Polish

This page describes how Polish schools grade and how to build the same system in MarkBook. The national rules (the education law and the ministry's regulation on assessment) fix the 1–6 scale for final grades, the behaviour scale and descriptive grades in classes I–III. Everything else, such as pluses and minuses, weights and the thresholds for a weighted average, is decided by each school in its statute (statut szkoły, the part called wewnątrzszkolne ocenianie). The values on this page are common examples; use your own statute's values.

The structure of the year

The school year has two half-years (półrocza, often called semestry).

Moment	Polish term	What happens
During the half-year	oceny bieżące / oceny cząstkowe	Current marks for tests, quizzes, answers, homework
End of half-year I	klasyfikacja śródroczna	Mid-year grade (ocena śródroczna) per subject, and behaviour
End of the year	klasyfikacja roczna	Annual grade (ocena roczna) per subject, and behaviour
End of a stage	ocena końcowa	Final grade on the leaving certificate

The 1–6 scale

Grade	Name	Abbreviation	English
6	celujący	cel	Excellent (outstanding)
5	bardzo dobry	bdb	Very good
4	dobry	db	Good
3	dostateczny	dst	Satisfactory
2	dopuszczający	dop	Pass (lowest passing grade)
1	niedostateczny	ndst	Fail

2 (dopuszczający) is the pass. An annual grade of 1 in a subject means the pupil does not move up, unless they pass a resit exam (egzamin poprawkowy), which is allowed in one or two subjects.

Pluses and minuses

Current marks may carry a + or − (for example 4+, 5−). Mid-year and annual grades are whole grades only, written in full words on the certificate. What a plus or a minus is worth in an average is set by the statute. Common choices:

Convention	4+	4−
+ = +0.5, − = −0.25	4.5	3.75
+ = +0.5, − = −0.5	4.5	3.5
+ = +0.25, − = −0.25	4.25	3.75

Some statutes also allow symbols such as "np" (nieprzygotowany, not prepared) or "bz" (brak zadania, no homework). These are notes, not grades, and do not count in an average.

Weighted average (średnia ważona)

Most schools give each kind of current mark a weight. The weighted average is

średnia ważona = (sum of each mark × its weight) ÷ (sum of the weights)

A typical set of weights:

Kind of mark	Polish	Weight
Test (lesson-long, announced)	sprawdzian, praca klasowa	3
Short quiz	kartkówka	2
Oral answer	odpowiedź ustna	2
Project	projekt	2
Homework	praca domowa	1
Class activity	aktywność	1

The teacher sets the mid-year and annual grade based on the current marks. Many statutes tie the grade to the weighted average with thresholds, for example:

Weighted average	Mid-year / annual grade
5.50 and above	celujący (6)
4.70 – 5.49	bardzo dobry (5)
3.70 – 4.69	dobry (4)
2.70 – 3.69	dostateczny (3)
1.70 – 2.69	dopuszczający (2)
below 1.70	niedostateczny (1)

Other statutes treat the average only as guidance. The annual grade covers the whole year, not only half-year II.

Percentages for tests

Tests are often marked in points and turned into a grade by percentage. A common example: 0–39% ndst, 40–54% dop, 55–74% dst, 75–89% db, 90–99% bdb, 100% (or extra tasks) cel. Each statute sets its own bands.

Behaviour (ocena zachowania)

Grade	Abbreviation	English
wzorowe	wz	Exemplary
bardzo dobre	bdb	Very good
dobre	db	Good
poprawne	popr	Acceptable
nieodpowiednie	ndp	Inappropriate
naganne	ng	Reprehensible

The form teacher (wychowawca) sets it at mid-year and at the end of the year. It does not affect subject grades.

Certificate with distinction

From class IV, a pupil receives a certificate with distinction (świadectwo z wyróżnieniem, "z paskiem") when the mean of their annual subject grades is at least 4.75 and their behaviour is at least bardzo dobre.

Classes I–III: descriptive grades

In classes I–III the mid-year and annual grades, for subjects and for behaviour, are descriptive (ocena opisowa): a written text about the child's progress. Current marks during the year follow the statute: points, symbols, or the 1–6 numbers. Religion and ethics are graded on the 1–6 scale in every class.

National exams

Exam	When	Result
egzamin ósmoklasisty	End of class VIII	Percentage per subject (and percentile). No pass mark
matura	End of secondary school	Percentage per subject. Pass: at least 30% in each compulsory exam

Setting it up in MarkBook

The plan: a 1–6 scale with pluses and minuses for current marks, one column per mark, a calculated weighted average in each half-year, and a whole-grade column the teacher fills in for the mid-year and annual grade.

1. Run the setup wizard

1. Open the Setup Wizard and pick Start from scratch.
2. On Your school, choose Curriculum Other or international and tick Secondary.
3. On Terms, choose Two semesters. Name them I półrocze and II półrocze.
4. Finish the wizard, then build the scales below by hand.

