The German Federal Administrative Court has confirmed that the conversion of European School grades to the German grading system in North Rhine-Westphalia is lawful. This ruling allows North Rhine-Westphalia to maintain its current method of converting European School grades, which requires a higher grade point average for a German 1.0 grade since 2021.
European Schools, founded by EU member states and European Communities, offer multilingual education and award the European Baccalaureate, which has its own grading scale from 0 to 100. To apply for a restricted-admission study program in North Rhine-Westphalia, graduates need to convert their grades to the German system.
Background and Proceedings
Graduates of European Schools felt disadvantaged by the change in the conversion method and sought to have the relevant provision declared invalid in a norm-control procedure. However, the Higher Administrative Court of North Rhine-Westphalia rejected their applications, and their appeals to the German Federal Administrative Court were also unsuccessful.
The change in the conversion method was prompted by a new grading system introduced by European Schools, which North Rhine-Westphalia adapted to. According to the Regulation on the Allocation of Study Places in North Rhine-Westphalia, the relevant guidelines of the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs apply from the 2021 Abitur cohort.
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Conversion Method and Court Ruling
The conversion is done in two steps: first, European grade points for a passed Abitur are transferred evenly to the German overall point scale of 300 to 900. Then, the German average grade is determined from this point score, just like for a German Abitur. For example, 90 European points correspond to a German 1.3 grade, while 93.58 points are required for a 1.0 grade.
The German Federal Administrative Court ruled that North Rhine-Westphalia’s reference to the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs guidelines instead of including the calculation rules in the regulation itself is acceptable. The legislator may make binding provisions in this way, and the statutory authorization for the regulation is sufficient.
The German Federal Administrative Court also stated that the conversion must reflect equivalent qualifications, and the chosen method meets this requirement by transferring European grade points evenly to the German point scale. There is no subject-related reason to weight individual grades differently.
Even for the best grade, the same rules apply: a 1.0 grade is awarded from 823 out of 900 German overall points. European School graduates benefit from this just like German school graduates.
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