Understanding the German marking System

This article briefly describes the marking system in the schools of the German federal state of Hamburg as it was in 1999.
Education in Germany lies within the competency of the federal states. Thus, while the general approach is similar in different regions, there may be some differences.
The 6 marks / 15 points system has been around for ages and is unlikely to change soon. However, the specific rules governing the election of subjects and similar matters are not only state-specific, but are also subject to constant adjustment by government and regulation bodies.
Thus, you should view this article as a general overview of the system, not a specific description of the current state of affairs.

Within the German secondary education system, there are different types of schools, some of which are designed to lead to higher education entrance qualification (Abitur), and some are designed to lead to various lesser qualifications. This article relates to German schools designed to lead to a higher education entrance qualification (Abitur). Normally this means the high school is either a Gymnasium or a Gesamtschule.

In German schools the assessments are usually given on a scale from one to six, where one means an excellent result and six stands for unsatisfactory. However, in last 2 or 3 years of Gymnasium a system is used that allows a finer approach. It is based on points and allows a gradual marking where 15 points stand for pure excellence and 0 points mean a complete failure. The points can be easily related to the normal six-grades-system as follows:

During the "A-Level" or "College" years (called Oberstufe) all marking happens in the points based system. The weighted overall result is translated back to a 1 to 6 system, using one decimal digit after the point (e.g. "1.2" or "4.0").

The school education in Germany takes 12 to 13 years depending on the region. At the time when I was in school 13 years were more common, but there was a tendency to shorten the education. In any case, the last two years are called Oberstufe. It is similar to an English College. During that time the students obtain their higher education entrance qualification - the Abitur. It can be more or less regarded as an equivalent to English A-Levels, even thought the German standards seemed slightly higher to me, at least at the time when I joined a UK university after graduating from a German school.

Almost all marks obtained by students during the Oberstufe are included in their final results, but they are weighted differently. During these two years, a student takes usually about 10 different courses/subjects. In different federal states there are different regulations about how exactly those subjects are to be chosen, but the key points are similar:

Two of the subjects taken are called Leistungskurse - intensive courses. They offer a deep insight into the taught disciplines with around 5 classes a week.
Most of the other courses are called Grundkurse - basic courses. Having usually 2-3 classes a week they offer a good introduction into their subject areas.
The intensive courses run over both years. The basic courses can run over one or two years.

Every course taken is assessed after each semester (one half of an academic year). Almost all of those marks are included in the final result, however, they are weighted differently - the assessments of the intensive courses count for more.

During the last semester of the Oberstufe the students take their final examinations. In Hamburg, for instance, the examinations are taken in four subjects: For the two intensive courses there are written examinations. Additionally, the students choose two of the basic courses in which they want to be examined (the choice must comply to various rules which vary between different federal states). One of the basic courses is examined in a written and the other one in an oral examination.

All marks are given in the 15 points system. Finally, the three components (course assessments, intensive courses exams and basic courses exams) are used to calculate a weighted average result. The examination results of the intensive courses are weighted more than the results of the basic courses exams, and the course assessments count least.

The average result is expressed as a number between 1.0 (best excellence) and 4.0 (just passed). A result worse than 4.0 means that the student failed and results better than 1.0 are rounded to 1.0. This final result is often used by German universities to specify entry requirements for different degree courses.

Go to my Abitur results.