When studying at European institutions, one will notice immediately the difference in grading scales but also different ways of using them in different subject areas. There are many different grading systems such as (from lowest to highest grade) 1 to 5, 1 to 10, 1 to 100, F to A etc.

In the Netherlands, a ten point system is often used in both secondary and higher education. A grade of 10 is the highest and 6 is the minimum pass grade. The grade 5.5 (till 5a.9) will often be rounded up to "6".

At the Amsterdam University of the Arts, different grading systems are applied depending on the subject area such as music, theatre, dance or architecture. This could be a ten-point-system, a system with letters or description; a four-point-system is for instance applied for architecture.