Marks

The Danish have a very strange marking system. Rather than percentages, letter grades or GPAs, they have a 13-point system:

00 – no work submitted
03 – work completely unacceptable
5 – failure
6 – barely sufficient
7 – below average
8 – average performance
9 – slightly above average
10 – excellent, but not particularly original
11 – excellent
13 – exceptionally excellent

Part of the logic seems to be that there is no way for anyone to change their grade to improve it (for instance, you can’t put a 1 in front of 03 to make 13). As well, markers base all of their marks on the “average” 8. There is no bell curve to raise marks, even for particularly hard tests. Everyone could fail if the professor feels it is justified. To receive a 13 is a real accomplishment, professors will only hand them out every few years… Of course, in Denmark, you don’t necessarily want that much prestige (everyone is equal).

And, if you want to know your mark, you can always check the professor’s office door, where they post everyone’s mark (complete with your name and student number).