Case 1
- How do you want to enter your result?
- Raw points
- Maximum points (points mode)
- 40
- Points you scored (points mode)
- 27.5
- Percentage you scored (percentage mode)
- 0%
9
Open with these valuesGerman Abitur Grade Calculator (KMK Scale)
9
Result: 9Germany grades its upper secondary school on a 15-point scale, not on 1 to 6. Under the standard linear KMK key, 95 % of the marks gives the full 15 points and 20 % still gives one; below 20 % the result is zero. Enter raw points or a percentage and read the Notenpunkte.
Worked examples
Case 2
- How do you want to enter your result?
- Raw points
- Maximum points (points mode)
- 60
- Points you scored (points mode)
- 27
- Percentage you scored (percentage mode)
- 0%
5
Open with these valuesCase 3
- How do you want to enter your result?
- Percentage
- Maximum points (points mode)
- 0
- Points you scored (points mode)
- 0
- Percentage you scored (percentage mode)
- 85%
13
Open with these valuesHow it's calculated
percent = scored ÷ maximum × 100, then the KMK band 0–15
- StepChoose whether you have raw points or a percentage.
- StepIn points mode, enter the maximum first and then your own score.
- ResultRead the Notenpunkte from 0 to 15; the table gives the school grade.
What this number means
German upper secondary school does not grade in ones to sixes; it grades in Notenpunkte from 0 to 15, and it is that number, not a percentage, which ends up on the report. This page produces it from whichever form your result happens to arrive in — raw marks out of a maximum, or a percentage already worked out. Two steps do it, and the second is the interesting one. In points mode the raw score becomes a percentage first: the preset 27.5 out of 40 is 68.75 %, and it is rounded to two decimals before anything else happens. That rounding is not cosmetic — it is what lifts a score of 32.995 % to 33.00 %, and with it from two points to three. The percentage then falls into a band. 68.75 % clears the 65 % floor but not the 70 % one, so it is 9 points, which the table reads as the school grade 2.7. The number covers exactly one piece of work. Nothing here weighs several papers against each other, and nothing here knows how your school combines them. The key itself is the real constraint. This is the standard linear one, taken from a state regulation that spells out all fifteen thresholds — widely used, but not universal: individual states and subjects depart from it, with a bent key, or in the languages with an error quotient. Check which key your subject uses before you trust a band boundary.
Not every state uses this key
This is the usual linear KMK key. Individual states and subjects deviate from it, with a bent key or with the error quotient used in the languages.
Nothing is rounded up to the next band
A result of 84.99 % stays at 12 points; the thirteenth point begins at exactly 85.0 %. Rounding across a band boundary is not allowed.
From points to a decimal grade
The decimal grade is 17 minus the points, divided by three — eleven points give 2.0. Zero points are the one exception and map straight to 6.0.
The mode decides which fields count
In percentage mode the maximum and the scored points are not read, and in points mode the percentage is not. The pair you are not using can simply stay where it is.
Commonly misread
45 % is a pass, so a tenth of a percent below still is.
Five points begin at exactly 45 %. A fraction of a percent below that is four points, and four points are a deficit.
Four points read as a four, so that is a pass.
Four points read as a 4 minus and sit under the pass line. At four points and below the grade counts as a deficit.
Fifteen points are a straight 1.0.
Fifteen points correspond to the decimal grade 0.7, a very good plus. They take at least 95 % of the marks available.
Reference table
| Percentage | Notenpunkte | School grade |
|---|---|---|
| from 95 % | 15 | 0.7 |
| from 90 % | 14 | 1.0 |
| from 85 % | 13 | 1.3 |
| from 80 % | 12 | 1.7 |
| from 75 % | 11 | 2.0 |
| from 70 % | 10 | 2.3 |
| from 65 % | 9 | 2.7 |
| from 60 % | 8 | 3.0 |
| from 55 % | 7 | 3.3 |
| from 50 % | 6 | 3.7 |
| from 45 % | 5 | 4.0 |
| from 40 % | 4 | 4.3 |
| from 33 % | 3 | 4.7 |
| from 27 % | 2 | 5.0 |
| from 20 % | 1 | 5.3 |
| below 20 % | 0 | 6.0 |
Questions
What does 15 points in the Abitur mean?
Fifteen points is the top of the scale and corresponds to the school grade 0.7, a very good plus. It takes at least 95 % of the marks available in the exam.
How many percent do I need for 5 points?
Exactly 45 %. Five points is the school grade 4.0, the minimum pass, so a fraction of a percent below the line is already a deficit.
When does a grade count as a deficit?
At four points or fewer, which under the linear key means anything below 45 %. Four points reads as a 4 minus and sits under the pass line, not on it.
Are percentages rounded up to the next band?
No. A result of 84.99 % stays at 12 points; the thirteenth point begins at exactly 85.0 %. Rounding across a band boundary is not allowed.
How do I convert points into a decimal grade?
The decimal grade is 17 minus the points, divided by three — eleven points give 6 ÷ 3 = 2.0. Zero points are the one exception and map straight to 6.0.
Sources and last check
Information, not professional advice.