GRADING SYSTEMS

Australian universities do not have a standardized grading system. Although most institutions use the grades of High Distinction (HD), Distinction (D), Credit (C), Pass (P) and Fail (F), some do not use these designations and others have additional designations. A chart prepared by the Australian Vice-Chancellors' Committee on Grading systems which outlines the designations that different universities use is included in this section.

Australian grades should not be equated directly to grades in the US and Canada (although we recognize that usage of the letter grades A to F is not as widespread in Canada as it is in the US). An HD is not an A, a D is not a B, a C is not a C, and a P is not a D. Canadian and US students who are accustomed to receiving A's and B's may discover that they receive D and C equivalent grades in the Australian system. For example, one Australian university provides the following chart of equivalent US grades:

Grade	Percentage Rate	Description	Letter Grade
High Distinction	85% and over	outstanding performance	A+
Distinction	75-84%	superior performance	A
Credit	65-74%	good performance	B
Pass	50-64%	acceptable performance	C
Pass Conceded		allows progression to another subject	D
Pass Terminating		does not allow progression to another subject	F

The same university has collected data regarding student grades in selected courses which is displayed on the next page. You will note that of the 24 subjects, the median score for 12 is a Credit and for 9 is a Pass (for the remaining three, there is a tied median). These statistics represent all students in a course, not just study abroad or international students.

For more specific information on Australian grade equivalencies, you might refer to the following two publications:

• Aldrich-Langen, Caroline. Australia. A Study of the Education System of Australia and a Guide to the Academic Placement of Students in Educational Institutions of the United States.  World Education Series, American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers, 1983.
• ________. The Education System of Australia. An Update of the 1983 World Education Series.  American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers, 1990.

We would also suggest that you contact the university directly to find information on grade distribution. The AEO is in the process of producing a brief summary of grade distributions at Australian universities, but until that summary has been completed the best source of information is the university at which the student studied.

GRADE DISTRIBUTION