The Australian Grading System for schools
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Australia’s Common Grade Scale for Preliminary courses uses grades A to E, with A the best and E the worst. It has no single pass mark or percentage key.
Regions set grading rules, with national coordination by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment, and Reporting Authority.
This page explains how to read Australian grades, how school grading is organised, and what teachers should know when working with students from Australia. It also points to related grading systems and sources for verification.
Reading the Australian scale
The Australian Common Grade Scale for Preliminary courses runs from A to E, with A the best grade and E the worst.
| Grade | Meaning | Passing |
|---|---|---|
| A | A: Extensive knowledge of content and understanding of course concepts; highly developed skills and processes applied in a wide variety of contexts; creative and critical thinking using perceptive analysis and evaluation; effective communication of complex ideas and information. | Yes |
| B | B: Thorough knowledge of content and understanding of course concepts; well-developed skills and processes applied in a variety of contexts; creative and critical thinking using analysis and evaluation; clear communication of complex ideas and information. | Yes |
| C | C: Sound knowledge of content and understanding of course concepts; applies skills and processes in a range of familiar contexts; selects and integrates information and communicates relevant ideas appropriately. | Yes |
| E | E: Elementary knowledge of content and understanding of course concepts; applies some skills and processes with guidance; elementary skills in recounting information and communicating ideas. | Yes |
The sources state no pass mark for this scale; the grades report levels of achievement.
The scale has no single stated pass mark and no percentage key, so a grade cannot be read as a percentage or used to identify a universal lowest pass.
In New South Wales, the full range of grades can report achievement at any point in a stage or course, in relation to what has been taught up to that point (NSW Education Standards Authority).
How Australian school grading is run
Australian school grading rules are set by regions and coordinated nationally by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment, and Reporting Authority.
In Western Australia, school-based plans report each student’s achievement from Kindergarten to Year 12 at the end of each semester.
Principals develop and approve these plans with teaching staff; the School Curriculum and Standards Authority oversees curriculum, assessment, standards and reporting (Department of Education).
For Pre-primary to Year 10, Department-endorsed reporting templates are mandatory, with reporting at the learning-area level. For English and mathematics from Pre-primary to Year 6, reporting may also be at the strand level (Department of Education).
Overall comments are limited to 1,000 characters for Pre-primary to Year 6 and 600 characters for Years 7 to 10. Comments for Pre-primary to Year 6 must include information on learning in English and mathematics (Department of Education).
In New South Wales, NESA does not determine how schools report to parents and carers (NSW Education Standards Authority).
For the HSC, NESA aligns raw exam marks with performance bands and moderates assessment marks against the school group’s HSC examination performance.
Expert judges recommend band cut-offs; the HSC Standards Committee decides the final cut-offs (NSW Government).
HSC results generally show an assessment mark, an HSC mark and a performance band for each course. The lowest mark for Band 6 is 90; raw exam marks between the Band 2/3 and Band 3/4 cut-offs receive HSC exam marks from 60 to 69.
The HSC mark averages the exam and assessment marks, rounding half-marks up (NSW Government).
Teaching students from Australia
Check the documents you receive and ask the student or school about any information you need to record. gradebook Set the scale up once in a gradebook so every report card and transcript you produce uses the same key.
Related grading systems
More pages in this section are on the way.
Sources and verification
- [1]curriculum.nsw.edu.au. Reporting and using grades | NSW Curriculum | NSW Education Standards Authority. Accessed Sep 23, 2026. Official source
- [2]nsw.gov.au. Determining HSC results | NSW Government. Accessed Sep 23, 2026. Official source
- [3]education.wa.edu.au. Curriculum Assessment Reporting in Public Schools procedures - Policies - Department of Education. Accessed Sep 23, 2026. Official source
- [4]education.gov.au. A better and fairer education system. pdf. Accessed Sep 23, 2026. Official source
The facts on this page were last verified on Sep 28, 2026. Suggest a correction
Frequently asked questions
What is a passing grade in Australia?
Australia’s Common Grade Scale for Preliminary courses uses grades A to E, but it has no single stated pass mark. Grading rules vary by region, so there is no universal passing grade across Australia.
How do Australian grades convert to US grades?
There is no single Australian-to-US grade conversion stated. Australian grading rules vary by region, and the Common Grade Scale for Preliminary courses has no percentage key.
Do schools in Australia use percentages for grades?
The Common Grade Scale for Preliminary courses has no percentage key, so its grades cannot be read as percentages. Grading practices vary by region.
Is a C a good grade in Australia?
On the Common Grade Scale for Preliminary courses, C is a middle grade between A and E. It reports a level of achievement, but there is no stated pass mark or rule that determines whether C is a good grade.
