Education in Belgium is organised on the level of the three communities.
The approximate following grade scale applies to university and college students:[1]
| Grade | Average grade (percentage) | Used scale (0-20 scale) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| La plus grande distinction | Excellent (90% – 100%) | 18 – 20 | |
| Grande distinction | Very Good (80% – 89%) | 16 – 17,9 | |
| Distinction | Good (70% – 79%) | 14 – 15,9 | |
| Satisfaction | Satisfactory (60% – 69%) | 12 – 13,9 | |
| Passable | Sufficient (50% – 59%) | 10 – 11,9 | |
| Echec | Failure (< 50%) | < 10 |
Grades for each course in the French Community's higher education system are noted on 20, with pass set at 10.
The grades on 20 and the percentages in brackets vary from one university/college to another and can even be different for different faculties within the same institution.
Academic grading does not occur at the end of each year anymore, but rather at the level of the entire degree.
Secondary school grades are delivered in percentages, with pass at 50% (sometimes 60%, i.e. for French language courses). While most secondary schools have suppressed honours and ranking of pupils, some still use them, like the Athénée Robert Catteau in Brussels, which uses a roughly equivalent system to universities, at the end of each year:
In Flanders each university has a different grading system, though most grade on a scale of 20 with 10/20 being the passing grade. At UGent the following grading system applies to higher education:[2]
At the other main Flemish university, KU Leuven, the following levels of achievement are used:[3]
The amount of students that receive each level of achievement varies greatly between different faculties and is hard to reliably generalize for the entire university.[4]