traces to the days of Pass/Fail grading (P and F). In recent years, some schools have begun using an N for failing grades, presumably to represent "No Credit". Another letter used to represent a failing grade is U, representing "unsatisfactory."

Chromatic variants ("+" and " − ") are used. In most 100-point grading systems, the letter grade without variants is centered around a value ending in five. The "plus" variant is then assigned the values near the nine digit and the "minus" variant is assigned the values near zero. Any decimal values are usually rounded. Thus, a score of 80 to 82 is a B−, a score 83 to 86 is a B and a score of 87 to 89 is a B+. The four-point GPA scale, the letter grade without variants is assigned to the integer. The "plus" and "minus" variants are then assigned to .3 above the integer and .3 below the integer, respectively. Thus, a B is equal to 3.0, a B+ is equal to 3.3, and a B− is equal to 2.7.

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, achieves the mark of a 4.00; for the A+ mark, most schools still assign a value of 4.00, equivalent to the A mark, to prevent deviation from the standard 4.00 GPA system. However, the A+ mark, then, becomes a mark of distinction that has no impact on the student's GPA. A few schools, however, do assign grade values of 4.33 or 4.30; but the scale is still called "4.0", because grading scales (or "quality indices") take their numerical names from the highest whole number.

In multiple American , students may also score above 4.0 if taking advanced, honors, Advanced Placement, or International Baccalaureate classes (for example, a "regular" A would be worth four points, but an A earned in an advanced class might be worth 4.5 or 5 points towards the GPA.). High School GPA Calculator, Studentpreunited.com. Accessed 12 November 2011. This is called a weighted GPA.

In middle and high schools that do not use a system based on academic credit, 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:

• Total Credits: 11
• Total Grade Points: 35.3
• Grade Point Average: 35.3 / 11 = 3.209 or slightly below B+

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." This 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 (discussion) and conventions (spelling and grammar). Since grading is not based on a curve distribution, it is entirely possible to achieve a grading distribution in which all students pass 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 traditional letter grades. Even after ten years, some states, such as Washington, continue to evaluate over half of their students as "below standard" on the state mathematics assessment.

Here is another example of a commonly used grading scale, currently in place at Wayzata High School in Plymouth, Minnesota. The Grade Point Average is not the traditional four-point scale, but uses the 12-point scale for unweighted classes and the 15-point scale for weighted classes:

The 12-point GPA scale works as follows. Students receive 12 points for an A or A+, 11 points for an A−, 10 points for a B+, etc. for each grading period. Once a grading period is complete, the student's total grade points are divided by the total number of credits and a GPA is generated.

For example, here is one term of grades and a grade point average from a student whose school uses the 86-minute block schedule (such as Wayzata High School):

Contract grading emphasizes learning behaviors. Most students are accepting of contract grading; however, the data shows that fewer than half of students noted they found it helpful and less stressful than letter grades. Most students that dislike this method were advanced students and found the process to be repetitive.

The Waldorf assessment style consists of developmental meetings and an evaluation letter. Waldorf grading methods focused more on what they were learning rather than how well each student applied it. It emphasizes positive feedback and progress. Some people may label it as unstructured, others may describe it as a personalized and relaxed style of learning and assessment. Waldorf philosophy strongly reiterates the growth and improvement of the students.

Narrative evaluation can be defined as detailed written feedback. Studies show that over half of students really like narrative evaluation. It focuses on improvement and provides personal detail of how students have grown. It allows for more personalized feedback and eliminates the competitive nature of students to compare themselves to their classmates.

The majority of tertiary institutions in New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania and use the following grading structure:

The majority of tertiary institutions in ACT, Western Australia and Victoria, use the following grading structure:

Some other Australian universities have a marking system similar to the Honours system used by British universities:

Many courses also have Non-Graded Pass (NGP) and Non-Graded Fail (NGF), in which 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. (More often than not, this is around the 53–55 range.)

