You may find that the Dutch grading system is different from your own. When you come to the Netherlands to study you will probably expect that many things are different than in your home country: climate, lifestyle, traffic, food, clothes and religion for example.
The grading system may also not be the same at what you are used to. To help set your expectations of the Dutch system, we have provided a short explanation below.
Ten point grading system
There are many different grading systems in the world, such as (from lowest to highest grade) 1 to 5, 1 to 10, 1 to 20, 1 to 100, 5 to 1, F to A. In the Netherlands a ten point system is used in both secondary and higher education. A grade of 10 is the highest and 6 is the minimum pass grade.
|
Grade |
Meaning |
|
10 |
Outstanding* |
|
9 |
Very Good* |
|
8 |
Good |
|
7 |
More than satisfactory |
|
6 |
Satisfactory |
|
5 |
Almost satisfactory |
|
4 |
Unsatisfactory |
|
3 |
Very unsatisfactory* |
|
2 |
Poor* |
|
1 |
Very poor* |
* The grades 1-3 are hardly ever awarded and 9 and 10 are very rare.