| Academic grading |
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| Africa |
| North America |
| Central America |
| South America |
| Asia |
| Europe |
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| Oceania |
Contents |
In South Korea, depending on each school, the perfect score is represented as either 4.0, 4.3, or 4.5. The latter is the most commonly used system in the country. Some schools regard A+ and A0 as equals.
According to Thor May, paper Corruption and Other Distortions as Variables in Language Education published in the TESOL Law Journal, Vol.2 March 2008 states:
"South Korean universities, on the whole, are organized to support the cultural face game. Academic pass levels are not set at 50%, but at 60%, 70% or higher; (this grade creep is a worldwide phenomenon). What do these percentages calibrate? There's the rub. They do not measure knowledge mastery or competence in any sense. They are norm referenced, and the referencing itself is not to any credible sample size. It is to each individual class, no matter how abysmal that class standard is. The writer has now taught in South Korea and China for almost ten years, in six institutions, and during that time has rarely been permitted to officially make honest assessments of student achievements relative to real competence or what was taught. Rather, there have been instructions that no student shall receive less than a C+, or even a B. Sometimes the instructions are conveyed in writing; more often there is a workplace process of enculturation where it is made clear that failing students poses a risk to the future of the teacher." [1]
Many universities use the following categories:
| Letter | Percent |
|---|---|
| A+ | 95-100% |
| A | 90-95% |
| B+ | 85-90% |
| B | 80-85% |
| C+ | 75-80% |
| C | 70-75% |
| D+ | 65-70% |
| D | 60-65% |
| F | <60% |
| Letter Grade | Grade Point |
|---|---|
| A+ | 4.5 |
| A | 4.0 |
| B+ | 3.5 |
| B | 3.0 |
| C+ | 2.5 |
| C | 2.0 |
| D+ | 1.5 |
| D | 1.0 |
| F | 0.0 |
| P | Not Counted (without credit course, pass) |
| S | Counted (credit is counted without any specific grade) |
| I | Not Counted (Incomplete) |
A+____________4.3
A0____________4.0
A-____________3.7
B+____________3.3
B0____________3.0
B-____________2.7
C+____________2.3
C0____________2.0
C-____________1.7
D+____________1.3
D0____________1.0
D-____________0.7(last passing grade)
F ____________0.0(No Credit)
S_____________Satisfactory (credit is counted, but no grade is given)
U_____________Unsatisfactory (credit is not counted, and no grade is given)
All Korean Secondary Schools traditionally used to have a five-scale grading system, which was converted from the student's raw score in mid-terms and finals (out of 100).
This system is still used in South Korean Middle Schools.
Su 수(Outstanding) 90-100%
Wu 우(Satisfactory) 80-90%
Mi 미(Average)70-80%
Yang 양(Needs Improvement) 60-70%
Ga 가 (Needs Much Improvement) Below 60%
Students are generally not held back in Korean schools. Thus a grade of 'Ga' is still a passing grade.
In October 2004, the ministry of education changed the High School academic grading system, from absolute evaluation, to relative evaluation.
The revised grading system, grades students by 9 ranks based on their relative standing amongst all students taking the same class that semester.
| Rank | Rank 1 | Rank 2 | Rank 3 | Rank 4 | Rank 5 | Rank 6 | Rank 7 | Rank 8 | Rank 9 |
| Percentage | 4% | 7% | 12% | 17% | 20% | 17% | 12% | 7% | 4% |
| Accumulate Percentage | 4% | 11% | 23% | 40% | 60% | 77% | 89% | 96% | 100% |
And 'Rank 9' is also still a passing grade.
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