🇧🇪 Belgium — Flemish Community (Vlaanderen)
This page describes how schools in Belgium — Flemish Community (Vlaanderen) grade pupils, from the first year of primary school (year 1, about age 6–7) to the end of upper secondary, and how to build the same system in MarkBook. Back to Find Your Country.
Check the current rules
This description comes from public sources (ministry pages, national laws, Eurydice) read in October 2026. Rules change with reforms, and schools often have local rules. Check the current official text for anything your school reports to the ministry.
How pupils are graded
Before year 1: Kleuteronderwijs (ages 2.5-6; compulsory from age 5 since 2020) is not graded with marks.
| Years | Stage | Scale | Pass | Recipe |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1-6 | Lager onderwijs (primary, 1st-6th leerjaar) | No national scale. Assessment belongs to school autonomy; schools set it in their school regulations. Most use points or percentages per subject; many add descriptive comments or broad evaluation | No government minimum; schools often use 50% as reference | School decides |
| 7-8 | Eerste graad secundair onderwijs (first stage, 1st-2nd year; A-stream and B-stream) | School-set points or percentages; year outcome as orientation attestation A / B / C | No government minimum; the class council decides | School decides |
| 9-12 (13 for a 7th year) | Tweede en derde graad secundair onderwijs (2nd and 3rd stage, 3rd-6th year; 7th year in some tracks) | School-set points or percentages; A / B / C attestations each year | No government minimum; class council decides | School decides |
Values in Eerste graad secundair onderwijs (first stage, 1st-2nd year; A-stream and B-stream)
| Value | Local word | English |
|---|---|---|
| A | A-attest (oriënteringsattest A) | Year passed, free progression |
| B | B-attest (oriënteringsattest B) | Year passed, some forms of education or directions excluded (clausule) |
| C | C-attest (oriënteringsattest C) | Year failed, repeat |
Values in Tweede en derde graad secundair onderwijs (2nd and 3rd stage, 3rd-6th year; 7th year in some tracks)
| Value | Local word | English |
|---|---|---|
| A | A-attest | Passed |
| B | B-attest | Passed with restriction |
| C | C-attest | Failed |
The year. Schools choose: periodic exams (often December and June, sometimes also before Easter) plus daily work, or continuous assessment. Class time may be suspended for at most 60 half-days (exam schools) or 18 half-days (continuous assessment). The deliberating class council decides by 30 June; exceptionally postponed to 1 September (retake). Reports (rapport) at intervals set by the school, commonly after each exam period plus intermediate daily-work reports.
Averages and rounding. Not regulated. Schools typically compute a subject percentage from daily work (dagelijks werk) and exams with weights set in the school regulations, and a total percentage. The class council judges collegially; it is not a mechanical rule.
Passing the year. The class council (klassenraad), chaired by the principal, decides: A, B (clausule) or C attestation. Decisions must be transparent and justified; appeal within the school, then an external appeal committee.
Conduct. No official conduct grade; many schools report attitudes (attitudes / leren leren) on the rapport — school practice.
Differences between regions or school types. Rules are the same across the Flemish Community (Flanders and Dutch-language schools in Brussels), but scoring is decided by each school and network (GO!, OVSG, Katholiek Onderwijs Vlaanderen), so scales and weights differ by school.
Common practice that is not official. Points (e.g. /10, /20) and percentages with a 50% reference are widespread school practice, not law. Some primary schools use colours, symbols or narrative-only reports.
National exams.
- Vlaamse toetsen (Flemish tests) (year 4 and 6 (primary), 8 (2nd year secondary); 12 (6th secondary) planned): Results as share of pupils reaching the attainment targets and higher levels; individual pupil feedback sheets
Words you will meet
punten / cijfer (mark), procent, gemiddelde, rapport (report card), dagelijks werk (daily work), examenperiode, klassenraad, oriënteringsattest (A/B/C), getuigschrift, diploma
Set it up in MarkBook
Use a points scale with free maximum per test; show a subject percentage (1 decimal). Per period: daily-work (DW) columns and an exam column per exam period; subject result = weighted DW% and exam% as in the school regulations (e.g. 40/60). Year total = weighted subject percentages by weekly hours. Add a year-end descriptor column A / B / C attestation in secondary, and a free-text clausule field for B.
There is no national scale to copy for this country. Use the recipe for your school's own scale on Set Up Any Grading System.
Before you rely on this page
Confidence: medium
There is no national scale and no government pass mark. Every value is typical practice. No official national scale; values are typical practice. The Eurydice upper-secondary page fetched mostly described the first stage. Timing of Vlaamse toetsen in 6th secondary differs between sources. The 2019+ modernisation of secondary education changed structures and attainment targets, not a grading scale.