NARIC guide on Higher Education Systems in the European Union

These types of school award the following five types of VWO diploma:
gymnasium A and gymnasium B;
atheneum A and atheneum B; and
ongedeeld VWO (unified VWO).
The name of the type of VWO course followed is stated on the diploma.
A VWO diploma is obtained following 13 years of general education: seven years of pre-primary and primary education from
the age of five, followed by six years of secondary education. Pupils have approximately 30 hours of lessons per week during
the school year of 40 weeks.
Up to the fifth year, the VWO curriculum consists mainly of compulsory subjects. Seven subjects are chosen for the final
examination, of which five are compulsory and two are optional.
The combination of subjects is furthermore determined by the type of VWO: at a gymnasium, the emphasis is on the classical
languages; in the atheneum, classical languages are offered as optional subjects and the emphasis may be on languages and
social sciences.
The choice of subjects also depends on the main discipline chosen within the type. Both the gymnasium and the atheneum
have the A group of disciplines where the emphasis is on languages and social sciences, and the B group of disciplines where
the emphasis is on mathematics and
sciences.
The ongedeeld VWO (unified VWO) differs in that there is no division into A or B groups of disciplines. This gives the pupils
greater freedom when choosing their subjects for the final examination. Furthermore, only two or three subjects are
compulsory in the final examination for ongedeeld VWO.
The final examination
The final examination consists of two parts — a central written part, held nationally, the content of which is determined by the
Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, and a school examination consisting of a series of tests set by the school during
the final school year.
Pupils who take an examination in an eighth subject receive a certificate from the school which is added to the diploma. The
final results achieved in this subject have no effect on the overall result of the examination. Candidates who fail some subjects
receive a certificate for the subjects which were passed.
There is also a possibility of obtaining the VWO diploma by passing a State examination. This examination, the content of
which does not differ from that described above, is set by a commission appointed by the Minister for Education, Culture and
Science.
Grading
The evaluation of the student’s performance is expressed in numbers on a scale of 1 (lowest grade) to 10 (highest grade). This
scale is used in primary education as well as in secondary and higher education. The grading scale is as follows:
1: very bad 6: sufficient
2: bad 7: amply sufficient
3: low 8: good
4: insufficient 9: very good
5: almost sufficient 10: excellent.
Frequency distributions per year indicate that the grades 9 and 10 are rarely given.