GPA 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.

The "school grade" system has historically been a scale of 0 to 10, but all grades lower than 4 were discarded. Thus, it is 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 (satisfactory)
  • 5 (mediocre)
  • 4 (fail)

In the individual exams, but not in the final results, 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 to represent perfect performance added with extra effort by the student.

The matriculation examination grades are similar to the above, but 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%

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.