What is that grade, in every other system?
You have just moved to Switzerland and your child comes home with a 4.5. Or you are leaving, and the school abroad wants a GPA. This puts all eight scales on one axis so you can see where a grade actually sits.
6 is the top, 4 is the pass. Quarter and half grades are normal.
There is no official conversion table. Anyone who says otherwise is selling something.
Who actually decides
The admissions office, the school, or the recognition body handling your case. They publish their own tables and those tables disagree with each other. For anything that matters — an application, a recognition decision, a transfer — theirs is the answer, not this one.
How it works
Every system is placed on one 0 to 100 scale, anchored at three points: the bottom of the scale, that system's own minimum pass, and its top grade. A grade is read up onto the axis and back down into the other systems. That is the whole method, and it is why the tick marks do not line up evenly.
Where it is weakest
At the top. A Swiss 6 and an A* and a 7 are all “the top grade”, but they are awarded at very different rates, so they are not the same achievement. Near the pass mark the comparison is much more reliable than near the ceiling.
One thing worth knowing regardless of the numbers: Swiss universities read the combination of subjects you took at least as closely as the grades. A strong average with the wrong subject profile can still close a door, and a modest average with the right one can open it. If that is the situation you are in, ask me and I will tell you what I know.
Eight systems, and where each one puts the pass
6 is the top, 4 is the pass. Quarter and half grades are normal.
Per subject, 1 to 7. This tool compares subject grades, not the /45 diploma total.
Runs the other way to the Swiss scale: 1 is best, 4 is the pass, 6 is the bottom.
E is the minimum pass. A* sits above A.
The 9 to 1 scale. 4 is a standard pass, 7 is roughly the old A.
3 counts as qualified; most universities want 4 or 5 for credit.
A is 4.0, B is 3.0. Weighted GPAs go above 4.0 and are not comparable here.
10 is the pass. 16 and above is très bien, and 20 is essentially never awarded.
I teach the subject behind it
Maths, physics, chemistry and computer science, one to one, across every system on this page. In Basel or online. The first consultation and a full hour of teaching are free, and if I am not the right person I will say so.