One of the first things students must figure out when considering education in the United States is decoding the US grading system. It is one of the most important aspects of academic assessment and has a nuanced approach to evaluating students. With this blog, you can discover the intricacies of the American grading system, discussing various types of grades, the significance of the Grade Point Average (GPA), and how the US grading system contrasts with the UK Grading system. Let's begin by understanding what the US grading system consists of!
Although one might already be acquainted with the grading system, the education industry follows it. Typically, students' academics are evaluated by marks, which are displayed as grades or percentages, but the American grading system is not as similar as it seems.
The American grading system is a composition of GPA (Grade Point Average) to evaluate academic performance. The American GPA system is obeyed for all levels of education in the country, and one of the widely used types of GPA scale in USA is the 4-point grading system.
Getting acquainted with the American grading system will be the first step to learning how to ace your exams. Every letter grade corresponds to a number or percentage, which is then used in the US GPA grading system. Your numerical grade is used to obtain your letter grade. Each college will have its exact denotation of which grade corresponds to what letter, but here is a general breakdown of the different letter grades and their corresponding grade range. There are five main grades in the grading scale in America: A, B, C, D, and F.
An A is the best, and F means you didn't pass.
Some schools also use pluses and minuses, like A+, A-, B+, and so on, to show if you're closer to the next highest or lowest grade.
Here is a quick and easy breakdown of the different types of US grading systems:
The US grading system also incorporates a few different letter grades into the American grading scale. These do not exactly denote your grades but instead are used to highlight the status of your course. However, the US education grading system still shows up on your transcript in the American grade system. So, to ensure that these random letters on your mark sheet don't confuse you, here is what they mean in the American grading scale:
If students haven't finished parts of a subject within the stipulated time to earn the regular grade, they will probably be given this grade. Upon completion, this grade is converted to the regular grade.
If a task or homework assigned to a student is not complete or the student fails to complete the same, then this grade is given to the student on the transcript.
This United States GPA scale is awarded to students who are present or attend classes but drop out midway.
GPA, or Grade Point Average, is the primary marking system of the US grading system. Your GPA, as the name suggests, is the overall average of all your grades for a specific time period. Here’s how the GPA grading system works:
A = 4.0
B = 3.0
C = 2.0
D = 1.0
F = 0.0
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Every letter grade corresponds to a number or percentage, which is then used to calculate your GPA. Your numerical grade is used to obtain your letter grade. Each college will have its exact denotation of which grade corresponds to what letter, but here is a general breakdown of the different letter grades and their corresponding grade range. In the United States, academic performance is evaluated using 5, 6, to 7-letter grades. The conventional grading scale includes A+, A, A-, B+, B-, B-, C+, C-, D+, D, D- and F, with A+ being the highest grade and F being the lowest. Here is a quick and easy breakdown of the US grading systems.
GPA, or Grade Point Average, is the primary marking system of the US grading system. Your GPA, as the name suggests, is the overall average of all your grades for a specific time period. For a full breakdown, check out our detailed guide on what is GPA and how to calculate it.
Here’s how the GPA grading system works:
A = 4.0
B = 3.0
C = 2.0
D = 1.0
F = 0.0
In the US grading system, the aggregate quality points gained in each unit are added to calculate GPA. The final result is divided by the total number of course credits or units (or credit hours) you attempted to arrive at your average GPA. It is not just the average of all your grades but determines your final GPA at graduation. The amount of semester hours determines how much weight it has. To get a better understanding of how your final grades will be calculated, you can also read our blog on how to improve your GPA.
For example: GPA = Total Grade Points / total number of credit hours or courses taken. Therefore, if your total grade points are 22 and the number of classes you took is 6, then, your GPA would be 3.6.
In the US grading system, the aggregate quality points gained in each unit are added to calculate GPA. The final result is divided by the total number of course credits or units (or credit hours) you attempted to arrive at your average GPA.
To calculate the GPA, remember that it is not just the average of all your grades but determines your final GPA at graduation. The amount of semester hours determines how much weight it has.
The GPA in the US grading system is divided into three categories:
1. Class GPA: which focuses on specific courses like math in a semester.
2. Semester GPA: which looks at overall performance in a semester or quarter.
3. Cumulative GPA: which includes all academic activities, including extracurriculars like part-time internships that can significantly improve your GPA.
Students who meet the requirements for any level of study may receive a gratuitous honor based on their GPA. Based on other prerequisites, honors can differ from university to university. Relevantly, the student with a better GPA will automatically be given all three honors. They are:
1. Cum Laude: With Honour
2. Magna Cum Laude: With Great Honor
3. Summa Cum Laude: With Greatest Honour
In the US, degrees are classified into three types:
Scoring below 40% means you have not passed your degree while scoring above 70% means you have achieved a high classification. Your GPA represents your final grade.
The UK grading system uses a class grade order, unlike most grading systems, including the United States grading scale, which uses the alphabet to show the student's accomplishments. The UK utilizes letter grades similar to the American grading system, although not in the same way.
In the UK, an "A" is defined as anything above 70% rather than each letter denoting 10%. Every additional letter results in a 10% reduction.
That was our full breakdown of the American grading system. While the US grading system isn't too hard to understand, adjusting to a new structure can be tough, so we've tried to make your transition as smooth as possible. Also, if you are planning to move to the USA, you must be worried about finding ideal housing. Don't worry; we provide some amazing options for student housing in the US to make your path less stressful.
