ECTS grading scale
Encyclopedia
The ECTS grading scale is a grading
system defined in the ECTS
framework by the European Commission
. Since many different grading systems co-exist in Europe, and considering that interpretation of grades varies considerably from one country to another, if not from one institution to another, the ECTS grading scale has been developed in order to provide a common currency and facilitate the transfer of students and their grades between European higher education
institutions, by allowing the different national and local grading systems to be interchangeable. Grades are reported on a carefully calibrated and uniform A–F scale combined with keywords and short qualitative definitions. Each institution make their own decision on how to apply the ECTS grading scale to their own system.
The ECTS grade is not meant to replace the local grades, but to be used optionally and additionally in order to effectively "translate" and "transcript" a grade from one institution to another. The ECTS grade is indicated alongside the mark awarded by the host institution on the student's transcript of records. The receiving institutions then convert the ECTS grade to their own system. Higher education institutions are recommended (though not forced) to provide ECTS grades for all of their students and to take into account the ECTS grades awarded by other institutions. A certain amount of flexibility is advised, since the ECTS grading scale was designed to improve transparency of a variety of grading systems and cannot, by itself, cover all possible cases.
and regular quality control of the results obtained through the use of the scale.
) of a student in a given assessment, that is how he/she performed relative to other students in the same class (or in a significant group of students). The ECTS system classifies students into broad groups and thus makes interpretation of ranking simpler. This grouping is the core of the ECTS grading system.
The ECTS system initially divides students between pass and fail groups, and then assesses the performance of these two groups separately. Those obtaining passing grades are divided into five subgroups: the best 10% are awarded an A-grade, the next 25% a B-grade, the following 30% a C-grade, the following 25% a D-grade and the final 10% an E-grade.
Those who have not achieved a performance sufficient to allow a passing grade are divided into two subgroups: FX (Fail – some more work required before credit can be awarded) and F (Fail – considerable further work is required). This distinction allows differentiation between those students who have been assessed as almost passing and those who have clearly lacked the required knowledge and skills.
This system can be represented in a table, as follows:
Ects Users' Guide: "The use of words like “excellent” or “good” is no longer recommended as they do not fit with percentage based ranking of the ECTS Grade Transfer Scale."
Since the passing and failing groups are evaluated separately, indicating the percentage of students who failed a course unit/module is not obligatory, but transparency is increased if the percentage failure rate for each course graded is given. It is recommended that these rates be included in the Transcript of Records.
Where the original assessment can provide a ranking list, this ranking may be used directly to provide the appropriate ECTS grade. In this case, decisions must be made according to the distribution pattern of local grades trying to avoid injustice to students.
Where a valid ranking cannot be obtained from the primary assessment data, only an ECTS pass or fail should be recorded.
This applies to local systems where assessment is aimed at only pass/fail or threshold criteria. In these cases a pass should be indicated, for example by inserting the letter P or the word ‘pass’ in the column for ECTS grades. Such institutions which award only pass/fail or threshold criteria should indicate this very clearly in their Information Package/Course Catalogue as this fact may have recognition consequences for visiting students returning to an institution with a more differentiated grading system.
A variety of strategies are open to institutions where cohorts are not of sufficient size. Grades obtained at different sessions or in different, but related modules at the same session may be compiled in a variety of ways to arrive at suitably sized cohorts. For instance, experience shows that:
. The original table can be found here. Compared to the above table though, the result seems unnecessarily harsh (only the best 4.18% of passing students get an A compared to 10% above, and to get a B one would still have to be within the best 20%, not the best 35% as above, and so on).
Grade (education)
Grades are standardized measurements of varying levels of comprehension within a subject area. Grades can be assigned in letters , as a range , as a number out of a possible total , as descriptors , in percentages, or, as is common in some post-secondary...
system defined in the ECTS
European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System
This page describes ECTS-credits. For information about the ECTS grading system go to ECTS grading scale.European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System is a standard for comparing the study attainment and performance of students of higher education across the European Union and other...
framework by the European Commission
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
. Since many different grading systems co-exist in Europe, and considering that interpretation of grades varies considerably from one country to another, if not from one institution to another, the ECTS grading scale has been developed in order to provide a common currency and facilitate the transfer of students and their grades between European higher education
Higher education
Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...
institutions, by allowing the different national and local grading systems to be interchangeable. Grades are reported on a carefully calibrated and uniform A–F scale combined with keywords and short qualitative definitions. Each institution make their own decision on how to apply the ECTS grading scale to their own system.
