GPA Conversion from German Grades to US 4.0 GPA

How can you convert German "Abitur" Grade into the US High School 4.0 GPA system?  This is an interesting question, because how can  you really compare two different school systems?

In the US, there is only one public school system, "High school"," which means everybody goes through the same system, no matter their academic ability.  As such, there are some core requirements, but also many electives ranging from college-level courses (AP or advanced placement) to general trade classes, like auto-repair or woodworking, so a student can balance their coursework to their ability quite a bit.  After grade 12, you graduate with a high school diploma, which qualifies you to attend a university.  But because of the wide range of class options, the final GPA for a student who takes harder classes is not qualitatively the same as for somebody who takes easier classes.  For that reason, there are standardized college entry exams like the SAT and ACT that test the scholastic ability of a student -- but that's a different topic.

In Germany, there are several school tracks, geared towards different professions.  The more basic track, "Real-Schule," is geared towards trade-professions, with emphasis on hands-on schoolwork, including many trade classes like metal- and wood working.  There are only 10 grades,  after which students typically enter a trade profession, or switch over into another school track.

The "highest" school track in Germany is called the called "Gymnasium," which requires more academic skills. 

As a side, to an American the word "Gymnasium" means a sports building, filled with weight rooms or ball courts.  The word actually stems from the ancient Greeks, were it originally meant a higher place of learning, both academically and physically.  In English, it now only refers to the physical aspect, while in German it still carries the dual sense.

Thus, the Gymnasium is the primary school that prepares you to go on to a university, and after 13 grade levels (compared to 12 in the US), and cumulative final exams,  you graduate with the "Abitur" -- the main requirement to enter a university.  There are some other school pathways, but if you are academically gifted enough, you will choose this path. 

To put this in perspective, overall only 50% of all students qualify for the Abitur.  Most classes are university prep classes, some are even comparable to US college entry level classes. Just as an example, in math, everybody has to take calculus. 

Unlike the other school-tracks, or a US High school, there are no trade classes offered, so there is no way to balance out a harder class.  In fact, the curriculum is very strict and mostly predetermined, with no electives, and it includes three majors.  Last but not least, grades are assigned not on a curve ; it is not uncommon that half a class will "fail" a course, which would be almost unheard of in a US school, if only because it would reflect bad on the teacher.

As such, the German Abitur --arguably-- is harder than a standard High School degree, more like High School with Honors or AP classes. 

As far as converting between the two systems, to make it even harder, there are 6 possible grades in Germany (1-6, with 1 being best), compared to 5 in the US (A,B,C,D,F, with A being best). That, by the way, is where the term "4.0 scale" comes from (pronounced "four point oh"):  an A is 4.0, all the way down to F which is 0.0.

So then: how do you adjust for all that? Let's say, you want to apply to a US university, how could you possibly and fairly convert the German grade into the American one?

We compare three conversion systems:

• NCAA conversion for Student athletes, using the scale:  A,B,C,D,F.  This conversion is used to determine general eligibility for student athletes to play college sports, who will  have to clear the minimum requirements of the NCAA;  in addition, any given schools may have higher entry requirements.  This measure is less relevant for non-athletes, but since this site is about basketball, it should be taken into account.
  • http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/eligibility_center/International_Information/International_Guide.pdf
• The conversion of a  major university  (University of Florida) uses the scale: A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D+, D, D-, S/E
  • Grading system: https://www.eng.ufl.edu/students/students/international/study-abroad/exchange-program-grade-conversion/
  • this conversion is for University grades (Hamburg University), not High school level grades.
• Scholaro.com conversion for Abitur Grades to US High School Grades
  • https://www.scholaro.com/gpa-calculator/Germany

1. The NCAA does not distinguish between a German "good" (2  or 10-12 pts) and "satisfactory" (3 or 7-9 pts).  However, in reality that is a huge difference and should bear into the conversion.  On the plus side, it does give some credit for lower grades.
2. The University conversion does make this distinction, assigning 3.3 for "good" and 3.0 for "satisfactory;" on the flip side, it assigns 0 for German points 0-4 (Grades 11-13).  However, this conversion is stated to be for UNIVERSITY level grades ("University of Hamburg" is used as an example), not the Abitur or High School level grades.
3. Scholaro is the only converter I could find for actual Abitur grades.  It weighs better grades more, which makes sense because getting a good grades in the Abitur is not easy, plus lower grades also carry some weight. It is sort of mixture of #1 and #2.  (Scholaro also has a conversion for German universities, which weights points 0-4 as a zero, exactly like #2).

In summary:  Somehow you have to adjust for the fact that the German system uses 6 possible grades, not 5, and that the Abitur is a hard degree, having less wiggle room with easier classes.  Taking that into account, Scholaro (#3) seems to be the fairest, because it rewards higher grades (which are harder to get in this system) and also still weighs lower grades somewhat.