🇵🇹 Portugal

This page describes how schools in Portugal 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: Educação pré-escolar (ages 3-6) is not graded; descriptive observation only. 1º ano starts at age 6. Compulsory schooling is 12 years (to age 18 or completion of secondary).

Years	Stage	Scale	Pass	Recipe
1-4	1.º ciclo do ensino básico (first cycle, primary)	Descriptive text plus a qualitative mention: Muito Bom / Bom / Suficiente / Insuficiente	Suficiente	Words
5-6	2.º ciclo do ensino básico (second cycle)	Levels 1-5, 5 best	3	Whole-number marks
7-9	3.º ciclo do ensino básico (third cycle, lower secondary)	Levels 1-5, 5 best	3	Whole-number marks
10-12	Ensino secundário (upper secondary)	0-20 valores, 20 best	10	Number columns

Values in 1.º ciclo do ensino básico (first cycle, primary)

Value	Local word	English
MB	Muito Bom	Very good
B	Bom	Good
S	Suficiente	Satisfactory
I	Insuficiente	Unsatisfactory

Values in 2.º ciclo do ensino básico (second cycle)

Value	Local word	English
1	Nível 1	Very poor
2	Nível 2	Insufficient
3	Nível 3	Sufficient (pass)
4	Nível 4	Good
5	Nível 5	Very good

The year. Each school chooses three terms (períodos, ~Sept-Dec, Jan-Easter, Easter-June) or two semesters. Internal summative assessment and a report to families at the end of each term or semester. The final-year classification is at the last period.

Averages and rounding. End-of-period grades are a class-council decision on the teacher's proposal, based on criteria the school approves (criterios de avaliação, usually weighted). The end-of-year level is the grade of the last period and reflects the whole year (teacher judgement, not a mandatory mean). Secondary: CIF of a multi-year subject = simple arithmetic mean of the yearly grades, rounded to units. For subjects with a national exam: CFD = 0.75 × CIF + 0.25 × CE (Despacho Normativo 3/2026; earlier years used 0.7/0.3). Course final grade = simple mean of all subject CFDs (excluding Moral and Religious Education), rounded to units. Year 9 Portuguese/Maths: internal grade 70% + final test 30%.

Passing the year. Years 2-3: retention exceptional. End of year 4: not approved with Insuficiente in Portuguese and Maths, or in one of them plus two other subjects. End of years 6 and 9: not approved with level below 3 in Portuguese and Maths, or in three or more subjects. Secondary: retained with more than two subjects below 10, or any below 8.

Conduct. No conduct grade on a scale. Behaviour is reported descriptively and handled under the Student Statute (Estatuto do Aluno, disciplinary measures). Attendance limits can lead to retention.

Differences between regions or school types. National rules apply across the mainland. The autonomous regions of Azores and Madeira issue their own regulations and calendars, with the same scales. Professional (vocational) and artistic courses use different final-grade formulas.

Common practice that is not official. Teachers commonly score tests in percentages and add qualitative words: e.g. 0-19% Fraco, 20-49% Insuficiente, 50-69% Suficiente, 70-89% Bom, 90-100% Muito Bom. Exact bands are set by each school's assessment criteria, not by national law. Secondary teachers often keep decimals (e.g. 14.6) in the markbook.

National exams.

Provas ModA (Monitorização da Aprendizagem) (year 4 and 6): Descriptive reports
Provas finais do 9.º ano (Português, PLNM/PL2, Matemática) (year 9): 0-100 converted to level 1-5
Exames finais nacionais do ensino secundário (year 11-12): 0-200 points, expressed as 0-20

Words you will meet

Classificação / nota (mark); nível (level, 1-5 scale); valores (points, 0-20 scale); menção qualitativa (qualitative grade); média (average); período (term) or semestre; pauta (class results sheet); ficha/registo de avaliação (report); CIF (classificação interna final), CE (classificação de exame), CFD (classificação final de disciplina).

Set it up in MarkBook

Years 1-4 scale: MB=4, B=3, S=2, I=1 (pass from S) plus a descriptive comment column. Years 5-9 scale: levels 1-5, pass 3; tests in percentage columns mapped to Fraco/Insuficiente/Suficiente/Bom/Muito Bom by the school's bands. Years 10-12 scale: 0-20, pass 10. Columns per período/semestre: weighted assessment items and a period grade (rounded to whole level/valor). Year grade = last period grade (teacher decision). Secondary: calculated CIF = mean of yearly grades rounded to units; CFD = 0.75 CIF + 0.25 CE when an exam exists; course average = mean of CFDs rounded to units. Year 9: final = 0.7 internal + 0.3 prova final in Portuguese and Maths.

The scales, ready to copy

These are the scales as MarkBook shows them in the scale editor. Build yours with the same grades, descriptions and weights. Each scale links to the recipe that explains it on Set Up Any Grading System.

Portugal · MB–I

Judgement scale for years 1-4 (1.º ciclo do ensino básico (first cycle, primary)). Build it in Configuration → Assessment → Judgement scales. Recipe: Words instead of marks.

Grade	Description	Weight	Pass
MB	Muito Bom · Very good	4	yes
B	Bom · Good	3	yes
S	Suficiente · Satisfactory	2	yes
I	Insuficiente · Unsatisfactory	1	no

Portugal · MB–I in the MarkBook scale editor

Portugal · 1–5

Attainment scale for years 5-6 (2.º ciclo do ensino básico (second cycle)). Build it in Configuration → Assessment → Attainment scales. Recipe: Whole-number marks.

Grade	Description	Weight	Pass
5	Nível 5 · Very good	5	yes
4	Nível 4 · Good	4	yes
3	Nível 3 · Sufficient (pass)	3	yes
2	Nível 2 · Insufficient	2	no
1	Nível 1 · Very poor	1	no

Portugal · 1–5 in the MarkBook scale editor

Before you rely on this page

Confidence: medium

Exam weight in CFD changed several times (DL 62/2023, then Despacho Normativo 3/2026 with 0.75/0.25); confirm per cohort. The 0-200 exam scoring is from general knowledge; not confirmed on an opened official page. Percentage-to-word bands differ by school. ModA replaced provas de aferição in 2024/25 (DL 12/2025 adjusts ModA).

Sources (5)

🇵🇹 Portugal ​

How pupils are graded ​

Words you will meet ​

Set it up in MarkBook ​

The scales, ready to copy ​

Portugal · MB–I ​

Portugal · 1–5 ​

Before you rely on this page ​