German Grade Scale Calculator (Linear Key)

The linear key draws a straight line from grade 6.0 at zero points to grade 1.0 at full marks: grade = 6 − 5 × points ÷ maximum. Full marks give a 1.0, 80 percent a 2.0, 60 percent a 3.0 and half the marks a 3.5. The key is a teaching convention, not a regulation.

The linear key is the simplest way to turn points into a German grade: draw a straight line from a 6.0 at zero points to a 1.0 at full marks and read off whatever lies in between. Written out, that is six minus five times the share of the points you scored. Every ten percent of the marks is worth half a grade, so the distance from a 1.0 to a 2.0 costs exactly as much as the distance from a 4.0 to a 5.0. That evenness is the appeal, and it is also the objection. Half the marks land on a 3.5 rather than on the pass line at 4.0, so a linear key is harsher in the middle than most teachers want, which is why many bend it at the pass mark instead. What this page gives you is the exact grade, not the one that goes on the paper. Rounding to whole, half or quarter grades is a second decision, and it belongs to your teacher. The key itself belongs there too. No ministry publishes a binding points-to-grade table for classroom tests in Germany; the teacher or the subject department sets the key, and a state may recommend but not prescribe one. Treat the number here as the arithmetic of one particular convention, and ask which key your test actually used before arguing over a tenth of a grade.