Certificates and grading scales

A certificate of primary and lower secondary education is issued as documentation of completed primary and lower secondary education.

Pupils are assessed in non-continuing subjects at the end of their period of education and training. The marks represent the competence which they have attained, based on the description in the curriculum for each subject. A final mark for order and conduct is set at the end of the 10th year. 

A certificate of upper secondary education and training provides documentation of the successful completion of a 3-year course of education and training that gives access to university studies and documentation of vocational competence.

Absence is listed in terms of days and single hours for each year level. The reason for absence can be given on the certificate.

A certificate awarded as documentation that a student/apprentice has completed three or five years of upper secondary education, but has not met the conditions for the award of a diploma or a trade or journeyman's certificate.

A certificate of competence can also be issued, if required, for all education and training, at whatever level, regardless of whether it was successfully completed or not.

• 6 – six (exceptionally high degree of competence in the subject)
• 5 – five (very high degree of competence in the subject)
• 4 – four (high degree of competence in the subject)
• 3 – three (fair degree of competence in the subject)
• 2 – two (low degree of competence in the subject)
• 1 – one (very low degree of competence in the subject)

In certain subjects, forms of assessment other than numerical marks are used, like the the assessment form "Participated" instead of numerical marks. The relevant national curriculum stipulates which subjects and which forms of assessment that such alternative forms apply to. For private schools entitled to government subsidies a corresponding stipulation is found in the school's curriculum approved under the Private School Act.

For the practical part of the craft certificate and journeyman's certificate, a tripartite grading scale is used:

• passed with distinction
• passed
• failed

For an examination mark, there shall also be an indication as to whether the exam form was written ("S" for "skriftlig"), oral ("M" for "muntlig"), oral-practical ("MP" for "muntlig-praktisk") or practical ("P").

The certificate may contain annotations on specific subjects. There may also be annotations that apply to the certificate as a whole.

Marks for order and conduct are given as follows:

• good
• fair
• poor