The ECTS grade is not meant to replace the local grades, but to be used optionally and additionally in order to effectively "translate" and "transcript" a grade from one institution to another. The ECTS grade is indicated alongside the mark awarded by the host institution on the student's transcript of records. The receiving institutions then convert the ECTS grade to their own system. Higher education institutions are recommended (though not forced) to provide ECTS grades for all of their students and to take into account the ECTS grades awarded by other institutions. A certain amount of flexibility is advised, since the ECTS grading scale was designed to improve transparency of a variety of grading systems and cannot, by itself, cover all possible cases.
Requirements
The main requirements for establishing ECTS grades are: the availability of sufficiently detailed primary data, cohorts of sufficient size to ensure validity, proper statistical methodsStatistics
Statistics is the study of the collection, organization, analysis, and interpretation of data. It deals with all aspects of this, including the planning of data collection in terms of the design of surveys and experiments....
and regular quality control of the results obtained through the use of the scale.
Description of the fundamental idea
The ECTS grading scale is based on the class percentile (similar, but not identical to the class rankClass rank
Class rank is a measure of how a student's performance compares to other students in his or her class. It is commonly also expressed as a percentile. For instance, a student may have a GPA better than 750 of his or her classmates in a graduating class of 800...
) of a student in a given assessment, that is how he/she performed relative to other students in the same class (or in a significant group of students). The ECTS system classifies students into broad groups and thus makes interpretation of ranking simpler. This grouping is the core of the ECTS grading system.
The ECTS system initially divides students between pass and fail groups, and then assesses the performance of these two groups separately. Those obtaining passing grades are divided into five subgroups: the best 10% are awarded an A-grade, the next 25% a B-grade, the following 30% a C-grade, the following 25% a D-grade and the final 10% an E-grade.
Those who have not achieved a performance sufficient to allow a passing grade are divided into two subgroups: FX (Fail – some more work required before credit can be awarded) and F (Fail – considerable further work is required). This distinction allows differentiation between those students who have been assessed as almost passing and those who have clearly lacked the required knowledge and skills.
This system can be represented in a table, as follows:
| Grade | best/next | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| A | 10 % | |
| B | 25 % | |
| C | 30 % | |
| D | 25 % | |
| E | 10 % | |
| FX | Fail - some more work required before the credit can be awarded | |
| F | Fail - considerable further work is required | |
Ects Users' Guide: "The use of words like “excellent” or “good” is no longer recommended as they do not fit with percentage based ranking of the ECTS Grade Transfer Scale."
Since the passing and failing groups are evaluated separately, indicating the percentage of students who failed a course unit/module is not obligatory, but transparency is increased if the percentage failure rate for each course graded is given. It is recommended that these rates be included in the Transcript of Records.
Conversion from local systems
The degree of differentiation shown in marks varies greatly not only from country to country, but in many cases within a single country, or indeed within a single institution. Expression in terms of ECTS grades is simple where the local marks are highly differentiated (i.e., the local grading scale has as much or more possible values than the ECTS scale). However, a sizeable number of instances exist where the local marks are less differentiated than those of the ECTS grading scale. These cases fall into two categories depending on whether the primary assessment data allows establishment of a ranking list or not.Where the original assessment can provide a ranking list, this ranking may be used directly to provide the appropriate ECTS grade. In this case, decisions must be made according to the distribution pattern of local grades trying to avoid injustice to students.
Where a valid ranking cannot be obtained from the primary assessment data, only an ECTS pass or fail should be recorded.
