New Academic grading in Bangladesh
New Academic grading in Bangladesh. This article is a summary of academic grading in Bangladesh. Two types of grading systems are available in this country, Grade Point Average (GPA) & Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA).
| Class interval | Letter grade | Grade point |
|---|---|---|
| 90-100 | A+ | 4 |
| 80-89 | A | 3.5 |
| 70–79 | B+ | 3.0 |
| 60-69 | B | 2.5 |
| 50–59 | C+ | 2.0 |
| 40–49 | C | 1.5 |
| 33–39 | D | 1.0 |
| 0–32 | F | 0 |
University System
Degree evaluation with ″class″ in University (e.g., First Class, Second Class, Third class, Pass)
The bachelor’s and master’s degrees result from the public universities in Bangladesh, e.g., University of Dhaka, Bangladesh National University, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Rajshahi University, University of Chittagong, can be classified according to the British undergraduate degree classification system when it is evaluated with class grade. GPA above or equal to 3 is equal to 1st Class in honors degree in Bangladesh. This means,
CGPA 3.00 to 4.00 = 1st Class
CGPA 2.25 to 2.99 = 2nd Class
CGPA 2.00 to 2.249 = 3rd Class
| Class interval | Letter grade | Grade point | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 80-100 | A+ | 4.00 | First Class |
| 75-79 | A | 3.75 | First Class |
| 70-74 | A- | 3.50 | First Class |
| 65-69 | B+ | 3.25 | First Class |
| 60-64 | B | 3.00 | First Class |
| 55-59 | B- | 2.75 | Second Class |
| 50-54 | C+ | 2.50 | Second Class |
| 45-49 | C | 2.25 | Second Class Upper |
| 40-44 | D | 2.00 | Third Class |
| 0-39 | F | 0.00 | Fail |
The government has decided to introduce Grade Point Average (GPA)-4, instead of GPA-5, in all public exams to keep pace with local and international levels for students pursuing higher education or seeking jobs.
At present, the total marks of students are estimated under GPA-5 in public exams, including Primary Education Completion (PEC) and equivalent, Junior School Certificate (JSC) and equivalent, Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and equivalent, and Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) and equivalent exams. Education ministry sources said that the final announcement would be made after one or two meetings in this regard.
Sources said GPA-4 system would be applied to the upcoming JSC and equivalent exams in November. From next year, the SSC and HSC or equivalent exams would follow GPA-4.
In addition, sources said that the ministry had decided to reorganize the existing GPA-5 because students, different education boards, and universities face problems when those grades are made equivalent to the grading system of the tertiary-level education while pursuing higher education. The decisions were taken at a closed-door meeting of the education ministry, chaired by education minister Dipu Moni, at the International Mother Language Institute in Dhaka.
Syed Shahadat Hossain, professor of the Institute of Statistical Research and Training (Dhaka University) and member of the grading committee, proposed the new grading system at the meeting.
According to the new system, A+ would be equivalent to grade point 4 under the class interval 90–100, A equivalent to 3.5 underclass interval 80–89, B+ equivalent to 3 underclass interval 70–79, B equivalent to 2.5 underclass interval 60–69, C+ equivalent to 2 underclass interval 50–59, C equivalent to 1.5 underclass interval 40–49, D equivalent to 1 underclass interval 33–39, and F equivalent to 0 underclass interval 0–32.
The current grading system in schools was introduced in 2001 to replace the division system of first-class, second class, and third class. Under this, there are seven levels of the letter grading system: A+, A, A-, B, C, D, F.
A+ is equivalent to grade point 5 under the class interval 80–100, A is equivalent to 4 underclass interval 70–79, A- is equivalent to 3.5 underclass interval 60–69, B is equivalent to 3 underclass interval 50–59, C is equivalent to 2 underclass interval 40–49, D is equivalent to 1 underclass interval 33–39, and F is equivalent to 0 underclass interval 0–32, which means fail.
Hossain said GPA is common in many countries like the US, Canada, and Australia.
He also said the conversion from a five-point to a four-point GPA in JSC, SSC, and HSC would pose some challenges which need to be addressed. The challenges will be changes in the result template, transcripts, and the strategy for comparability with previous years’ results, as well as mitigation of the socio-psychological aspect for students and parents and changes in the marking mindset of teachers.
Regarding the prospects of GPA-4, Hossain said, if the school education GPA system and university GPA system would be aligned, students would become familiar with the university grading system both at home and abroad. This would adjust the lack of uniformity of the previous system’s class interval. As the highest interval of the previous system was too wide, this could be adjusted too and the statistical perspective of the results would be more compliant, he added.
Hossain said that attendees at the education ministry meeting unanimously agreed to implement the new GPA-4 in the secondary and higher secondary levels to align the grading system with the tertiary level. According to sources, the education minister said that the grading system of the country’s educational sector should be unified to keep pace with the developed world.
Secondary and Higher Education Division senior secretary Md Sohrab Hossain, Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education director-general Prof. Syed Md. Golam Faruk, Directorate of Madrasa Education director-general Shafiuddin Ahmed, Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (Dhaka) chairman M Ziaul Haque and chairman Bangladesh Madrasah Education Board Prof. Kaiser Ahmed were present at the meeting.
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