activities (e.g. trips, contests) replace classes. This week is known as săptămâna altfel. A class (clasă) can have up to 30 students (25 is considered optimum), and there can be as few as one class per grade or as many as twenty classes per grade. Usually, each group has its own classroom. Each group has its own designation, usually the grade followed by a letter of the alphabet (for example, VII A means that the student is in the 7th grade in the 'A' class). Grading conventions For the first four years a system similar to E-S-N-U is used, known as calificative. These are Foarte bine (FB) – Excellent, Bine (B) – Good, Satisfăcător/Suficient (S) – Satisfactory, actually meaning (barely) passing, Nesatisfăcător/Insuficient (N/I) – Failed. Students who get an N/I must take an exam in the summer with a special assembly of teachers, and if the situation is not improved, the student will repeat the whole year. The "qualifiers" (calificative) are given throughout the year, in a system of year-long assessment, on tests, schoolwork, homework or projects. The average for a subject (that will go in the mark register) is calculated by the teacher taking into account the progress of the student and by using a 1–4 value for each qualifier (for example, if a student has FB, FB, B, B in Mathematics, then the mark will be (4 + 4 + 3 + 3) : 4 = 3.5, therefore B – taking into account that the performance of the student has lowered over time a B, B, FB, FB will also be 3.5 but will be marked as FB because the performance has improved over time). There is no average calculated for the whole year, but only per subject per semester. For grades fifth to twelfth, a 1 to 10 grading system is used with 10 being the best, 1 being the worst and 5 being the minimum passing grade. The system of continuous assessment is also used, with individual marks for each test, oral examination, project, homework or classwork being entered in the register (these individual marks are known as "note"). There must be at least as many note for a subject as the number of weekly classes for that subject plus one. Some subjects also require a partial examination at the end of the semester (teză). This requirement is however regulated by the Ministry as mandatory. The