Grade-point averages are not generally used in Australia below a tertiary level but are important for selection into graduate entry courses such as Medicine and Law. They are calculated according to the more complicated formula than some other nations, and may be customized for the particular course application when used as entry criteria into graduate entry degrees:

Grade Point Average (GPA) = Sum of (grade points × course unit values) / total number of credit points attempted, in which grade points are as follows:

• High Distinction = 7
• Distinction = 6
• Credit = 5
• Pass = 4
• Fail level 1 = 1
• Fail level 2 = 0

At some universities, among them Macquarie University, University of Technology, Sydney, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) GPA – Grade point average . RMIT. Retrieved on 28 September 2011. and Monash University in Melbourne, a GPA is calculated, with 4.0 being a High Distinction; 3.0 a Distinction, 2.0 a Credit, and 1.0 a pass. In certain faculties, such as law, it is, therefore, possible to graduate with "honours" with a GPA of less than 2.5. Whenever a course result is a Non-Graded Pass, the result will normally be disregarded in GPA calculations.

Some other universities, such as the University of Melbourne, University of New South Wales, University of Sydney, and University of WollongongUniversity of Wollongong (2008). 2008 Course Handbook: Assessment. Accessed on 24 December 2008. use a Weighted Average Mark (WAM) for the same purpose as a GPA. The WAM is based on the raw percentage grades, or marks, achieved by the student, rather than grade points such as High Distinction or Distinction.

The term course unit values is used to distinguish between courses that have different weightings e.g. between a full year course and a single semester course.

For grading of secondary school graduates, the ATAR (Australian Tertiary Admissions Rank) system determines which students are offered positions in tertiary courses. Government Supported Positions are offered to applicants for a course who are ranked above a particular ATAR threshold, which commonly varies from course to course, institution to institution, and year to year. (An example of this is an ATAR of 85 for Bachelor of Science at the University of Melbourne.) A student's ATAR signifies that student's rank relative to their year 7 cohort, including students that did not complete year 12. A student with an ATAR of 80.00, for example, has performed, in their final year of secondary schooling, better than 80 percent of that student's year 7 cohort, had all those years 7 students completed year 12 and been eligible for an ATAR.

Depending on the university, admittance may require:

• Completion of secondary school.
• A common basic year to all degrees or an entrance exam for some of the more popular degree programs.

University grades are also on a scale of 1 to 10, but a passing mark is represented by 4, which usually corresponds to a mark of 70–75%, or higher.

Whatever the school, a grade below 5.0 (50%) is generally a fail, though this average varies greatly depending on region and type of school (being commonly required to be above 60% in public schools, and even 70% in some private institutions). In primary and secondary education, students are often permitted one recovery exam at the end of the grading period. Since Brazilian elementary and high schools are year-based and not credit-based, failing even one subject means that the student will be held back an entire year. As a result, schools may offer an interview with, or an independent evaluation by, an academic review board that has the authority to pass even those students who have failed their recovery exam, such as in the case of extenuating circumstances. These policies are all up to each individual school.

Still, private schools often ask for high GPAs when considering students for scholarship programs, and the same goes for independent language schools. Besides that, many private institutions offer prizes for students that reach the highest grade averages, as an incentive for them to keep pushing for it. It is considered a point of pride for an institution how many students got into public universities, and they'll do their best to insure it happens.

In college, the minimum passing grade is also defined by each individual university, and is typically either 6.0 or 7.0. During college, GPA is much more important than in high school because it is often used not only when considering a student for scholarships, but also undergraduate research fellowships, exchange programs. Some admissions to Master's programs ( cursos de pós-graduação stricto sensu) give more importance to the student's research and their Undergraduate Thesis or Capstone Project ( Trabalho de Conclusão de Curso, or "TCC"). However, it is usually taken into account for choosing which students will receive grants upon entering their Master's.

Numerical system from 1.0 to 7.0:

Numerical system from 0 to 5:

Numerical system from 0 to 10:

It is noteworthy that most schools no longer implement the grades below 1,0 as a null performance because is believed that it might cause low self-esteem in students.

• 10–9.5 = Rated Excellent (A)
• 9.4–9.0 = Rated Outstanding (B)
• 8.9–8.0 = Very good credit rating (C)
• 7.9–6.5 = Rating Sufficient or Good Sufficient (D)
• 6.4–5.1 = Fail failing grade with Recovery option or supplementary examination (E)
• 5.0–1.0 = Fail automatically (F)

For most Peruvian universities the grading system is as follows:

Because of the acronym of the word "Sobresaliente" (Ste.), it is usually pronounced "Sote".

As of 2022, a new grading system in Venezuela has been implemented which compares to other Spanish-speaking countries. The new grading system now ranges from 00 to 10, 00 being the lowest and 10 being the highest.

Shown here is the Venezuelan grading system in probable comparison with the United States grading system: