🇱🇺 Luxembourg ​
This page describes how schools in Luxembourg 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: Cycle 1 (éducation précoce at 3, then two compulsory preschool years at 4-5) has no marks; competence level 1 is described for the end of cycle 1.
| Years | Stage | Scale | Pass | Recipe |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1-6 | Enseignement fondamental, cycles 2-4 (primary, 6 years in 3 two-year cycles) | Competence levels per domain (4 steps) plus a performance rating A-D with optional +; Eurydice describes the reports as having no grades or marks | Basic level (socle) reached by end of cycle | School decides |
| 7-9/10 | Enseignement secondaire classique (ESC) and général (ESG), lower classes | 1-60 points (60 best) | 30 | Number columns |
| 10-13 | Enseignement secondaire, upper classes (ESC 3e-1re; ESG 4e-1re) | 1-60 points (60 best) | 30 | Number columns |
Values in Enseignement fondamental, cycles 2-4 (primary, 6 years in 3 two-year cycles)
| Value | Local word | English |
|---|---|---|
| Socle en cours | Niveau socle en voie d'acquisition | Basic level being acquired |
| Socle atteint | Niveau socle atteint | Basic level reached |
| Avancé en cours | Niveau avancé en voie d'acquisition | Advanced level being acquired |
| Avancé atteint | Niveau avancé atteint | Advanced level reached |
| A+ / A | très bien | Very good (performance) |
| B+ / B | bien | Good (performance) |
| C+ / C | satisfaisant | Satisfactory (performance) |
| D+ / D | insuffisant | Insufficient (performance) |
Values in Enseignement secondaire classique (ESC) and général (ESG), lower classes
| Value | Local word | English |
|---|---|---|
| 1-60 | note sur 60 | mark out of 60 |
The year. Fundamental: three trimesters; intermediate reports (bilans intermédiaires) at the end of the 1st and 3rd trimesters, a parent meeting at the end of the 2nd, individual talks three times a year. Secondary: trimesters or semesters (schools may choose semesters); a report each term, plus an end-of-year report with annual marks, promotion decision and orientation advice.
Averages and rounding. Secondary: 1-3 tests per subject per term; the term subject mark is the mean of the tests, adjustable by up to 4 points for effort. The annual general mark is a weighted average of the annual subject marks using the coefficients of the class timetable. Exact computation of the annual subject mark and the rounding rule were not confirmed (historically marks are whole points).
Passing the year. Class council decides: success (all marks sufficient or compensable), failure (insufficient marks in one third or more of subjects; in lower classes this can be offset by a general average ≥45/60), or referral (ajournement: holiday work with an exam at the start of the next year, or revision work). A class may be repeated once (the final class twice). Fundamental: the pedagogical team decides cycle progression; parents may appeal within 15 days to the district inspector.
Conduct. Fundamental: the pupil's learning process / behaviour in class is rated on a frequency scale. Secondary: no conduct mark found in the sources.
Differences between regions or school types. National system. Differences are by school type: ESC (classical), ESG (general, with orientation tracks such as voie de préparation), vocational training (formation professionnelle, competence-based modules), and public European/international schools, which follow their own grading (e.g. European Baccalaureate 0-10, IB 1-7).
Common practice that is not official. Teachers sometimes mark tests on other totals and convert to 60. The 2026 study plan (SCRIPT) defines socle (SO) and advanced (AV) levels per domain.
National exams.
- Épreuves communes (fundamental cycle 4.2) (year 6): Competence results
- Épreuves communes (lower secondary) (year 9 (approx.)): Not confirmed
- Examen de fin d'études secondaires (classiques / générales) (year 13 (1re)): 1-60, pass 30
Words you will meet ​
note (mark), moyenne générale annuelle, trimestre / semestre, bulletin, bilan intermédiaire, bilan de fin de cycle, socle de compétences, conseil de classe, ajournement, compensation
Set it up in MarkBook ​
Fundamental: a 4-step competence scale (Socle en cours=1, Socle atteint=2, Avancé en cours=3, Avancé atteint=4) per domain per trimester, and a performance scale A+/A/B+/B/C+/C/D+/D (weights 8 to 1, D/D+ fail); no average. Secondary: numeric 1-60 scale, step 1, pass 30. Per term (or semester): 1-3 test columns; term mark = mean of tests, plus an adjustment column (±4). Annual subject mark = mean of term marks (assumption); annual general mark = weighted mean using timetable coefficients. Flag insufficient (<30) subjects and count them against the one-third rule. Final year: annual mark column + exam column, final = 1/3 annual + 2/3 exam; mention bands 36/40/48/52.
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
Current compensation rules (threshold for a compensable mark, excluded core subjects) were not confirmed; older rules (2005) allowed compensating one insufficient mark ≥20 with an average of 36-37. How the annual subject mark is computed and rounded was not confirmed. The French labels for the A-D performance scale are my gloss of the official English form. Conduct grading in secondary not found. The ALPHA reform (literacy in French as an option, piloted from 2024) changes language of literacy, not grading.
Sources (4)
- Eurydice Luxembourg: Assessment in primary education (official)
- Eurydice Luxembourg: Assessment in general lower secondary education (official)
- Eurydice Luxembourg: Évaluation dans l'enseignement secondaire (official)
- MENJE: Intermediate reports on development of competences, Cycle 2 (EN form) (official)