The ECTS Grading Scale

Examination and assessment results are usually expressed in grades. There are many different grading systems in Europe. To help institutions interpret the grades awarded to exchange students, the ECTS grading scale has been developed by the institutions participating in the pilot scheme. The ECTS grade provides information on the student's performance in addition to that provided by the institution's grade. Please be advised that the ECTS grade does not replace the local grade.

The following chart describes the dual use of the ECTS grading system. For example, the grade A means that the student's performance was excellent, and that s/he was among the top ten percent of students.

ECTS Grade Definition Percentage
of Students 		Siena's
grades
A Excellent Outstanding performance
with only minor errors		 10% 30-30L
B Very good Above the average standard
with some errors		 25% 28-29
C Good Generally sound work
with a number of notable errors		 30% 26-27
D Satisfactory Fair but with significant shortcomings 25% 24-25
E Sufficient Performance meets minimum criteria 10% 18-23
FX Fail Some more work required
before credit can be awarded
F Fail Considerable further work is required

In order to convert the local grades into the ECTS grades the host institution examines the distribution of the marks awarded to its students. To obtain the following 10-25-30-25-10 pattern, the boundaries between grades are drawn at around 10% (A), 35% (A and B), 65% (A, B, and C), and 90% (A, B, C, and D). Please be advised that there is great flexibility in how the different ECTS institutions apply the statistical grading system.