Guide to American School System – Grades & Assessment

by Petr Novák, ? The accuracy of the information provided in this article was last verified on this date. If you spot any errors, please let us know in the comments. Thank you. :-) Updated 06/06/2023 How It Works in America

In the USA, a popular five-step rating system is often utilized, where letters substitute numerical values. This system is not officially standardized, thus each primary and secondary school has the autonomy to devise their own assessment method. In some countries, the percentages required to attain a certain grade may slightly differ.

1. Table of Contents

   1. School Grades in the USA
   2. Student GPA in American Schools

   School Grades in the USA

   The grade a student receives is determined by their passing percentage on a specific test:

   Note	Word Expression	Test Percentages	GPA Value
   A	Excellent	90-100	3.5-4.0
   B	Good	80-90	2.5-3.49
   C	Satisfactory	70-80	1.5-2.49
   D	Less Than Satisfactory	60-70	1.0-1.49
   E/F	Fail	Under 60	0

   Some American schools continue to adhere to an older tradition where the worst grade was not an F but an E. However, these schools have become significantly fewer after World War II. Currently, you might come across N (No Credit) or U (Unsatisfactory) as well. In some instances, a scale with two options is utilized: Pass and Fail.

   Often, auxiliary signs like + and – are also employed, allowing a student, for instance, to receive a B+. Each student’s Grade Point Average (GPA) is also calculated throughout their studies, with each letter grade assigned a value from 0 to 4 – the higher the better.

2. Student GPA in American Schools

   The assessment system in the USA is sophisticated, making it easy to compare students with each other.

   Credits, which signify the significance of each subject, play an integral role in assessments. For instance, engineering students might take mathematics for 4 credits and history for 1 credit, while the converse is true for history majors.

   This method facilitates the calculation of grade point averages (the aforementioned GPAs) and comparison of students. You can see what the assessment looks like in practice in the following example:

   Subject	Number of Credits	Note	Score
   Mathematics 102	4	A	4 × 4.0 = 16.0
   Literature 104	2	C	2 × 2.0 = 4.0
   Division 158	1	B	1 × 3.0 = 3.0
   Biology	1	D	1 × 1.0 = 1.0
   Total	8	B	24

   The overall grade point average is computed by adding the scores for all courses and dividing the result by the total number of credits. In this case, 24 ÷ 8 = 3. A value of 3 corresponds to a grade of “B”, or good.