Academic grading in Vietnam

Basic Information on Grading in Vietnam

The Vietnamese grading system is based on a 1-10 point scale, similar to the US 1.0-4.0 scale. Usually when an American institution asks for a grade-point average (GPA) calculated on the 4 point scale, the student will be expected to do a direct mathematical conversion, so 10 becomes 4.0, 7.5 becomes 3.0, etc. This makes sense from a practical standpoint (Please see attached the suggested grade conversion table). In reality, however, it is completely inaccurate.

In the Vietnamese system, a score of ten is rarely given, even for the brightest student. In contrast, a 4.0 in a U.S. classroom is not unusual, nor is someone with a 4.0 GPA overall. According to the Research Center for Vocational, Technical and Higher Education under the Vietnamese Ministry of Education, someone with a 7.5 GPA will probably be in the top 10-15% of his or her class. Therefore, American colleges and universities should pay greater attention to class rank and other skills reflected in the application process rather than his/her absolute adjusted GPA.

Also be advised that the practice of most Vietnamese institutions is not to provide official transcripts to other universities on behalf of their students. Students can request one signed and stamped original transcript from the institution, and then have copies certified with a red stamp at a government office. Translation services are also available at these offices.

Grade conversion table

Source: EducationUSA Vietnam, U.S. Embassy in Hanoi.

Vietnam's Grading System	Equivalents		Vietnamese Description	English Description	% of students receiving this score
9-10	A+	4.0	Xuất sắc	Outstanding	Less than 5% of students
8-9	A	3.5	Giỏi	Excellent / Very Good	5-10%
7-8	B+	3.0	Khá	Good	About 20-25%
6-7	B	2.5	Trung Bình	Average	About 40-50%
5-6	C	2.0	Đạt	Pass	About 5-10%
<5	D/F	=<1.0	Không đạt/Trượt	Fail	For fail courses

In practice, most U.S. universities used a standardized acceptance of A, B, C, D's only. Thus any A+'s, B+, C+ will be down-convert to A, B, C respectively.

Standardized Table to Convert University GPAs

Vietnam's Grading System	Equivalents		Vietnamese Description	English Description
8.0-10.0	A	4.0	Xuất Sắc	Excellent / Outstanding
6.5-7.9	B	3.0	Giỏi	Good
5.0-6.4	C	2.0	Trung Bình	Average
4.0-4.9	D	1.0	Không Đạt	Marginal
<4.0	F	0.0	Trượt	Fail

Credit Hours

Some universities in Vietnam notes standardized credit hours, which can translate directly over to the U.S. system. Some instead notes class hours of 15, 30, 45, 60... etc. which needs to be converted into credit hours by dividing class hours by 15. Thus a 15-hour class is equivalent to 1 credit hours, a 45-hour class is equivalent to 3 credit hours.

Method of Calculating GPA's

Most universities convert GPA's class by class. Each class is evaluated for credit hours equivalent. Each class grade point is evaluated in its native grade point, then converted to A, B, C, D, F. Then convert the individual class grade to the 4.0 system. Next, multiply each class grade point by the number of credit hours for the respective class. Finally, total up the points, and divide by the total number credit hours to arrive at the final GPA.

The original article can be found at the U.S. Embassy's Education USA office located at: 1 st Floor, Rose Garden Tower, 170 Ngoc Khanh St., Hanoi, Vietnam

http://photos.state.gov/libraries/vietnam/8621/pdf-forms/VN-Grading-System.pdf

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High School Credit System

High schools seems to use a slightly modified GPA system, with higher criteria to receive the equivalent Grading letter scale. High School classes are standardized in most public schools, with the respective classes and Grade Point tables listed below.

Vietnamese Standardized High School Classes

Vietnamese names	English names
Toán	Mathematics
Vật Lí	Physics
Hóa Học	Chemistry
Sinh Học	Biology
Tin Học	Informatics
Văn / Tiếng Việt	Literature / Vietnamese
Lịch Sử	History
Địa Lí	Geography
Ngoại Ngữ Tiếng Anh	English
Kĩ Thuật (Công Nghệ)	Technology
Giáo Dục Quốc Phòng	National Defense Education
Thể Dục	Physical Education / Gymnastics
Giáo Dục Công Dân	Civics
Điểm Trung Bình Các Môn Học (ĐTBCM)	Subjects’ average mark / GPA