ASESORA ACADMICA- WWW.FULBRIGHT.ES 91 319 1126- P GRAL.

MARTNEZ CAMPOS, 24, 28010 MADRID

Grading System

The Spanish and American grading systems differ significantly
from each other. In Spain, there are several ways that schools can
report grades at both the secondary and university levels. It is
important to be aware that in general, very high grades are given less
frequently in Spain than in the U.S (especially at the university level;
this will vary depending on the school and the area of study). It might
be useful to request from the student an explanation (written by the
school) with further information about their particular grading system
(including the percentages of students who receive each grade) to
better evaluate the students work.

Secondary School

I. ESO Obligatory Secondary Education (Escuela Secundaria
Obligatoria)

Typically, this level of secondary school assigns letter grades
that correspond to the words below. Grades may also come
with a number (scale 1-10).

Sobresaliente (SB), 9-10 Excellent
Notable (NT), 7-8 Good
Bien (B), 6 Average
Suficiente (AP), 5 Pass
Suspenso (SS), 1-4 Fail

II. Bachillerato Junior and Senior years of high school, obligatory
only for college bound students

This level of secondary school always assigns grades as
numbers (scale 1-10) but may also include a word
(abbreviation).

9-10, Sobresaliente (SB) Excellent
7-8, Notable (NT) Good
6, Bien (B) Average
5, Suficiente (AP) Pass
1-4 Suspenso (SS) Fail


Matrcula de Honor: This Honor Roll averages all of the grades earned during the
two-year Bachillerato. A school can choose to award this title to one out of every
twenty students. If a student is given this award, he or she is entitled to have the first
year of tuition waived at any public university they are accepted to. They may also
have full or partial tuition waived at private universities, but this varies depending on
the institution.

Higher Education - University

The Spanish university system uses one of two scales for grading. The first is
a scale from 1-10, similar (but not exact) to that used in secondary education. The
grades 9-10 are typically reserved for only the most exceptional students.

9-10 = Sobresaliente Excellent
7-8 = Notable Good
5-6 = Aprobado Pass/Average
0-4 = Suspenso Fail

The second grading scale used by universities is from 0.0-4.0; however, this is
not the same as the American G.P.A. scale. Grades in the 3-4 range are considered
particularly high and grades in the 2-3 range are also considered quite good.

4 = Matricula de Honor Highest Honors
3 = Sobresaliente Excellent
2 = Notable Good
1 = Aprobado Pass

Matrcula de Honor: At the (public) university level, a professor may choose (but is
not required) one out of every twenty students to award Highest Honors (Matrcula
de Honor). If given this title, the students tuition fee for a class of equivalent credits
as the course for which they earned Highest Honors is covered by the school for the
following academic year. This may vary in private universities, but typically there is
some comparable financial award given.

Exams

One of the most notable differences between the American and Spanish university
systems is the final exam. In Spain, if a student does not pass the final exam for a
course, he/she has the opportunity to retake the exam in July or September without
retaking the entire course and without any penalty to their grade. If a student retakes
the final exam this may be noted somewhere on their record; for example, the final
grade for a Fall course may appear in July, meaning that the student retook the exam
in July.