Compare two grading systems
Two countries’ grading scales side by side: which way each runs, its lowest pass and what every grade means. A grade crosses over only where a published method exists, such as the Bavarian formula many German universities use.
Example · On the Indian percentage classes
75: first class with distinction, a pass
On the German university grades, by the modified Bavarian formula
gut (good)
1 + 3 × (100 − 75) ÷ (100 − 40) = 2.25, rounded to the nearest German grade. Many German universities convert a grade from abroad this way, with 100 as the best grade and 40 as the lowest pass; ask the university which method and which pass mark it uses.
The two scales side by side
The two run opposite ways: on the German university grades a lower number is better (1.0 is the best grade), on the Indian percentage classes a higher one is.
| Fact | India: percentage classes | Germany: university grades |
|---|---|---|
| Used for | Degree results that Indian universities classify by aggregate percentage | Bachelor's and master's courses at German universities and universities of applied sciences |
| Scale | 0 to 100% | 1.0 (best) to 5.0 |
| Which way is better | Higher: 100 is the best | Lower: 1.0 is the best |
| Lowest pass | 40% | 4.0 |
| Grades | 5 bands, 4 passing | 5 bands, 4 passing |
| A table to US grades | None published | Wikipedia’s table |
Every grade on each scale
Each table runs best first, failing grades greyed. The rows don’t line up across the two tables: a grade’s meaning comes from its own scale.
India: percentage classes
| Grade | Meaning | Marks | Pass? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Distinction | first class with distinction | 75% and above | Pass |
| First | first class | 60–74% | Pass |
| Second | second class | 50–59% | Pass |
| Third | third class (pass) | 40–49% | Pass |
| Fail | fail | below 40% | Fail |
The Indian grading system: every scale, the converter and the sources.
Germany: university grades
| Grade | On the transcript | Meaning | Pass? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.0–1.5 | sehr gut | very good | Pass |
| 1.6–2.5 | gut | good | Pass |
| 2.6–3.5 | befriedigend | satisfactory | Pass |
| 3.6–4.0 | ausreichend | sufficient | Pass |
| 4.1–5.0 | nicht ausreichend | fail | Fail |
The German grading system: every scale, the converter and the sources.
Why most pairs get no conversion
Two countries’ scales differ in more than their numbers: where the pass mark sits, how often top grades are given, and whether a higher or a lower number is better. A table from one to the other is a reading by whoever reads your transcript, so this page shows one only where that reader has published its method. Where a country’s page has a source’s table to US grades, it shows that table; the grading systems by country list has every country.
The modified Bavarian formula
Many German universities place a grade from abroad on the German 1.0 to 5.0 scale with x = 1 + 3 × (best grade − your grade) ÷ (best grade − lowest pass), rounded to the nearest German grade (1.0, 1.3, 1.7 … 4.0); beyond 4.0 it is a fail. This page fills in the best grade and the lowest pass from the first scale’s own bands. If your school’s pass mark is different, the converter on the German grading system page takes your own numbers.
Sources: Wikipedia, Academic grading in Germany (the modified Bavarian formula); each scale’s own sources are on its country’s page.