This applies to local systems where assessment is aimed at only pass/fail or threshold criteria. In these cases a pass should be indicated, for example by inserting the letter P or the word ‘pass’ in the column for ECTS grades. Such institutions which award only pass/fail or threshold criteria should indicate this very clearly in their Information Package/Course Catalogue as this fact may have recognition consequences for visiting students returning to an institution with a more differentiated grading system.
Sample size
Being a statistics-based system, the size of the cohort used as a basis for arriving at the ECTS grades is of great importance. When large numbers of students are being assessed for the same course unit/module at the same time, the situation is straightforward as the results of the assessment can be used to arrive directly at ranking and therefore to ECTS grades. A cohort of students where at least 30 individuals achieve passing grades is suggested as the minimum number necessary for meaningful ranking, although larger numbers are to be preferred.A variety of strategies are open to institutions where cohorts are not of sufficient size. Grades obtained at different sessions or in different, but related modules at the same session may be compiled in a variety of ways to arrive at suitably sized cohorts. For instance, experience shows that:
- the marks over several course units/modules of similar level often follow a similar distribution
- the distribution of marks over a five-year period is likely to produce a balanced result.
Equivalency to other grade systems
| ECTS Scale | U.S. Grade (4.0 scale) equivalents | British Grade British undergraduate degree classification The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading scheme for undergraduate degrees in the United Kingdom... equivalents |
BERN (Swiss) Grade equivalents | Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich Grade equivalents | Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan Adam Mickiewicz University is one of the major Polish universities, located in the city of Poznań in western Poland. It opened on May 7, 1919, and since 1955 has carried the name of the Polish poet Adam Mickiewicz.-History:... , Poland |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | A to A+ (4.0) | 70 or over | 6 | 1.0 & 1.3 (or 92-100%) | 5,0 (bardzo dobry) |
| B | B+ to A- | 60 - 69 | 5.5 | 1.7, 2.0 & 2.3 (or 83-91%) | 4,5 (dobry plus) |
| C | B (3.0) | 55 - 59 | 5 | 2.7 & 3.0 (or 79-82%) | 4,0 (dobry) |
| D | C+ to B- | 50 - 54 | 4.5 | 3.3 (or 73-77%) | 3,5 (dostateczny plus) |
| E | C (2.0) | 40 - 49 | 4 | 3.7 & 4.0 (or 69-72%) | 3,0 (dostateczny) |
| FX | F | 30 - 39 | 3.5 | 4.1 (*depends on faculty) | 2,0 (niedostateczny) |
| F | F | Below 30 | 3 |
Further reading
- General: Grade (education)Grade (education)Grades are standardized measurements of varying levels of comprehension within a subject area. Grades can be assigned in letters , as a range , as a number out of a possible total , as descriptors , in percentages, or, as is common in some post-secondary...
- Belgium: http://www.vinci.be/home.aspx?lang=en&page=etudes/notationECTS.htm; active links at ULB http://www.ulb.ac.be/facs/psycho/docs/NotationECTS.pdf and UCLUniversité catholique de LouvainThe Université catholique de Louvain, sometimes known, especially in Belgium, as UCL, is Belgium's largest French-speaking university. It is located in Louvain-la-Neuve and in Brussels...
http://www.uclouvain.be/277600.html - Denmark: Academic grading in Denmark, http://eng.uvm.dk/news/7scale.htm http://www1.sdu.dk/Adm/Educ/office/engelsk/info8d.html http://www.au.dk/en/rules/2007/bek250 http://www.mih.ku.dk/Students/Grading_Scales-2.aspx http://studyguide.aau.dk:8080/programmes/gradingscales/632251
- Germany: http://www.european-study.eu/content/EN/ES_Grade_Credit http://www.komparatistik.uni-muenchen.de/studium_lehre/studienaustausch/anerkg_ausland.pdf http://www.neurolabor.de/socrate/ects_ganz.htm http://www.fu-berlin.de/studium/information_a-z/punktemodule.html#noten http://www.fu-berlin.de/zuv/abt-4/media/erasmus_ECTS-GradScala.pdf
- England, Wales, and Northern Ireland: http://www.essex.ac.uk/Socrates/incoming/Gradingscale.htm
- Finland: http://www.oamk.fi/english/exchange_opportunities/ects/
- France: http://www.enscm.fr/ects_system.htm
- Italy: http://nicosia.dia.uniroma3.it/Erasmus/scale.html http://nt-notes.liuc.it/servizi/InternationalRelations.nsf/pagine/(GI)Ects%20at%20LIUC
- Lithuania: http://www.klsmk.lt/?en=1113836830
- Spain: Academic grading in SpainAcademic grading in Spain-Elementary, high schools, and vocational schools:Spain uses a 10-point grading scale for elementary and high schools:*9.0-10 is the best possible grade and is called "sobresaliente" . A 10 grade may also include a distinction called "Matrícula de Honor" or "Mención de Honor," but usually only a...
