following rough guide may be used to convert into standard German grades: summa cum laude (<1.0 = mit Auszeichnung, "with distinction") magna cum laude (1.0 = sehr gut, "very good") cum laude (2.0 = gut, "good") rite (3.0 = bestanden, "passed") There is no fail grade; in that case the dissertation is formally rejected without a grade. East Germany (1950s–1980s) In former East Germany, a 5-point grading scale was used until July 1991: With the polytechnic reform of the school system initiated by the Act on Socialistic Development of the School System in the German Democratic Republic the Ministry of People's Education wanted to adapt academic grading for all institutions in its jurisdiction, which were general educational schools, vocational schools and professional schools for the qualification of lower classes teachers, educators and kindergartners. Therefore, a reorganized grading scale was enacted in Directive on the introduction of a unified grading scale for secondary schools, extended secondary schools, special schools, vocational schools, institutes of vocational masters' education, institutes of vocational school teachers' education, institutes of vocational teachers' further education, institutes of teachers' education and pedagogic institutes. This directive was unchangedly effective from September 1, 1960, to August 25, 1993. For all of the different subjects there were further recommendations with even more specific descriptions in relation to the general grading scale. These particular comments should help the teacher to grade the achievements of the students as objectively as possible. This scale is identical to the current Austrian grading scale. Criticism of German grading policies The case of Sabine Czerny At public schools in Germany, teachers are supposed to evaluate students against fixed course-specific criteria, but often feel implicit pressure to grade students on a curve where grades are awarded based on performance relative to all other individuals rather than performance relative to the difficulty of a specific course. Specifically, in the 2008 case of Sabine Czerny, a Bavarian primary school teacher, Czerny thought that 91% of the class would be able to make a successful transition into a Realschule or a Gymnasium (high schools for which normally only about 50% of Bavarian children qualify based on their educational achievements). While the parents liked this result, the educational authorities questioned Czerny's grading standards. Czerny claims that her students' results stood up in cross-classroom tests; nonetheless she was transferred to another school. Czerny received much public sympathy and later went on to write a