2. The scale for current marks

Configuration → Assessment → Attainment scales → Add new attainment scale. Grading type Label marks, Name Oceny bieżące 1–6. Add one mark per row (this uses + = +0.5, − = −0.25; change the weights to your statute):

Grade	Weight (points)	Grade	Weight (points)
6	6	3+	3.5
6−	5.75	3	3
5+	5.5	3−	2.75
5	5	2+	2.5
5−	4.75	2	2
4+	4.5	2−	1.75
4	4	1+	1.5
4−	3.75	1	1

That is 16 grades; a scale holds up to 20. Each weight must be different.

3. The scale for mid-year and annual grades

Make a second scale, Oceny klasyfikacyjne 1–6, with whole grades only: celujący 6, bardzo dobry 5, dobry 4, dostateczny 3, dopuszczający 2, niedostateczny 1. Use the full words as the grade labels if your reports must print them.

4. One column per mark

In Configuration → Assessment → Markbook Templates → Columns Configurations, press New value type for each mark. All are Grade label with scale Oceny bieżące 1–6 and Repeated in every reporting period:

Name	Short label	Weight in the average
Sprawdzian 1	S1	3
Sprawdzian 2	S2	3
Kartkówka 1	K1	2
Kartkówka 2	K2	2
Odpowiedź ustna	O1	2
Praca domowa	Z1	1
Aktywność	A1	1

See Assignment Types for more kinds.

The average uses the marks that exist

The weighted average leaves out a mark a pupil does not have and re-divides by the weights of the marks that are present. If a pupil misses a test, the average is worked out without it, and it changes when the make-up test is marked. An average therefore appears as soon as the first mark is in. Before you give the śródroczna or roczna grade, check that the pupil has the marks your statute asks for.

5. The averages and the final grades

Create these value types:

Name	Short label	Data type	Scale	Where does this column appear?
Średnia I półrocze	SR1	Calculated		Repeated in every reporting period
Średnia II półrocze	SR2	Calculated		Repeated in every reporting period
Ocena śródroczna	OS	Grade label	Oceny klasyfikacyjne 1–6	Repeated in every reporting period
Średnia roczna	SRR	Calculated		Only in the final reporting period
Ocena roczna	OR	Grade label	Oceny klasyfikacyjne 1–6	Only in the final reporting period

6. Build the template

On the template's Template settings tab:

1. Reporting period zone: add S1, S2, K1, K2, O1, Z1, A1, SR1, SR2 and OS.

2. In the Live preview, disable SR2 under I półrocze, and SR1 and OS under II półrocze. (The mid-year grade belongs to half-year I only.)

3. Final period zone: add SRR and OR.

4. Click SR1. On the Weighted tab choose Weighted average and add S1, S2, K1, K2, O1, Z1 and A1 with the weights 3, 3, 2, 2, 2, 1 and 1. Set Decimals 2. Use the same setup for SR2. Weights are relative, so they do not need to add up to anything in particular. If a pupil has no mark in one column, the average uses the other weights. For example, without Z1 the divisor is 13, not 14.

5. Click SRR and write avg(SR1, SR2), Decimals 2. Because both half-years have the same columns and weights, this equals the weighted average of every mark of the year.

6. Press Save value types.

Weighted tab or formula

You can also type (3*S1 + 3*S2 + 2*K1 + 2*K2 + 2*O1 + Z1 + A1) / 14 on the Advanced tab. That formula is plain arithmetic, so it stays empty for a pupil who lacks any one of the marks. Use the Weighted tab for the average.

To show the thresholds at a glance, edit Średnia I półrocze (and the other two averages) in Columns Configurations, turn on Colour-code this column by its value and add bands: up to 1.70 red, 1.70 to 2.70 orange, 2.70 to 3.70 yellow, 3.70 to 4.70 light green, 4.70 to 5.50 green, 5.50 and up dark green. A band includes its "from" value and stops just before its "up to" value.

The teacher then picks Ocena śródroczna and Ocena roczna in the grid, guided by the average.

7. Behaviour

1. Configuration → Assessment → Judgement scales → Add judgement scale. Name Zachowanie, Type Behaviour, Value type Text.
2. Values (Label, Code, Weight): wzorowe, wz, 6; bardzo dobre, bdb, 5; dobre, db, 4; poprawne, popr, 3; nieodpowiednie, ndp, 2; naganne, ng, 1.
3. Create Zachowanie śródroczne (Judgement scale, Repeated in every reporting period) and Zachowanie roczne (Only in the final reporting period). Put them on a subject such as Zachowanie that only the form teacher marks.

8. Classes I–III

Make a separate template. Use Teacher Comment columns for the descriptive mid-year and annual grade, one per subject. For current marks, use the Oceny bieżące 1–6 scale or a judgement scale with your statute's symbols.

Worked example

Kacper, class VI, matematyka, I półrocze:

S1	S2	K1	K2	O1	Z1	A1
4	5−	3+	4	5	5	6

Weighted: 3×4 + 3×4.75 + 2×3.5 + 2×4 + 2×5 + 5 + 6 = 62.25. Divided by 14: SR1 = 4.45. On the example thresholds (3.70 – 4.69) that is dobry, so the teacher picks dobry in Ocena śródroczna.

In II półrocze his weighted average is 4.81, so SRR = (4.45 + 4.81) ÷ 2 = 4.63, and the teacher sets the annual grade, here dobry (or bardzo dobry if the statute lets the teacher round in the pupil's favour).

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