SEE Marks-to-Grade Table: NEB Grade Points & GPA Bands

The Secondary Education Examination (SEE), taken at the end of Grade 10, is graded by the National Examinations Board (NEB) using a letter-grading system rather than raw pass/fail marks. Every subject score is converted to a percentage of that subject's full marks, and the percentage is then mapped to one of eight letter grades, each carrying a fixed grade point on a 4.0 scale. This same eight-point scale applies to Grades 1 to 12 across Nepal's school system under the Letter Grading Directive, 2078 BS (2021 AD).

The mapping is fixed and identical for every subject. A score of 90 percent or above is an A+ worth 4.0 grade points; 80 to below 90 percent is an A worth 3.6; 70 to below 80 percent is a B+ worth 3.2; 60 to below 70 percent is a B worth 2.8; 50 to below 60 percent is a C+ worth 2.4; 40 to below 50 percent is a C worth 2.0; 35 to below 40 percent is a D worth 1.6; and anything below 35 percent is NG (Non-Graded) worth 0.0 grade points.

Note the exact boundary rule: each band is inclusive of its lower number and exclusive of the next band's floor. So 89.9 percent is still an A, and exactly 90 tips into A+. This is why the popular question 'A+ kati number?' (what number gives an A+?) has a precise answer for SEE: you need at least 90 out of 100, or the equivalent 90 percent of whatever the subject's full marks are.

For most SEE subjects, the full marks of 100 are split into a theory component and an internal/practical component. A common split is 75 marks theory and 25 marks internal assessment, though some subjects are fully theoretical. The grade for a subject is based on the combined percentage of marks obtained across these components, and that single percentage is then read off the eight-point table above.

There is an important minimum-threshold rule that sits underneath the table. A student must secure at least 35 percent separately in the theory portion (and, where applicable, in the internal/practical portion) to be graded in that subject. If a candidate falls below the 35 percent floor in a required component, the subject result is recorded as NG (Non-Graded) with a grade point of 0.0, regardless of the combined average.

Because the conversion is percentage-based, the same rule scales to subjects with different full marks. If a subject is out of 50, then 45 out of 50 is 90 percent and therefore an A+. Always convert to a percentage of that subject's full marks first, then apply the table; do not compare raw marks across subjects with different totals.

Once every subject has a grade point, the overall result is reported as a Grade Point Average (GPA), not a total percentage. The GPA is the average of the grade points earned across all subjects, weighted by each subject's credit hours where credits differ. The highest possible SEE GPA is 4.0, achieved only by scoring A+ (90 percent or more) in every subject.

For a simple case where all subjects carry equal credit, the GPA is just the arithmetic mean of the subject grade points. For example, grade points of 4.0, 3.6, 3.2, 3.6, 2.8, 3.2, 3.2 and 4.0 across eight subjects average to a GPA of about 3.45. Where subjects carry different credit hours, multiply each grade point by its credit, sum those products, and divide by the total credits.

The GPA is what appears prominently on the SEE grade-sheet and is what colleges and Grade 11 (Plus Two) programs use for admission. Many institutions set a minimum GPA requirement for streams such as Science, so understanding how each subject grade feeds the overall GPA helps students target the grades they need.

The final GPA can itself be read against a letter band, because the boundaries of the eight-point scale double as GPA bands on the 0-to-4 scale. A GPA of 3.6 to 4.0 corresponds to the A+/A tier, 3.2 to below 3.6 to B+, 2.8 to below 3.2 to B, 2.4 to below 2.8 to C+, 2.0 to below 2.4 to C, and 1.6 to below 2.0 to D. This lets a student translate a GPA figure back into an intuitive letter label.

In practice, NEB reports the numeric GPA on the grade-sheet along with the per-subject letter grades, and the GPA band is used descriptively rather than as a separate certified grade. A GPA at or above 3.6 is commonly described as 'Outstanding/Excellent', the 3.2-3.6 range as 'Very Good', 2.8-3.2 as 'Good', and so on, mirroring the per-subject descriptors.

Because the letter grade for the SEE is derived per subject and then averaged, two students with the same GPA can have very different subject profiles. A GPA of 3.2 might come from steady B+ grades everywhere, or from a mix of A+ highs and C+ lows. This is why admissions often look at both the GPA and the individual subject grades, especially in the student's intended stream subjects.

Example 1 - a single subject. A student scores 84 out of 100 in Science. That is 84 percent, which falls in the 80-to-below-90 band, so the grade is A and the grade point is 3.6. Had the student scored 90, it would have been an A+ (4.0); at 79, it would drop to B+ (3.2).

Example 2 - a subject out of 50. A student scores 33 out of 50 in a subject. Converted to a percentage, 33/50 is 66 percent, which lands in the 60-to-below-70 band, giving a B and a grade point of 2.8. This shows why you must convert to a percentage first rather than reading the raw 33 as if it were out of 100.

Example 3 - building an overall GPA. Suppose a student earns A+ in two subjects (4.0 each), A in three (3.6 each), B+ in two (3.2 each), and B in one (2.8), all equally weighted across eight subjects. The sum of grade points is 4.0+4.0+3.6+3.6+3.6+3.2+3.2+2.8 = 28.0, and dividing by 8 gives a GPA of 3.5. Reading 3.5 against the GPA bands places the student firmly in the strong B+ / near-A tier.

The old SEE system reported a straight pass or fail with divisions (Distinction, First, Second, Third). Under letter grading there is technically no single 'fail' stamp on the grade-sheet; instead, a subject below the 35 percent threshold is recorded as NG (Non-Graded) with 0.0 grade points. A student must clear the minimum requirements to be eligible to enroll in Grade 11, so an NG in a required subject effectively blocks progression until it is improved through grade-increment or supplementary provisions announced by NEB.

A frequent misconception is that the letter grade depends on the total marks across all subjects. It does not. Each subject is graded independently on its own percentage, and only afterwards are the subject grade points averaged into a GPA. Another misconception is that D is a fail; D (35 to below 40 percent) is the lowest graded band and carries 1.6 grade points, but it sits above the NG threshold.

Finally, remember that this reference reflects the durable structure of the NEB Letter Grading Directive, 2078 BS. NEB periodically amends operational details (such as minimum-marks handling, grade-increment windows and stream eligibility), so for the rules governing a specific year's SEE, always cross-check the current-year notice on the official NEB website. The eight-point conversion table itself, however, has remained stable.