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China Grading Scale

The China grading scale explained: Chinese percentage, higher is better, pass mark 60, with every band named and the German equivalent.

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In short The China grading scale is Chinese percentage: higher is better, the best attainable grade is 100, and the lowest passing grade is 60. Sixty is the pass mark, which is high enough that the working range of the scale is really 60 to 95 rather than 0 to 100. Chinese universities often issue both a percentage and a 4.0 GPA on the same transcript, computed by their own rule, and the two do not always agree with each other. Converting it into German terms is the one calculation here that is actually defined — the modified Bavarian formula, German grade = 1 + 3 × (best − yours) ÷ (best − pass). It is the method German universities use to place a foreign grade on their own 1–6 scale, and it pins both ends by construction: the best attainable grade always gives exactly 1.0 and the minimum pass exactly 4.0. So the top grade of 100 becomes German 1.0 and the pass mark of 60 becomes German 4.0, with everything between spread linearly. Any other conversion, including into a US GPA, is a convention that admissions offices print and no standards body publishes. And the number is only half the story: what travels between countries is the band name rather than the figure, because "不及格 — fail" means the top of this scale whatever mark it happens to start at. Two systems can put their best students at 70 and at 80 and mean the same thing by it.

How to use the China Grading Scale

  1. Read the scale, its direction and its pass mark.
  2. Find your grade in the band table.
  3. Switch the selector to compare it with another country.

About the China Grading Scale

What the China grading scale means, band by band, and how it maps onto the German scale.

What people use it for

  • Reading a transcript from China.
  • Working out whether a grade from China is good.
  • Preparing an application that has to state a grade from China.

Details

ScaleChinese percentage
DirectionHigher is better
Best grade100
Pass mark60
Top band不及格 — fail
Bands5
On the German scale100 → 1.0 and 60 → 4.0, by the modified Bavarian formula
PrivacyEverything runs in your browser. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere

The maths behind it

This tool uses the modified Bavarian formula, German grade = 1 + 3 × (best − yours) ÷ (best − pass). It is the method German universities use to place a foreign grade on their own 1–6 scale, and it pins both ends by construction: the best attainable grade always gives exactly 1.0 and the minimum pass exactly 4.0. Every intermediate value is shown on screen, so the result can be checked by hand.

Sixty is the pass mark, which is high enough that the working range of the scale is really 60 to 95 rather than 0 to 100. Chinese universities often issue both a percentage and a 4.0 GPA on the same transcript, computed by their own rule, and the two do not always agree with each other.

Where this tool stops

This is the national convention for China. Individual institutions set their own pass marks and some faculties mark far more severely than others, so a transcript can differ from the national picture. Non-numeric distinctions are not covered.

Frequently asked questions

What is a good grade in China?
The top band is "不及格 — fail". Because higher is better, that sits at the 100 end, with 60 the minimum pass.
What is the pass mark in China?
60 on the Chinese percentage scale. Anything beyond that is a fail, and failing grades do not convert into other systems — there is nothing on the far scale to map them onto.
How does a China grade convert to the German 1–6 scale?
By the modified Bavarian formula. The best grade, 100, becomes German 1.0 and the pass mark, 60, becomes German 4.0, with the range between them spread evenly. Those two fixed points are a useful check on any conversion you are given.
Can I convert a China grade to a US GPA?
You can produce a number, and it will be a convention rather than a standard. Nobody publishes an official mapping between national systems and the 4.0 GPA, so different American institutions read the same transcript differently. State your original grade and let them convert it.
Why does the number matter less than the band?
Because scales differ in shape as well as range. A top band beginning at 70 in one country and 80 in another means the same thing in both — the best students — while the raw numbers suggest a gap that is not there. The band name is what survives crossing a border.
Does the China Grading Scale cost anything?
There is no cost and no cap. The China Grading Scale is not a demo of a paid product, so nothing is held back or watermarked.
Does anything I enter leave my computer?
No. The China Grading Scale runs entirely in your browser using JavaScript. Because the work happens locally, the tool also keeps working if your connection drops, and closing the tab is all it takes to discard everything.
What formula does the China Grading Scale use?
It uses the modified Bavarian formula, German grade = 1 + 3 × (best − yours) ÷ (best − pass). It is the method German universities use to place a foreign grade on their own 1–6 scale, and it pins both ends by construction: the best attainable grade always gives exactly 1.0 and the minimum pass exactly 4.0. The full working is printed under the result, so you can follow every step rather than trusting a black box.
When would I actually need the China Grading Scale?
Typical uses: reading a transcript from China. Working out whether a grade from China is good. Preparing an application that has to state a grade from China. It is built for exactly those cases rather than being a general-purpose tool with this bolted on.
Where does the China Grading Scale stop being reliable?
This is the national convention for China. Individual institutions set their own pass marks and some faculties mark far more severely than others, so a transcript can differ from the national picture. Non-numeric distinctions are not covered. Knowing where a tool stops being trustworthy matters more than the cases where it works.
What are the key numbers for the China Grading Scale?
Scale is Chinese percentage. Direction is Higher is better. Best grade is 100. These are printed on the page itself, so you do not have to take them on trust.
Can I rely on this for exact work?
The calculation runs in double precision and the result is shown to ten significant figures, so converting a value and converting it back returns the original. What is displayed is rounded for readability; what is copied is not.

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