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Academic grading in Germany

Academic grading
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Germany uses a 6-point grading scale (GPA) to evaluate the performance of school children:

• 1 (sehr gut, excellent) is the best possible grade and is given for outstanding performance
• 2 (gut, good) is the next-highest and is given for performance that meets the standard completely and is above-average
• 3 (befriedigend, satisfactory) indicates "average" performance.
• 4 (ausreichend, sufficient) is the lowest passing grade and is given if the standard has been met but with a number of notable errors.
• 5 (mangelhaft, deficient) is the higher of two failing grades and is given if the standard has not been met but the basics have been understood.
• 6 (ungenügend, insufficient) is the lowest possible grade and is given if the standard has not been met and the basics have not been understood.

Five and six are both considered to be failing grades, though in earlier years students are not required to repeat classes with 5 grades if they perform well in other classes. Grades 1 to 5 can be suffixed with + and -. To calculate averages of suffixed grades, they are assigned fractioned values, where 1 is 1.0, 1- is 1.3, 2+ is 1.7, 2 is 2.0, 2- is 2.3 and so on. There is even the grade of 1+ or 0.7, which means more or less 'with distinction'. (But there is neither 6+ nor 6- since 6 means null.)

As schools are governed by the states, not by the federal government, there are slight differences. Sometimes there is 1- equal to 1.25, 1-2 = 1.5, 2+ = 1.75 and so on. And sometimes the grades are in tenth of a number, 1.0, 1.1, 1.2 and so on.

In school reports, only unmodified integer grades may be used; they are written in text form:

• 1 - sehr gut
• 2 - gut
• 3 - befriedigend
• 4 - ausreichend
• 5 - mangelhaft
• 6 - ungenügend

"In-between" grades such as 1-2, 2-3, 3-4 etc., which used to count as 1.5, 2.5 and so on, have largely been discontinued due to ambiguities when converting the averages back to integer values.

In the final classes of Gymnasiums the grades are converted to numbers ("points") in order to calculate the average for Abitur. In this case an 1+ exists (and counts as 15), 1 is 14, 1- is 13, 2+ is 12, etc. up to 5- is 1 and finally 6 is 0. Although 1+ exists in this system, ultra-perfect Abitur averages below 1.0 are not possible, even if one has got an 1+ in every subject. When the point system is used, 4 (5 points) is the lowest passing grade, and 4- (4 points) the highest failing grade.

In converting German grades to the A-F scale, a 1 = A, ... 4 = D scale is often used (with 5 and 6 both converted to Fs) but this conversion is nearly never accurate, since, for example, a grade of 3 is usually more difficult to obtain in Germany than a B+ in the United States. In the U.S., students usually get an A if their score is greater than 90%. In Germany, students scoring more than 90% usually are in the 3 range. (The average grade in Germany is normally supposed to be around or a bit above 3, whereas in the U.S. average grades are often supposed to be between 91% and 89%.)

For the conversion of Gymnasium grades, the following must be taken into account: Only 23% of the German population obtain the Abitur - Allgemeine Hochschulreife (General Maturity for University), implying that a 4.0 (passed) is applied to students within the best 23% of the population. Another 17-21% obtain a Fachabitur limiting their university choices to more application oriented studies at a Fachhochschule ("University of Applied Sciences") in a field they majored in for their Fachgebundene Hochschulreife. The public often use the name Fachabitur for the Fachgebundene Hochschulreife graduation. Consequently, even a 4 (pass) in a university exam is awarded to students within the top 23% (or top 40% for Fachhochschule) group of the German population.

In former East Germany, a 5-point grading scale was used until July of 1991, where:

• 1 (very good) was the best possible grade.
• 2 (good) was the next-highest.
• 3 (satisfactory) indicates average performance.
• 4 (sufficient) was the lowest passing grade.
• 5 (insufficient) was the lowest possible grade and the only failing grade.

The textual form of the grades was:

• 1 sehr gut
• 2 gut
• 3 befriedigend
• 4 genügend
• 5 ungenügend

This scale is identical to the current Austrian grading scale.

In German universities (besides the law schools) also the 1 to 5 scale for the grade (Note / Zensur) is used:

• 1 sehr gut (very good: an outstanding achievement)
• 2 gut (good: an achievement, which lies substantially over average requirements)
• 3 befriedigend (satisfactory: an achievement, which corresponds to average requirements)
• 4 ausreichend (sufficient: an achievement, which still meets the requirements)
• 5 nicht ausreichend / nicht bestanden (not sufficient / failed: an achievement, which does not meet the requirements)

Sometimes, esp. with a Dr. Phil. (D.Phil. / Ph.D.) also the Latin versions are used for the grading (here then the grade (Note / Zensur) is called Prädikat):

• summa cum laude (1.x = mit Auszeichnung, "with honor")
• magna cum laude (2.x = sehr gut, "very good")
• cum laude (3.x = gut, "good")
• rite (4.0 = bestanden, "passed")

There is no grade for failing then, because in that case the dissertation is just formally rejected, without any kind of grading.

For law students at German universities, a similar system to the 1 to 5 scale is used that comprises one more grade that is inserted between 2 (gut) and 3 'befriedigend', named "vollbefriedigend." This is because the grades "gut" and "sehr gut" are extremely rare, so an additional grade was created below "gut" to increase differentiation. Every grade is converted into points very much like the Gymnasium system described above, starting at 18 points (excellent) down to 0 points (poor). 4 points is the lowest passing grade.

Often the German grades are treated like an interval scale to calculate means and deviations for comparisons. Despite it lacks any psychometric standardization, the grading system is also used like a normal distributed statistical scale for norm-referenced assessments (with an expected value of 3 and a standard deviation of 1). So, transformations into other statistical measures like Percentiles, T, Stanine etc. or (like in the PISA studies) the very often used IQ are then possible, here e.g. a transformation into Percentiles and IQ:

• 1.0: 98%, 130
• 2.0: 84%, 115
• 3.0: 50%, 100
• 4.0: 16%, 85
• 5.0: 2%, 70

(note: this is the statistical norm IQ (expected value of 100, standard deviation of 15) which is nowadays widely used outside of intelligence tests, and which is not a measure for intelligence!)

This transformation is - as mentioned above - highly questionable at the least. E.g., substantially far more than 14% (>4.0) of German students at universities fail in an exam (usually about 20-40%, often even more, in very rare cases at technical universities up to 98% fail an individual exam as they first try and know they are entitled to a second chance). Grades awarded vary widely between fields of study and between universities/schools. In reality, nevertheless, independent from field and school students normally have to get more than half of the tasks given within an examination right to even pass it (to get a 4.0). So, also the reality contradicts the treatment of grades as statistical norms.

Also, it must be taken into account that in Germany education (at school as well as at university) is still not only about learning but also a great deal about permanent selection (whereas the criteria of selection are widely criticized, esp. the underlying principles of grading used in Germany). The selection might be one reason for the (in comparison) low succession rates at university as well as for the small number of people who obtain an "Abitur" in the first place. However, several empirical psychological studies show that the grades awarded in Germany at school and university have only a low reliability (and therefore extremely weak validity)^[1]. Only a GPA from school is a mild (weak) predictor for success in school, university and to a slightly better degree for success in vocational trainings, and GPAs from school or university have nearly no predictive value for job performance^[2]. In Germany, due to the lack of German psychometric tests (like Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) or the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) and the like in the US) mainly the GPA is used (has to be used as the most valid criterion available) as the only criterion within an application process. In the work field the grades have a high impact on career opportunities, scientific based recruitment and assessment is still only used by less than 8% of the German employers (in the other European countries 50-70%)^[3].

References