Academic grading in Finland

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This is an article on the grading that is used in Finland. Several systems are in use in different educational institutions in Finland.

Contents

Comprehensive school

The "school grade" system has, historically, been a scale of 0 to 10, but all grades lower than 4 have been consolidated into a grade of 4. Thus, it is now divided between a failing grade (4), and 5–10, the passing grades. This is similar to the Romanian grading scale.

In individual exams, but not in the final grades, it is also possible to divide this scale further with '½', which represents a half grade, and '+' and '', which represent quarter-grades. For example, the order is "9 < 9+ < 9½ < 10 < 10". The grade '10+' can also be awarded for a perfect performance with extra effort by the student, though it is not an official grade.

Upper secondary schools

Upper secondary schools use the same grades for courses and course exams as comprehensive schools do, but the matriculation examination grades are in Latin. The grading system uses bell curve grading.

Matriculation examination grades [1]
GradeAbbr.PointsEnglish explanationLiteral translationPercentage of participants
laudaturL7outstandinglauded (praised)Top 5%
eximia cum laude approbaturE6excellentapproved with exceptional praise15%
magna cum laude approbaturM5very goodapproved with great praise20%
cum laude approbaturC4goodapproved with praise24%
lubenter approbaturB3satisfactorygladly approved20%
approbaturA2passapproved11%
improbaturI0fail/unsatisfactorynot approvedbottom 5%

The magna cum laude approbatur grade was introduced in 1970 and eximia cum laude approbatur in 1996. Laudatur grades achieved before 1996 are now counted as eximia cum laude approbaturs.

In the grading of Master Theses, there is also non sine laude (N) between lubenter (B) and cum laude (C). Some universities (e.g. University of Turku or University of Helsinki) have switched to grading Master's Theses using the 1–5 grading scale (see below). [2]

Higher education

Universities typically use grading scale from 0 to 5:

Finnish gradeEnglish explanationUS equivalent [3] German equivalent [3] Dutch Equivalent [4] Greek Equivalent [5]
5excellentA1.01010
4very goodB+1.799
3goodB−2.388
2satisfactoryC−3.077
1passD3.766
0fail / insufficientF5.0fail / insufficient< 5

As a rule of thumb, passing an examination requires obtaining 50% of the maximum points in the examination. There is almost no grade inflation in Finland and students' grade averages of over 4.0 are rare. In fact, it is not uncommon for an examination to be failed—or passed with grade 1—by most students.

Before Autumn 2005, grades from 0–3 were in use (0 = failed, 3 = very good/excellent) and can be seen in older certificates. Some courses have also been graded on a conditional system of either pass or fail.

Master's theses are typically graded with either the above scale, or by the Latin system used in high school matriculation exams, see above. Contrary to the upper secondary school however, the grade laudatur is typically used very rarely (significantly less than 5% of theses). Indeed, laudatur is often reserved for exceptional students and it is typically awarded for a thesis only once in 5 to 10 years. In practice, eximia is often considered as the best grade available and it best corresponds to a grade of 5 in the 0–5 scale.

Doctoral theses are usually evaluated by pass or fail, although some universities use the Latin system, or the scale from 0 to 5. Some universities award a grade of "pass with distinction" (kiittäen hyväksytty) for the top 10–15% of theses awarded. [6]

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Studentexamen

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This article is about the current type of grading used in the Netherlands, which has remained unchanged for several decades.

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Matriculation exam (Finland)

The Finnish Matriculation Examination is the matriculation examination taken at the end of secondary education to qualify for entry into university. In practice, the test also constitutes the high school's final exam(s), although there is a separate diploma on graduating from high school, based not on the exam, but on the grades of individual courses. Since 1919, the test has been arranged by a national body, the Matriculation Examination Board. Before that, the administration of the test was the responsibility of the University of Helsinki.

References

  1. "The Matriculation Examination". Ylioppilastutkintolautakunta. Archived from the original on 2009-02-25. Retrieved 2009-04-27.
  2. "The examination and grading of Master's and licenciate theses | Instructions for teaching".
  3. 1 2 "Conversion of grades of study and examination achievements abroad". RWTH Aachen University. Archived from the original on 2020-11-11. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
  4. {{Cite web|url=https://www.tudelft.nl/studenten/faculteiten/bk-studentenportal/onderwijs/formulieren/conversion-of-credits-and-marks |title=Conversion of grades of study in Aalto University
  5. {{Cite web|url=https://www.ru.nl/publish/pages/632841/mso-io_2016_028_conversion_grades_and_credits_radboud_2019_update.pdf |title=Conversion of Dutch Grades
  6. "Psykoosia voi hoitaa muutenkin kuin lääkkeillä". 28 September 2020.