Zambian grading system
At Mulungushi University in Zambia, courses are graded A+ (86% and above) to D (44% and below), and C (50–54%) is the lowest pass. Grade 12 School Certificate subjects are graded 1 (75–100%) to 9 (0–39%), with grade 8 (40–44%) the lowest pass and grade 6 (50–54%) the lowest credit.
Example · Credit-weighted average of 3 courses
Distinction, 2.0 points
A pass: 76–85% of the marks. 50% is the lowest pass.
3 courses, 15 credits. Your institution’s own rules on rounding or cutting off decimals decide the grade on your record.
University grades: A+ to D (0 to 100%)
Certificate, diploma and degree courses at Mulungushi University. Each grade carries the points shown; the degree class comes from the points earned in 20 courses at the last two year levels.
| Grade | Meaning | Marks | Pass? |
|---|---|---|---|
| A+ | distinction, 2.5 points | 86–100% | Pass |
| A | distinction, 2.0 points | 76–85% | Pass |
| B+ | merit, 1.5 points | 66–75% | Pass |
| B | credit, 1.0 point | 60–65% | Pass |
| C+ | clear pass, 0.5 points | 55–59% | Pass |
| C | bare pass, 0 points | 50–54% | Pass |
| D+ | bare fail, 0 points | 45–49% | Fail |
| D | fail, 0 points | 0–44% | Fail |
School Certificate grades: 1 (best) to 9
The Grade 12 School Certificate and the General Certificate of Education (GCE), set by the Examinations Council of Zambia (ECZ). Grades 1 to 6 are the quality passes that count as credits; grades 7 and 8 are passes without credit.
| Grade | Meaning | Marks | Pass? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | upper distinction | 75–100% | Pass |
| 2 | lower distinction | 70–74% | Pass |
| 3 | upper merit | 65–69% | Pass |
| 4 | lower merit | 60–64% | Pass |
| 5 | upper credit | 55–59% | Pass |
| 6 | lower credit | 50–54% | Pass |
| 7 | upper pass (satisfactory) | 45–49% | Pass |
| 8 | lower pass (satisfactory) | 40–44% | Pass |
| 9 | fail (unsatisfactory) | 0–39% | Fail |
Zambian grades and a US GPA
This page gives no US equivalents for Zambian grades: we found no table for them on Wikipedia or from an official source, and we do not make one up. A US university reads a foreign transcript itself or through the credential evaluation service it names, and its conversion is the one that counts.
Send your grades as they are, with the scale above. When a form asks for your average, give it on your own scale and say which scale it is: the converter’s average does exactly that, weighted by credits when you enter them.
What to know about grades in Zambia
- At Mulungushi University the degree class comes from the points earned in 20 courses at the last two year levels: 40 points or more is a distinction, 30–39.9 a merit, 20–29.9 a credit and below 20 a pass.
- To earn the School Certificate, a candidate must pass at least six subjects, including English language, with a credit in at least one, or pass five subjects, including English language, with credits in at least two.
- A candidate with grades 1 to 8 in at least one subject who does not meet the School Certificate conditions receives a statement of results, and grade 9 in every subject is a fail.
- University entry is set in credits: science-based programmes in Mulungushi University’s School of Business Studies, for example, ask for a credit (grade 6) or better in English language, mathematics and three other subjects.
Sources: Mulungushi University, Academic Regulations; Examinations Council of Zambia, School Certificate Examination Performance Report; Examinations Council of Zambia, Conditions for the Award of a School Certificate.