Korea, France, and the UK Compared
For university students, grades are important because they serve as a criterion for various benefits and can affect future careers. In detail, grades are the standards for entering dormitories, choosing or transferring majors, and receiving scholarships inside and outside school. Then, what factors are included in these grades, and how are they calculated? The Dongguk Post would like to delve into the academic performance systems of Korean universities and foreign countries with different cultures. We hope that international students can learn about the Korean university’s grade system, and Korean students who want to move around the world can learn about the various grade systems and get information to help students understand various cultures.
Understanding Korean university grade calculation methods
The 4.5 or 4.3 GPA system is utilized depending on the university, and + (plus), 0, or – (minus) is added to the alphabet to detail the grades. Currently, the methods of evaluating the grade are largely divided into three types: absolute evaluation, relative evaluation, and indication of completion. The factors included in assessing the rating are midterm, final, other exams (quizzes), attendance, class attitude, assignments, and presentations, and the combined score of these factors determines the grade. The grades are shown as ABCDF in the case of relative evaluation and absolute evaluation, and the indication of completion method only indicates whether a student has completed the course.
First, absolute evaluation is a method of evaluating only one’s achievement regardless of the group’s achievement. The absolute evaluation was mainly adopted during the COVID-19 crisis when most lectures and exams were conducted online. When fewer students are required to take certain liberal arts courses, and the lecture method is reorganized, this method is adopted in the process of reducing trial and error.
On the other hand, most courses adopt a relative evaluation method. Here, relative evaluation is a method of evaluating relative achievement within a group. If the university stipulates the rating ratio in the school regulations, the professor can give a grade that is adjusted within the set rate section. At Dongguk University, it is specified that A grades (A+, A0) are limited to 40% of the students for each lecture.
Finally, certain liberal arts subjects and courses taken by other universities through credit exchange are only evaluated by completion, rather than grading them. At Dongguk University, the completed subjects are marked as P (Pass), and the unfulfilled subjects are marked as F (Fail).
France university grading: mastering writing tests
French universities use a method of assigning points to grades. The perfect score is 20, and 10 out of 20 points in French education is the standard for passing the course. In France, scoring 20 out of 20 is considered difficult except for subjects with only one correct answer, such as mathematics. This is because most courses choose writing as a test method. In France, in the test, a topic is presented, and students write about the topic on a blank piece of paper is mainly used. It is considered a more difficult test because it is not known which unit will be covered in the writing test.
Médéric (Department of Film and Video 18), who majored in film and video in France, said that there is a significant difference between the examination methods in France and Korea on the writing test. Most exams in France require students to write, not choose multiple-choice answers. Writing skills are helpful for company employment and students can practice good skills to an advantage, but the process of studying is difficult, and students are so busy that they have no time to do other things. It will be difficult for students to completely meet the requirements of the exam in the writing test, so students can pass subjects if their grades exceed 10 out of 20 points. In addition, it differs depending on the course and the professor, but it is said that if the score exceeds 14 points, it is considered to have received a good score.
Grasping UK university grading systems
In the UK, grades are marked as First, 2:1, 2:2, Third, and Fail. First is the grade earned by students who score 70 or more. If the student gets the first grade, the student will graduate with the modifier “Distinction.” The 2:1 grade is called Upper Second or Second Upper, and students with grades of 60 or more and less than 70. Graduating in the 2:1 grade, they graduate with the modifier “Merit.” The 2:2 grade is called Lower Second or Second Lower, and it is known that most students get a 2:2 grade. Third is a grade for students with grades of 40 or more and less than 50, and if they get a grade of less than 40, they get a Fail grade. During the semester at UK universities, individual or group presentations, notetaking, and essays are common, but students often feel overwhelmed as grades are primarily based on the test.
Mae Garrett (Department of Film and English Literature 21), from the UK, said that only midterm and final exams are included in the grades. Unlike in Korean universities, attendance or participation scores are not included in UK universities. Therefore, she said that students only need to do well on the test even if students do not attend any of the lectures. In Korea, attendance, participation, and assignments help students’ grades, but in the UK, assignments and essays are just simply homework but not included in grades.
We investigated how students’ grades were evaluated and how they were graded through the systems of domestic and foreign universities. The Dongguk Post hopes it will help both international and Korean students at Dongguk University explore the various grade-calculating methods around the countries, and that students can further share and harmonize with each other’s cultures.