Faster graduation from college or university when graduated from highschool with higher grades

The higher the grades students received for their final exams in secondary education, the faster they will graduate from higher education. These graduation grades play a larger role for men than for women.

High grades play a role in subsequent successes

Only half of the students who averaged a 6 out of 10 or less in the central written final exams in secondary education, will graduate from their vocational colleges (hbo) within the standard 5 years. Among students who get a 7 or more this is close to 70 percent.
Higher grades in the central written final exams also correlates with a higher share of students who graduate from their university within 6 years.

Graduates by grades, 1999-2005

Women graduate faster than men

The share of women who graduate within 5 years from higher education is substantially higher than that of men. Women who graduated from secondary education with an average of 6 or less still performed better in higher education than men who graduated with an average of 7 or more.

Exam grades play larger role for men than women

The final exam grades in secondary education play a greater role for men than for women. 61 percent of the men who got a 7 or more on average graduated within 5 years from their vocational college (hbo), versus 38 percent of the men who received a 6 or less. The difference between women who got the highest and lowest grades was 13 percent points. The difference between men and women also exists at university.

Graduates by sex, 1999-2005

Jeroen Ooijevaar and Andrea Annema