German Grading Tables: Every Scale at a Glance
School grades, the 15-point system, Abitur, the IHK scale, law exams and ECTS: every German grading system with conversion tables in one place.
Germany does not have one grading scale but at least five – depending on the type of school, the examination and the university. This overview puts them side by side and shows how they convert into one another.
Key takeaways
- The base scale from 1 to 6 applies at general schools up to the middle years.
- From upper secondary onwards grading uses points from 0 to 15 – 14 points is exactly grade 1.0.
- The IHK scale grades by percentage and starts grade 4 at just 50 percent.
- Legal examinations use their own scale from 0 to 18 with the extra band fully satisfactory.
- At universities it is not the number of modules that counts but their ECTS weight.
School grades 1 to 6
The classic scale runs from 1 (very good) to 6 (insufficient). It underpins every other system – even where grading uses points, a grade on this scale is what comes out at the end.
| Grade | Band | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Very good | The performance meets the requirements to a special degree. |
| 2 | Good | The performance fully meets the requirements. |
| 3 | Satisfactory | The performance generally meets the requirements. |
| 4 | Sufficient | The performance has shortcomings but still meets the requirements. |
| 5 | Deficient | The performance does not meet the requirements, but basic knowledge is present. |
| 6 | Insufficient | The performance does not meet the requirements and basic knowledge is missing. |
Many schools extend the scale with tendencies: a 2+ corresponds to 1.7 and a 2− to 2.3. For calculating an average it is the decimal value that counts, not the whole number.
The 15-point upper secondary system
Upper secondary school as well as FOS and BOS grade in points from 0 to 15. The conversion follows the formula G = (17 − P) / 3.
| Points | Grade | Points | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | 0.67 | 7 | 3.33 |
| 14 | 1.00 | 6 | 3.67 |
| 13 | 1.33 | 5 | 4.00 |
| 12 | 1.67 | 4 | 4.33 |
| 11 | 2.00 | 3 | 4.67 |
| 10 | 2.33 | 2 | 5.00 |
| 9 | 2.67 | 1 | 5.33 |
| 8 | 3.00 | 0 | 6.00 |
Why 15 points is not a clean 1.0
15 points corresponds to a grade of 0.67 and therefore sits above a clear top grade. The point scale is finer than the grade scale and also captures performance beyond the best grade. A clean 1.0 is reached at 14 points. The only exception to the formula is 0 points: the calculation would give 5.67, but the official table states 6.0.
Calculate a point average across several courses
Enter your courses, optionally count advanced courses double – average and grade instantly.
Calculate nowAbitur: the 900-point system
The final Abitur grade does not come from the course average but from a total point account of 300 to 900 points. The conversion is uniform nationwide and follows the KMK formula G = 17/3 − E/180.
The result is truncated, not rounded: 2.09 becomes 2.0. From 823 points the grade is fixed at 1.0, and below 300 points the Abitur counts as failed. Only the conversion is uniform, however – how the points are arrived at is decided by each federal state.
Calculate your Abitur grade from total points
Enter block I and block II – total points and Abitur grade under the KMK formula.
Calculate nowThe IHK grading scale
For vocational final examinations the Chamber of Industry and Commerce grades by percentage. The bands are of unequal width: grade 1 only begins at 92 percent, while grade 4 starts as early as 50 percent.
| Percent | Grade | Band |
|---|---|---|
| 92–100 % | 1 | Very good |
| 81–91 % | 2 | Good |
| 67–80 % | 3 | Satisfactory |
| 50–66 % | 4 | Sufficient |
| 30–49 % | 5 | Deficient |
| 0–29 % | 6 | Insufficient |
The pass mark sits at 50 percent and corresponds to grade 4. Many examinations additionally set minimum requirements for individual parts – what binds is the relevant examination regulation.
Calculate a grade from points
Enter points achieved and maximum points – grade under the IHK scheme or a linear scale.
Calculate nowLaw exams: the 18-point scale
Legal examinations use their own scale from 0 to 18 points. It is set at federal level in section 1 JurPrNotSkV and applies to both the first and the second legal examination.
| Points | Band |
|---|---|
| 16–18 | Very good |
| 13–15 | Good |
| 10–12 | Fully satisfactory |
| 7–9 | Satisfactory |
| 4–6 | Sufficient |
| 1–3 | Deficient |
| 0 | Insufficient |
Truncated, not rounded
Section 2 JurPrNotSkV requires the overall grade to be determined to two decimal places without rounding up or down. An average of 9.995 is therefore 9.99 and not 10.00 – and that is exactly where the boundary between satisfactory and fully satisfactory runs. Which decimal values map to which band, however, is set by state law and not by the federal regulation.
Calculate a state exam grade on the 18-point scale
Enter exams with their weights – overall grade under JurPrNotSkV, correctly truncated.
Calculate nowUniversity: ECTS weighting
At universities it is not the number of modules that counts but their ECTS weight. A module worth 12 credits weighs twice as much as one worth 6.
The grade scale usually runs from 1.0 to 5.0, and a module counts as passed up to 4.0. Whether the thesis carries extra weight, whether the result is truncated or rounded and whether weak modules may be dropped is set by each university's examination regulations and differs considerably.
Calculate your bachelor or master grade
Enter module grades and ECTS credits – weighted final average instantly.
Calculate nowFrequently asked questions about German grading tables
Frequently Asked Questions
Full-Stack Developer & Founder of HEADON.pro
Full-stack developer and founder of HEADON.pro. Developer of Rechnerzentrale.