Grades and absence in Norwegian school are closely linked: the scale ranges from 1 to 6, a grade of 2 is enough to pass upper secondary school, and more than ten percent absence in a subject can cost you the grade.
Grade scale 1–6: what do the numbers mean, and what passes?
Norwegian grades are whole numbers from 1 to 6, where 6 is best and 2 is the lowest passing grade in upper secondary school (opplæringsforskrifta § 9-3, FOR-2024-06-03-900).
| Grade | What it means | Passes upper secondary? |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | Very high competence | Yes |
| 5 | Much good competence | Yes |
| 4 | Good competence | Yes |
| 3 | Fairly good competence | Yes |
| 2 | Low competence | Yes (lowest passing grade) |
| 1 | Very low competence | No |
Half grades do not exist. Conduct has its own scale: G, Ng and Lg. Grades start only from 8th grade; before that the student is only assessed in words. See how the Norwegian school system is built up from primary school to upper secondary.
A grade of 1 is not always fatal: 1 in standpunktkarakter plus 2 or better on the exam in the same subject counts as passed (§ 9-3), except in interdisciplinary exams. In primary school you do not fail – 1 counts as one point.
Mid-year assessment, standpunktkarakter and exam are three different things
Only standpunktkarakter and eksamenskarakter appear on the vitnemål. Mid-year assessment with a grade is formative assessment (§ 9-13), not something you keep.
The standpunktkarakter is set by the subject teacher and should show your overall competence at the end of the education (§ 9-16). It is not the average of your tests: the Directorate for Education and Training (Udir) is clear that a single test is usually not sufficient as a basis for assessment.
The exam grade is added on top. In 10th grade every student is drawn for one written and one oral exam; in upper secondary approximately 20 percent are drawn in Vg1 studies, all in Vg2, and in Vg3 a written exam in Norwegian (main language) is mandatory in addition to drawn subjects.
How much absence can you have before you lose the grade?
If you have absence in more than ten percent of the annual hours in a subject, you cannot receive a standpunktkarakter in that subject (§ 9-8). The limit applies per subject, not for schooling as a whole, and is not rounded down: 10.4 percent is already over. From 1 August 2025 absence is counted for the entire school year as one.
Three limitations:
- Primary school has no absence limit. § 9-8 applies only to students in upper secondary school.
- Adult participants have no absence limit. § 15-6 states that absence rules do not apply to adult participants in upper secondary education for adults. However, if you attend as a regular student in a regular class, the limit applies in full – the difference between adult right to free upper secondary education and student status is decisive.
- Some things do not count as absence: counseling, assessment by the school psychological service, student council work, apprenticeship interviews, postponed exams and classes the school cancels.
As of 23 July 2026 the ten percent absence limit applies. Parliament rejected a proposal to remove it on 3 February 2026, but the issue remains politically active.
Self-certification, medical certificate and the new rules from 1 August 2026
Many make an expensive mistake here: self-certification does not remove the hours from the absence limit. Illness counts toward the ten percent just like truancy, and medical documentation works only for hours over ten percent.
- Self-certification is used for illness absence up to ten percent of the hours in the subject, and parents can write it for students under 18 years old.
- Medical documentation is required for illness absence after ten percent is reached. A diagnosis does not need to be included.
- Chronic condition: if a healthcare provider has documented higher risk of health-related absence, you can use self-certification even after ten percent, and the hours are excluded from the limit.
- Other reasons are documented continuously: welfare reasons, up to two religious holidays, mandatory attendance, union representative and political work, volunteer work and class B driver's test.
The latest in the rules: from 1 August 2026 visits to the school health service should not count as absence. This follows from regulation FOR-2026-06-22-1213, announced 23 June 2026. The Udir circular on the absence limit has not yet been updated as of 23 July 2026 and still says the opposite. Refer to the regulation if the school is in doubt.
Submit self-certification anyway: the principal can decide that a student with up to fifteen percent self-certified or undocumented absence receives a grade, if the reason makes it clearly unreasonable for the limit to apply. This is the principal's option, not the student's right.
Before you lose a grade, the school must notify you in writing, and your parents if you are under 18 (§ 9-7). Take the notice seriously. Forms and deadlines vary, so check the rules of your fylkeskommune.
Absence on the vitnemål: days, hours and the ten-day rule
Do not confuse the two 'ten-things'. The absence limit counts hours in one subject, while the vitnemål records days and individual hours for the entire school year – and there a completely different ten-day rule applies.
Absence is recorded on the vitnemål from 8th grade (§ 9-44) and in upper secondary (§ 9-53). Individual hours cannot be converted into days. You can demand that up to ten documented absence days per school year not be recorded. For illness only days from the fourth onward are removed – with documented higher risk of health-related absence from the first day.
Hour absences, for example at the dentist or BUP, are never removed – only full days are taken off. The application applies to one school year at a time; absences are not deleted retroactively.
Figures for school year 2024–25 from Udir: a typical upper secondary student has 5 days and 20 individual hours of absence on the vitnemål, a 10th grader 9 days and 8 hours.
Do you lose the grade (IV) – and when is it safe to appeal?
Then you receive IV, 'not sufficient basis for assessment', instead of a grade. Your right to education remains: you continue at school and receive formative assessment. The subject can be retaken as a privatist, but the exam you took in that subject is annulled.
What is rarely explained: IV counts as zero in point calculation (§ 4-19 and § 4-25). One subject out of twelve with IV pulls the average down by approximately 3.5 inntakspoeng – an absence of 10.4 percent can thus cost you a school place.
The deadline for appealing standpunktkarakter and exam grades is ten days (§ 10-2) from when you learned the grade. The appeal must be in writing, signed and submitted to the principal. If you request reasons within the deadline, it is extended. The right to appeal is not symmetrical:
- Standpunktkarakter: it is the handling of the case that is reviewed, not the level. Since 1 August 2024 the grade cannot be lowered on appeal. So appealing cannot make things worse.
- Written exam: an appeals committee appointed by the county governor can adjust the grade up or down, does not need to justify the decision, and the new grade cannot be appealed. First ask for a copy of your answer sheet and the grading guidelines.
- Oral exam: only formal errors in the conduct can be appealed, and the grade is then annulled, not raised.
Some fylker have expedited appeal deadlines for Vg3 when the grade affects admission to higher education – in Oslo two days. Check your fylkeskommune.
Grade points: from secondary school to higher education
For Vg1 all standpunktkarakter and exam grades from primary school count: the average with two decimals multiplied by ten, maximum 60 points. IV and IM (not present) count as zero, and if several are equal for the last place, a draw is held. For Vg2 and Vg3 mid-year assessments with grades also count. Average primary school points were 42.2 in school year 2024–25. See how you apply for upper secondary school in Vigo and what deadlines apply.
For university and college, grade points are the average from the vitnemål multiplied by ten. School points are grade points plus science and language points (maximum 4 total) and gender points. Age points give 2 points per year from the year you turn 20, maximum 8, and additional points maximum 2. These figures apply to admission 2026: rules change from admission 2027 and significantly from 2028, including the removal of age points entirely. So check the rules again before your application, especially if you are planning for a 10th grader. More in the article on applying to higher education through Samordna opptak.
On SamfunnPrep you will find tools for newcomers to Norway with deadlines and rules. How school and grades work is also part of the curriculum for the society exam – you can practice it for free on SamfunnPrep.
