Academic grading in the Netherlands
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This article is about the current type of grading used in the Netherlands.
In The Netherlands, grades from 1.0 up to 10.0 are used, with 1 being worst and 10 being best. Generally one decimal place is used and a +/- means a quarter, rounded to either 0.8 or 0.3. Thus, a 6.75 could be written as 7- and count as a 6.8, whereas a 7+ would be a 7.25 and count as a 7.3.
The grade scale with the labels:
- 10 (excellent)
- 9 (very good)
- 8 (good)
- 7 (more than sufficient)
- 6 (sufficient)
- 5 (insufficient)
- 4 (strongly insufficient)
- 3 (very strongly insufficient)
- 2 (bad)
- 1 (very bad)
Depending on the grade, several honors are available: total average of grades 8 with no grade under 7 and finishing in time: cum laude. For an average better than 7, but not meeting the criteria for cum laude, met genoegen (with pleasure), is sometimes awarded. This honor system is typically only used at universities.
Usually 5.5 and up constitute 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 a fail. Sometimes, when no decimal place is used, an additional grade, 6-, is used as "barely passed". This is what would have been a 5.5 if a decimal place were used.
[edit] Grading systems compared
Converting the numbers of the Dutch grading system into the letters of systems such as those used in the United States and Great Britain, is difficult. It can really only be done if one can compare the frequency distribution of grades in the two systems.
The grades 9 and 10 are hardly ever given on examinations (on average, a 9 is awarded in only 1.5%, and a 10 in 0.5% of cases).
As the incidence of a 9 or 10 in hoger algemeen voortgezet onderwijs (HAVO) and voorbereidend wetenschappelijk onderwijs (VWO) examinations are considerably lower than that of the top marks in the American or British grading system, it would be a mistake to equate a 10 to an A, a 9 to a B, and so forth. If the 8, 9 and 10 are taken together, as in the table above, they represent the top S to 15% of examination results. If, in a grading system based on letters, the A represents the top 10% or thereabouts, grade A may be regarded as equivalent to grades 8 and above.
The conversion of the lowest passing grade may present another problem. A grade of 4 is a clear fail, although one 4 at the examination is acceptable if high grades are obtained in all the other subjects. A 5, on the other hand, is 'almost satisfactory'. For purposes of assessing a pupil's progress throughout the year, a 5 is usually considered to be good enough, provided the pupil does better on the next test. For examinations, a 5 is unacceptable only as an average, but is condoned in one or two subjects. Its use is comparable to that of the D in many systems: a weak pass, but as an average too low for admission into a higher cycle of education.
For the award of the HAVO diploma, the average final grade should be a 6. In view of the high frequency of 6s, coupled with the fact that it is the minimum requirement for admission into a higher cycle of education, there are good grounds for equating a 6 with a C, which has a similar frequency and purpose.
