Academic grading in Switzerland

Last updated

In Switzerland, the 6-point grading scale is usually applied, where 1 represents the lowest possible grade, and 6 represents the highest possible grade. (Percentages represent the minimum needed for the grade to be achieved). [1]

Contents

Grade averages between 5.5 and 6 are very hard to get. An average of 6 is nearly impossible.

Exams

Quarter steps are usually used in exams to indicate grades between integer grades: e.g., 5.25. Sometimes, finer grained systems are used with steps of one-tenth. This is often the case in exams in which the grade is a linear function of the number of achieved points (Grade = achieved_point/max_points*5 + 1).

Certificates

Certificate grades are either rounded to integers or 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.

Cantonal differences

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", e.g. 'to', rather than 'minus'), for example −5 (4.75) is lower than 5 which is lower than 5− (5.25) in that system. In some regions, decimal grades are used: 5.5, 4.5, etc.

Universities

At university level, in some cases, Latin expressions are used. 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). [2]

Related Research Articles

Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Southeastern Asian countries with European colonial history, such as Indonesia and the Philippines, and African countries such as Zambia and South Africa, although sometimes translations of these phrases are used instead of the Latin originals. The honors distinction should not be confused with the honors degrees offered in some countries, or with honorary degrees.

In Denmark, the educational system has historically used a number of different systems of grading student performances, several of which are described below. The current grading system is the 7-trins-skala (7-step-scale) which replaced the 13-skala in 2006.

Academic grading in Canada varies by province, level of education, by institution, and faculty. The following are commonly used conversions from percentage grades to letter grades, however, this is not necessarily meaningful, since there is not a uniform scheme for assigning percentage grades either.

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

Germany uses a 5- or 6-point grading scale (GPA) to evaluate academic performance for the youngest to the oldest students. Grades vary from 1 to 5. In the final classes of German Gymnasium schools that prepare for university studies, a point system is used with 15 points being the best grade and 0 points the worst. The percentage causing the grade can vary from teacher to teacher.

There are two grading systems used in Italy:

Academic grading in Mexico employs a decimal system, from 0 to 10, to measure the students' scores. The grades are:

Academic grading in the Netherlands has remained unchanged for several decades.

This is an article about the grading used below degree level in most of the United Kingdom. The entire United Kingdom does not use the same grading scheme. For a degree level, see British undergraduate degree classification.

Academic grading in Croatia is regulated by the Ministry of Science, Education and Sports.

This article introduces the academic grading systems in the Czech Republic.

Universities and university colleges normally use the ECTS grading scale. Most institutions have official "explanations" of the grades equivalent to the following:

In Romanian primary schools, a 4-point grading scale is used:

Serbia inherited the academic grading system of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The grading process uses an absolute achievement scale to determine the grade of a student.

Slovenia inherited the academic grading system of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. A five-point grading scale is used in primary and secondary schools:

Education in Belgium is organised on the level of the three communities.

The General Certificate of Education (GCE) Advanced Level, or A Level, is a main school leaving qualification in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. It is available as an alternative qualification in other countries.

In the United States, academic grading commonly takes on the form of five, six or seven letter grades. Traditionally, the grades are A+, A, A−, B+, B, B−, C+, C, C−, D+, D, D− and F, with A+ being the highest and F being lowest. In some cases, grades can also be numerical. Numeric-to-letter-grade conversions generally vary from system to system and between disciplines and status.

This is a list of grading systems used by countries of the world, primarily within the fields of secondary education and university education, organized by continent with links to specifics in numerous entries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matriculation exam (Finland)</span> Finnish university entrance exam

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. ↑ "Grading System" . Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  2. ↑ "Promotionsordnung der Rechtswissenschaftlichen Fakultät (German)" . Retrieved August 5, 2005.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.