Betygsskalan

Betygsskalan is the Swedish term for the grading or grading scale used in schools and universities across Sweden. It is a standardized system that assigns numeric values, and sometimes letter codes, to indicate a student’s level of achievement in a subject or course. The system is designed to provide a clear, objective measure for academic performance, facilitating comparisons across institutions and over time.

Historically, the use of Betygsskalan evolved through several reforms. Prior to the 1900s, grading was largely qualitative, with subjective descriptors like “bra” (good) or “mycket bra” (very good). In 1908 a quantitative 6‑point scale was introduced in primary and secondary schools. This scale ranged from 1 (sufficient) to 6 (excellent), with a 0 (insufficient) reserved for cases of failure to meet minimal requirements. The 6‑point system remained in place for many decades while also being adopted at the university level, often supplemented with letter grades (A–F) for specialized courses.

In the 1990s, Sweden shifted to a 7‑point scale for primary education, expanding the range to include intermediate distinctions such as 2a–2c and 3a–3c. The 10‑point scale, though no longer used in Swedish public schools, is still applied in some private or international institutions. Most educational levels now use a 6‑point scale for grades, with "6" indicating the highest level of mastery. However, within the system, additional marks such as "½" may be used to denote partial credit under special circumstances.

The grading rubric is consistent across school levels: a 1 indicates that a student meets the minimum requirement; 2–3 denote partial competence; 4–5 reflect moderate to high competence; and 6 represents full mastery of the learning objectives. Many teachers supplement numeric marks with a written assessment to provide context and guidance for improvement.