Then there's also the fact that that grading range is ultimately determined by the teacher teaching the class. I've had classes where ~70% is considered an A. As for the D's, I know a lot of my classes require needing to get an C (not C-) or better in order to advance into higher division classes (eg. getting at least a C in Calc. I in order to get into Calc II).

________________
"When we remember we are all mad, the mysteries disappear and life stands explained."
- Samuel Clemens/Mark Twain

With a percentage based grading system, it's very easy to get low grades and fail the grade. You just have to get most wrong. lol

imo, I think the GPA and the letter grading systems are rather flawed. It's hard to fail with them because the worst you can do is "fail", ie 50% (or w/e the conversion standard you have). All you have to do is get a few in the passing grade and you'll average out to a passing grade.

There are schools that aim to have a low average grade. In my university, the expected class average is mid to high 60s in percentage. This allows you to pick the very cream of the crop of your class since there will only be a few people that actually manage to get an "A" (90ish). Only then, getting an A actually means something. Conversely, u'd see the same amount of people who get like 30s...

________________
The Company
[b]Batoto

One thing that I think is missing in the explanations of the US grading system is that different assignments, tests, quizzes, etc. are worth different amounts of points.

For example, there could be 1000 possible points in the class; if you got 100% on everything you'd earn 1000 points. Of those 1000, maybe the final test is worth 300, the mid-term test is worth 200, and then all the other assignments together are 500.

If you get 100/200 or 50% on your mid-term test, even getting 20/20 or 100% on the next assignment isn't going to do much to help your grade.

I've gone through the US educational systems & all the classes I've had from Jr. High on up through University used some form of points throughout the semester, with the final grade being a letter grade. You might get papers back marked "85% - B" but it's the "85%" that really mattered.

The grading scale varies depending on school policies. All through Jr. High, 93% or higher was required for an A; in high school some classes dropped it down to 90% or higher. In University it was generally 90% or higher for an A and anything below 60% was failing.

I've never EVER had or heard of a class where a grade of 50% was considered passing. I did have a few university classes where an exam turned out to be harder than the professor intended & so ended up being graded on the curve, but most of them stuck to the 90% or above for an A.

________________
"[English] not only borrows words from other languages; it has on occasion chased other languages down dark alley-ways, clubbed them unconscious and rifled their pockets for new vocabulary."
-James Nicoll, can.general, March 21, 1992

In Canada provinces education system differ. For me (I'm in BC) we don't have Es or Ds. 86% and above is an A, and 50% is a pass. But 50% will get you nowhere... last year UBC sciences was 92%. And as mentioned by others, an AP course are harder, such as Claculus BC where all the geniuses are failing.
We also get percentages on our report cards and at our school AP and Honours marks don't bump you up. Districts may also differ, some with middle and high schools, or just high school (gr 8-12). High schools themselves in the same district may also differ, using the 3 term system or 2 semester system, for example... but then every school is different anyways.

Addressing to the topic, it is possible to have a great range of scores in Japan basically because of the high difficulty of the exam. I think our system is much more lenient, with only some courses having final exams that worth 10-30% and optional provincals that are worth 40% of your final grade.


________________
"I'll shut your mouth~~~~~ with mine~~~"

二息歩行

Thank you everyone for your input, I think I have a better understanding of international grading systems now.

That said, does anyone actually have some experience with the Japanese grading system specifically? Apparently the Japanese grading system is a lot like the Chinese grading system but can anyone who's actually been to a Japanese school confirm that?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academic_grading_in_Japan

________________
There is a simple solution to every problem; finding the simple solution is the difficult problem.

well, the american grading system is strange. compared with the german grading system, japan´s would look like this:
100-91 - 1
90-81 - 1-2
80-71 - 2
70-61 - 2-3
60-51 - 3
50-41 - 3-4
40-31 - 4
30> - failed
(in germany the grades are from 1 to 6, but everything below 4 equals failed)
1 is equal to A, 2 is equal to B, 3 is equal to C, 4 is equal to D, and everything below 4 is equal to F. i hope this helps a bit
and for the entrance exams: i think there is a numerus clausus for passing the exam
btw: that´s how the grades are given in elementary school. in the upper schools it´s 60%=4, in mine even 65%=4

________________

currently reading: Nyotai-ka
please support me

From the article linked above, this would seem to be the most different from Western schools: "Public schooling below the high school level is classified as compulsory education ...and every Japanese child is required to attend school until he or she passes Junior High. An interesting phenomenon is that even if an individual student fails a course, they may pass with their class regardless of grades on tests. The grades on tests have no effect on schooling until taking entrance exams to get into high school."

________________
"[English] not only borrows words from other languages; it has on occasion chased other languages down dark alley-ways, clubbed them unconscious and rifled their pockets for new vocabulary."
-James Nicoll, can.general, March 21, 1992

I think you have to take into consideration how its weighted. You can do horrible in an exam, but if the exam is only with a small fraction of the final grade, then you can still pass. Not to mention some teachers allows you to retake exam or redo assignments. There can also be a curve in place. I don't know if its done in Asian countries, but here in the US some teachers will curve the grading scale depending on how the class does...so its possible for a low score to still be a passing score.

its probably daily test, in my homeland the final grade decided like this

final grade on report = average_daily_test_grade/(2*final test grade)

so even the average of the daily test only weighted 1/3 of the final grade.
during a semester there will be 4-5 daily tests of each subjects.

it mean as long you are doing fine (60+) on final test, its fine to get 20-30 once or twice on daily test just because its so sudden and you are not prepared, I mean who the hell study everyday , rather than study more likely memorizing anything that's not math or physic.

there are so much useless stuff they teach at school after all.

________________
"we are people because of other people"
"I am who I am because of who we all are"

In Romania, we have a similar grading system 0 - 10 (the extra 0 we use as a decimal, so you can get an 8.5 for example). You go from year to year even if you get really low grades. My lowest was a 4-5 and I passed that year. It doesn't matter much because in order to go from elementary to high school and then to college, you must pass an admittance test. It doesn't matter what grades you got before if you ace your admittance test. Plus, it's up to you if you want to study or not. I remember I had to do some serious studying. The thing is, unlike the US, the admittance tests make you study to knwo the material. There is no such thing in the US, that's why the passing grade is so important... you never get tested to see how well you know the material afterwards!!! I was so happy when I heard that there's no admittance tests in the US. Granted, I left Romania in 1998.

Now, when I came to the US, school was EASY. Not only did I come knowing math/science/English at a more advanced level than comparable US students, but I didn't have to study to maintain my grades. I went from second from last in my class in Romania (you kept to the same class the whole year and the teachers rotated rooms instead of the students, to one of the best in the most advanced special classes in the US.

________________
May the curse of Mary Malone and her nine blind illegitimate children chase you so far over the hills of Damnation that the Lord himself can't find you with a telescope. - Irish Curse

I'm not your type. I'm not inflatable.

Cry me a river, build me a bridge and get over it.

Everyone is entitled to be stupid but you're abusing the privilege.

Everyone has a photographic memory, some just don't have film.

In India, you work your ass of for good grades. And I don't mean just pay attention in class, then stuy a few hours per day a few days before the exam. If you want to score 80%+ in high school, you study for hours everyday, go to coachings, study in schools, fill registers with practice.......

And that's for students whose aim is not IIT. Students preping for IIT-JEE study like mad, if they want to get selected. It's the toughest exam for prospective UG students.

________________
There are times when you will miss what you never had. I wonder how you will find what you so desperately need.

Wow, that actually makes me kinda depressed.