Choosing and building your grading scale

Start from a standard scale or build your own, and decide the rules around it.

For administrators · about 6 minute read · updated 31 October 2026

Every institution grades a little differently, so StudyPat starts you on a standard scale and lets you change anything. The system checks your bands so that no mark is left without a grade.

The standard starting points

Scale	Used by	Classes
5-point: A 70 to 100 is 5 points, down to F below 40	Most Nigerian universities	First Class from 4.50, Second Upper from 3.50, Second Lower from 2.40, Third from 1.50, Pass from 1.00
4-point: A is 4, B is 3, C is 2, D is 1	Some universities	First Class from 3.50, Second Upper from 3.00, Second Lower from 2.00, Third from 1.00
Polytechnic 4.0: A, AB, B, BC, C, CD, D, E	Polytechnics (ND and HND)	Distinction from 3.50, Upper Credit from 3.00, Lower Credit from 2.50, Pass from 2.00
College of education 5-point	Colleges of education	Distinction from 4.50, Credit from 3.50, Merit from 2.50, Pass from 1.50
College of health 5-point, pass mark 50	Health colleges	As for colleges of education

These are the usual figures, not rules. Regulators and institutions differ, so check each against your own regulations and edit any band that does not match.

Building your own scale

Start a blank scale

Choose your highest grade point (any number from 1 to 10) and press Start my own scale. You get a pass and a fail band to build from.

Add your grades

For each grade enter the letter, the lowest and highest mark, and the points. Marks must run from 0 to 100 with no gap and no overlap, and a higher mark can never earn fewer points.

Set your degree classes

Give each class the CGPA it starts from. A student gets the highest class their CGPA reaches.

Set your rules

Pass mark, minimum and maximum units per semester, how CA and exam marks are split (they must total 100), and the probation and withdrawal limits.

When a course is taken again

Only the latest attempt counts (the default): a pass replaces an earlier fail in the CGPA.
Only the best attempt counts: a later, lower mark never hurts.
Every attempt counts: both attempts stay in the CGPA.
Whichever you choose, the earlier attempt stays visible on the transcript, marked as not counted.

Changing grades after scores exist re-grades every saved score, including results students can already see. You are asked to confirm first, so do this before the semester if you can.

Frequently asked questions

Yes. Pick the new scale and confirm. Saved scores are re-graded and every GPA and CGPA changes with them.

The page tells you the reason: a gap or overlap in the marks, bands that do not start at 0 or end at 100, a repeated letter, points above your highest grade point, or a higher mark earning fewer points. Nothing is saved until it is right.

A student whose CGPA is below your probation limit is shown a warning. You set the limit, and a separate limit at which withdrawal is advised.