- Sweden:http://www.jur.lu.se/Internet/English/Interstud.nsf/(public.web.object)/912972D4836B263AC12570C20032F56A http://www.kau.se/en/education/application-admission/recognition-procedures/ects-system http://www.wes.org/ewenr/03Sept/Sweden.htm
Practical example
The following table exemplifies the application of the statistical distribution analysis to convert an existing grading system to the ECTS scale. It refers to the Faculty of Law of the University of RegensburgUniversity of Regensburg
The University of Regensburg is a public research university located in the medieval city of Regensburg, Bavaria, a city that is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university was founded on July 18, 1962 by the Landtag of Bavaria as the fourth full-fledged university in Bavaria...
. The original table can be found here. Compared to the above table though, the result seems unnecessarily harsh (only the best 4.18% of passing students get an A compared to 10% above, and to get a B one would still have to be within the best 20%, not the best 35% as above, and so on).
| Law Grade | Definition (according to exam regulations for German law students) |
Percentage of students achieving the grade in the First State Exam | ECTS Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18 – 16 = sehr gut | A particularly outstanding achievement | 0,30% | A |
| 15 – 13 = gut | An achievement that lies significantly above the average standard | 2,65 % | |
| 12 – 10 = vollbefriedigend | An achievement that surpasses the average standard | 10,94 % | B |
| 9 – 7 = befriedigend | An achievement that fulfills the average standard | 26,90 % | C |
| 6 – 5 = ausreichend | An achievement that fulfills the average standard despite deficiencies | 29,81 % | D |
| 4 = ausreichend | E | ||
| 3 – 1 = mangelhaft | An achievement that suffers considerably from deficiencies, as a whole no longer useful | 29,38 % | FX |
| 0 = ungenügend | Indescribably bad performance, total absence or failure to take any exams or do any work. | F |
External links
- The ECTS grading scale in Aberta University's website
- The ECTS Grading Scale at the State Engineering University of ArmeniaState Engineering University of ArmeniaThe State Engineering University of Armenia is a technical university located in Yerevan, Armenia. Established as the Yerevan Polytechnic Institute in 1933, it provides educational and research programs in various fields of technology and science related to engineering...
website - The ECTS Grading Scale at the University of LilleLilleLille is a city in northern France . It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Lille is situated on the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium...
website - ECTS Grading Scale at the Ankara UniversityAnkara UniversityAnkara University is a public university in Ankara, the capital city of Turkey. It was the first higher education institution founded in the Turkish Republic....
website - ECTS Grading Scale at the New College DurhamNew College Durham.New College Durham is a college of further and higher education in County Durham, England . It was founded in 1977 as a result of a merger between Neville's Cross College of Education and Durham Technical College. The college operated on two main sites near the city of Durham: Neville's Cross and...
website - ECTS Grading System at the Tilburg UniversityUniversiteit van TilburgTilburg University is an academic institution of higher education, specialising in the social sciences and law, located in Tilburg in the southern part of the Netherlands....
website - ECTS Grading System and ECTS Grade Interpretation System at the Faculty of Engineering LTH at Lund UniversityLund UniversityLund University , located in the city of Lund in the province of Scania, Sweden, is one of northern Europe's most prestigious universities and one of Scandinavia's largest institutions for education and research, frequently ranked among the world's top 100 universities...
website - The Official Bologna Process Website 2010-2020
- A Simple Method for Distributing ECTS Grades using PHP