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French University Grades Explained

French university grades are awarded on a scale of 1-20, with 16-20 considered very high honors (equivalent to an A+ in the US) and 10 the minimum passing grade for a single subject. Grades are also interpreted in terms of honors levels: 14-15.9 is high honors (A), 12-13.9 is with honors (B), and 10-11.9 is a pass (C). The European ECTS system distributes grades on a statistical curve, with the top 10% receiving an A and the next 25% a B.

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167 views1 page

French University Grades Explained

French university grades are awarded on a scale of 1-20, with 16-20 considered very high honors (equivalent to an A+ in the US) and 10 the minimum passing grade for a single subject. Grades are also interpreted in terms of honors levels: 14-15.9 is high honors (A), 12-13.9 is with honors (B), and 10-11.9 is a pass (C). The European ECTS system distributes grades on a statistical curve, with the top 10% receiving an A and the next 25% a B.

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Leon Salinas
Copyright
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We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Educational Advising Center - Centre Education USA

Franco-American Commission for Educational Exchange (Fulbright Commission)


9 rue Chardin, 75016 PARIS FRANCE
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.fulbright-france.org

November 2009


FRENCH GRADES EXPLANATION (UNIVERSITY LEVEL)


Grades in France are awarded on a scale of 1-20, but the tradition is such that grades higher than 16 are seldom
awarded. The passing grade for a single subject is usually 10/20, although grades of 8 and 9 indicate satisfactory
performance. A student is considered to have passed the year when the combined weighted average of all his
or her grades for that year comes to at least 10.
1


Interpretation of the French 0-20 scale in terms of American grading standards: (taken from the Web site of the
World Education Services, WES, www.wes.org, member of the National Council for the Evaluation of Foreign
Educational Credentials)
2
.

French Scale Mentions / Honors U.S. equivalents
16 - 20 Trs bien (very high honors) A+
14 - 15.9 Bien (high honors) A
12 13.9 Assez Bien (with honors) B
10 11.9 Passable (pass) C
8 9.9
3

0 - 7 Ajourn (failed) F

European ECTS grading system
4

The ECTS grading scale is based on a statistical distribution curve. For a given course, letter grades are
distributed among students as follows:
A best 10% (outstanding) C next 30% (good) E next 10% (sufficient)
B next 25% (very good) D next 25% (satisfactory)

1
Reference: Assefa, A. Mariam. France: A Study of the Educational System of France and a Guide to the Academic Placement of Students in
Educational Institutions of the United States, Washington, D.C.: American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers,
1988.
2
The International Grade Conversion Guide for Higher Education provided by [and available on the Web site of] World Education Services,
contains suggested grade conversions for higher education in more than 12 countries.
3
Is regarded as a passing grade if the entire year was passed. There is no French equivalent for the U.S. grade D.
4
(for more information please visit : http://ec.europa.eu/education/programmes/socrates/ects/index_en.html)

A distinction is made between the grades FX and F that are used for unsuccessful students. FX means: fail-
some more work required to pass and F means: fail considerable further work required. The inclusion of
failure rates in the Transcript of Records is optional.

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