Academic grading in Finland
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This is an article on the grading that is currently being used in the country of Finland. Several systems are in use in different educational institutions in Finland.
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[edit] Comprehensive school
The "school grade" system has historically been a scale of 0 to 10, but all grades lower than 4 have been discarded. Thus, it is now divided between 4, the failing grade, and 5–10, the succeeding grades. This is similar to the grading scale used in Romania.
- 10 (excellent), represents about 5% of the top
- 9 (very good)
- 8 (good)
- 7 (satisfactory), the mode
- 6 (fair)
- 5 (passable)
- 4 (fail)
In individual exams, but not in the final grades, it is also possible to divide the scale further with '½', which represents a half grade, and '+' and '–', which represent one-fourth a grade better or inferior. For example, the order is "9 < 9+ < 9½ < 10– < 10". The grade '10+' can also be awarded for a perfect performance with extra effort by the student.
[edit] Upper secondary school
Upper secondary school has same grades for courses and course exams as comprehensive school but matriculation examination grades are in Latin.
| Grade | Abbrv. | Gloss | Translation | Percentage of grades |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| laudatur | L | excellent | praised | Top 5% |
| eximia cum laude approbatur | E | excellent | accepted, with extraordinary commendations | 15% |
| magna cum laude approbatur | M | good | accepted, with many commendations | 20% |
| cum laude approbatur | C | satisfactory | accepted, with commendations | 24% |
| lubenter approbatur | B | satisfactory | readily accepted | 20% |
| approbatur | A | mediocre | accepted | 11% |
| improbatur | I | fail | disapproved | bottom 5% |
The magna cum laude approbatur grade was introduced in 1970 and eximia cum laude approbatur in 1996. Laudatur grades achieved before 1996 are now counted as eximia cum laude approbaturs.
[edit] Tertiary education and vocational school
Universities and vocational institutions use a scale of 0 (fail) and 1-5 (pass), or fail/pass. The professor selects which grading scheme is used; short, compulsory courses typically have pass/fail grades.
There is no standard of any kind for university grading, which makes comparing grades difficult between universities, between departments in universities and even between different professors in departments. In most non-polytechnic universities, however, grade inflation is not an issue and GPA's of over 4.0 are rare.
[edit] References
- ^ "The Matriculation Examination". Ylioppilastutkintolautakunta. http://www.ylioppilastutkinto.fi/en/index.html. Retrieved 2009-04-27.
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