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The grades awarded in the German school system range from 1 to 6. The lower the grade, the better it is: a 1 is an excellent grade, whereas 5 and 6 are fail grades. Universities use a slightly modified version, which only goes from 1 to 5. It should also be noted that, in the German notation, the decimal separator is not the period but the comma: the grades are written 1,0; 1,3; 2,5 etc.
| Grade/mark | Description | Pass/fail |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 'sehr gut' – very good; an outstanding piece of work | pass |
| 2 | 'gut' – good; all expectations have been met in full | pass |
| 3 | 'befriedigend' – satisfactory; an average work | pass |
| 4 | 'ausreichend' – sufficient; an average work with some minor deficiencies | pass |
| 5 | 'mangelhaft' – deficient; minimum expectations have not been met, although the candidate has demonstrated a basic grasp of the main concepts | fail |
| 6 | 'ungenügend' – inadequate; the candidate has failed to demonstrate coherent knowledge of even the basic main points | fail |
| Grade/mark | Description | Pass/fail |
|---|---|---|
| 1.0–1.3 | 'sehr gut' – very good | pass |
| 1.7–2.3 | 'gut' – good | pass |
| 2.7–3.3 | 'befriedigend' – satisfactory | pass |
| 3.7–4.0 | 'ausreichend' – sufficient | pass |
| 4.3–5.0 | 'mangelhaft' – deficient | fail |
Mark | Description |
|---|---|
16–18 points | 'sehr gut' – very good (particularly outstanding) |
13–15 points | 'gut' – good (well above average) |
10–12 points | 'vollbefriedigend' – fully satisfactory (above average, but with some minor errors) |
7–9 points | 'befriedigend' – satisfactory (meets requirements) |
4–6 points | 'ausreichend' – sufficient (meets requirements, but with notable weaknesses) |
1–3 points | 'mangelhaft' – deficient (considerable weaknesses, some additional work required for a pass) |
0 points | 'ungenügend' – inadequate (a poor performance overall) |
| Grade | Description |
|---|---|
| up to 1.5 | summa cum laude |
| 1.5–2.5 | magna cum laude |
| 2.5–3.5 | cum laude |
| 3.5–4.0 | rite |
