Our Methodology
How GradeAtlas collects public academic references, labels confidence, and explains calculation limits.
1. Source-Aware Ingestion
We prioritize public academic policies, registrar documents, ministry guidance, and recognized reference sources before using broader third-party context.
2. Conflict Review
Conflicting scales are flagged instead of silently resolved. Higher-confidence sources are favored, and users are reminded to verify official requirements.
3. Global Context
International frameworks such as UNESCO ISCED and public institution indexes help organize education levels and institution references across countries.
Primary Data Sources
Every grading scale in our database is traced to at least one authoritative source. Below are the primary references we use, with the date we last verified each source.
World Education Services (WES) — Grade Conversion Guide
Authoritative conversion tables for 100+ country systems. WES is the most cited credential evaluation body in North America.
Scholaro Global GPA Calculator — Country Database
Academic grading databases for 200+ countries, cross-referenced with university registrar documents.
UNESCO — International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED 2011)
Provides the structural framework for categorizing educational levels and qualification types globally.
National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) — U.S. Department of Education
Official U.S. grading standards and 4.0 GPA scale conventions used as the conversion target scale.
Ministry of Education Websites — Country-specific archives
Direct consultation of official Ministry of Education policy documents for India (UGC), UK (QAA), Germany (KMK), Australia (AQF), Canada, and 35+ other countries.
European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) Users' Guide
Used for ECTS credit equivalence calculations in our European university conversions.
QS World University Rankings — Institutional Profiles
Used to prioritize verification efforts — Top 500 QS institutions receive monthly audits.
Verification Standards
Authoritative Bodies & Compliance
Official University Registrars: Direct scraping of policy pages. If a university's registrar publishes a grading scale PDF, we ingest and version-track it.
WHED & ISCED Mapping: Institutions are indexed via the World Higher Education Database, and levels are mapped using UNESCO ISCED standards.
Credential-evaluation context: Public references from evaluation services may be used for comparison context, but GradeAtlas does not issue official equivalency decisions.
Ministry of Education Archives: Accessing national grading standards for countries including India (UGC circular dated July 2023), Germany (KMK standards 2022), UK (QAA Qualification Characteristics 2024).
Update Frequency
We track review dates and prioritize updates for high-visibility pages, community-reported issues, and source conflicts. Review timing can vary by source availability and data complexity.