13 - Estonia - Student assessment

The basis of student assessment in higher education institutions is a unified evaluation system of these institutions. The system is also used for assessment of students studying according to professional higher education curricula at vocational schools kutseõppeasutus The differentiated assessment of study results in a subject or its parts is carried out in a six-point assessment system, using both numeric and alphabetic forms and referring to the below assessment results:

  • grade 5 or A – excellent – an outstanding and particularly exhaustive knowledge of both the theoretical and applied content of the subject, free and creative ability to apply the material obtained; extensive independent work, a multi-faceted knowledge of professional literature. 91-100% of the extent of the subject has been obtained;
  • grade 4 or B – very good – very good knowledge of both the theoretical and applied content of the subject; very good ability to apply the material obtained; some minor errors not concerning the principal content of the material have occurred in the examination; 81-90% of the extent of the subject has been obtained;
  • grade 3 or C – good – good knowledge of both the theoretical and applied content of the subject; good ability to apply the material obtained; some hesitation in the details and more thorough areas of the subject and some uncertainty in answering the questions can be noted. 71-80% of the extent of the subject has been obtained;
  • grade 2 or D – satisfactory – knowledge of most of the more essential theoretical and applied principles, facts and methods and their application in typical situations. Notable deficiencies in the answers and hesitation can be noted in examinations. The satisfactory grade may be accepted as sufficient to continue studies in the normal way. 61-70% of the extent of the subject has been obtained;
  • grade 1 or E – unsatisfactory – a student has obtained a minimum level of knowledge but a serious deficit is noted in the application of the material which will not allow the acquisition of following subjects. 51-60% of the extent of the subject has been obtained;
  • grade 0 or F – insufficient – a student has not gained the minimum level of knowledge. 0-50% of the extent of the subject has been obtained.
An examination or assessment is considered positive if a student receives a grade ranging from 1 (E) to 5 (A). A non-differentiated evaluation of study results is carried out as an assessment on a subject or its parts, and here a positive result is "passed" and a negative result is "failed". Persons who have completed a higher education level curriculum are awarded an academic transcript that gives information about the curriculum, results achieved, the academic degree awarded or qualification acquired and about the Estonian higher education system. Grades used before the academic year 1999/2000 are recorded on the academic transcript together with an explanation of the assessment system. An academic transcript is not an independent certificate of higher education.

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Date: 2009
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