Case 1
- Number of words in the text
- 400
- Number of errors counted
- 11
2.8
Open with these valuesError Quotient Calculator
2.8per 100 words
Result: 2.8 per 100 wordsThe error quotient is errors times one hundred divided by the number of words, so it reads as errors per hundred words. Thirty errors in a text of 152 words give 19.7. The deduction thresholds differ by state, school type and year group; the table below shows the ones published for Hessen.
The numbers at a glance
Held fixed: Number of words in the text 400.
| Number of errors counted | Result |
|---|---|
| 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 5.0 | 1.3 |
| 10.0 | 2.5 |
| 11.0Your value | 2.8 |
| 15.0 | 3.8 |
| 20.0 | 5.0 |
Worked examples
Case 2
- Number of words in the text
- 152
- Number of errors counted
- 30
19.7
Open with these valuesCase 3
- Number of words in the text
- 800
- Number of errors counted
- 24
3.0
Open with these valuesHow it's calculated
error quotient = errors × 100 ÷ words
- StepCount the words in the finished text.
- StepCount the errors, using half errors if your school does.
- ResultRead the quotient and compare it against the key that applies to you.
What this number means
The error quotient makes two pieces of work comparable when one is twice as long as the other. Ten errors in a short answer and ten in a full essay are not the same performance, so the count is scaled to a fixed length: errors times one hundred divided by words. The result reads directly as errors per hundred words, which is why a text of 152 words with 30 errors lands at 19.7 rather than at some abstract index. The arithmetic is the easy half. The hard half is what the number is then allowed to do to a grade, and that is not settled anywhere nationally. The table above shows the one set of thresholds this page will vouch for: the deductions published for Hessen for years 9 and 10, where a Gymnasium paper in year 10 loses a third of a grade from an index of 3.0 and two thirds from 6.0. Those figures are tied to that state, those year groups and that regulation. Other states, other year groups and the modern languages use different keys, and several of the tables circulating online could not be traced to any authority at all. None of them are built into this calculator. What you get here is the quotient itself, counted the way your school counts errors, and left to be read against whichever key actually applies to your paper.
Der Fehlerindex errechnet sich nach der Formel: Fehlerzahl x 100 / Zahl der Wörter.
Where the thresholds come from
The table shows the deductions published by the Hessen ministry of education for years 9 and 10, in force since August 2023. A Frankfurt Gymnasium publishes the same figures for its own year groups 9 and 10.
Thresholds are not nationwide
Only the formula is general. Which index costs a third of a grade depends on the state, the school type and the year group, and several tables circulating online have no traceable source.
Counting rules decide the number
The Hessen leaflet counts a repeated misspelling of the same word once, counts a missing pair of commas around an inserted clause as one error, and does not count missing dots on an i at all.
Short texts are not scored this way
The Hessen rules apply to work of at least a hundred words. Below that, errors are marked and weighed against the content instead of being turned into an index.
Commonly misread
The quotient is a percentage of wrong words.
It is errors per hundred words, and a single word can carry more than one error. Values above 100 are arithmetically possible.
An index of 6 means the same deduction everywhere.
In Hessen it costs a Gymnasium year 10 paper two thirds of a grade, a Realschule year 9 paper nothing yet. The key depends on state, school type and year group.
The error quotient decides the grade on its own.
It adjusts a grade that content and structure have already produced. In Hessen the adjustment is capped at two thirds of a grade.
Reference table
| Track (Hessen, years 9 and 10) | −1/3 grade from | −2/3 grade from |
|---|---|---|
| Hauptschule, year 9 | 10.5 | 19.5 |
| Realschule, year 9 | 7.0 | 13.0 |
| Gymnasium, year 9 | 3.5 | 6.5 |
| Realschule, year 10 | 6.0 | 12.0 |
| Gymnasium, year 10 | 3.0 | 6.0 |
Questions
How is the error quotient calculated?
Multiply the number of errors by one hundred and divide by the number of words. The result is the number of errors per hundred words.
What counts as one error?
That is set by your school. The Hessen leaflet counts a repeated misspelling of the same word once and treats a missing pair of commas around an inserted clause as a single punctuation error.
Which quotient is still acceptable?
There is no single answer. For Hessen years 9 and 10 the published deductions start at an index of 3.0 for a Gymnasium year 10 paper and at 10.5 for a Hauptschule year 9 paper.
Does it work for very short texts?
The Hessen rules apply from about a hundred words upward. Shorter pieces are marked and weighed against the content rather than converted into an index.
Can half errors be entered?
Yes, the error field takes one decimal place. Some marking schemes award half errors, and the quotient handles them without any special case.
Sources and last check
Information, not professional advice.