Grade Calculator: Weighted Course Grade, Letter Grade and Score Needed
This grade calculator turns your assignment scores and their weights into your current course grade, a letter grade on an adjustable scale, and the score you need on the final exam. Example: 92 on homework (20%), 85 on quizzes (15%), 78 on the midterm (25%) and 88 on a project (15%) give a current grade of 85.13% – and you need 84.6% on a final worth 25% to finish with 85%.
Source: College Board, BigFuture: How to Convert Your GPA to a 4.0 Scale (percent grade ranges: A 90–100, B 80–89, C 70–79; schools calculate differently). Updated: .
How it is calculated
A course grade is a weighted average: every score is multiplied by its weight, the products are added up and the sum is divided by the total weight. A grade that counts for 25% moves the result five times as much as one that counts for 5%.
Formula
Course grade = (score₁ × weight₁ + score₂ × weight₂ + …) ÷ (weight₁ + weight₂ + …). Scores are percentages; points are converted first, so 46 out of 50 is 92%. If you enter no weights, every grade counts the same and the result is the plain average.
Worked example
Homework 92 (weight 20), quizzes 85 (15), midterm 78 (25), project 88 (15). Products: 1,840 + 1,275 + 1,950 + 1,320 = 6,385. Total weight: 75. Current grade = 6,385 ÷ 75 = 85.13%, a B on the usual 90/80/70/60 scale.
What do I need on the final?
If the final exam counts for a share f of the course grade, everything else counts for 1 − f. Needed score = (target − current grade × (1 − f)) ÷ f. In the example the final is worth 25%: (85 − 85.13 × 0.75) ÷ 0.25 = 84.6%. For an A (90%) you would need 104.6% – not possible without extra credit – while a B (80%) takes only 64.6%. The table lists the required score for every letter grade at once.
Letter grades
The default scale is the most common one in the United States: A from 90%, B from 80%, C from 70%, D from 60%, F below that. Schools and instructors deviate from it – some use a seven-point scale with narrower bands – so the four cut-offs can be changed. With plus and minus grades switched on, the top 30% of each band earns a plus and the bottom 30% a minus: on the default scale, B+ runs from 87%, B from 83% and B− from 80%.
- For a grade point average across several courses, use the GPA calculator instead: it works with credits and grade points rather than percentages.
- The weights do not have to add up to 100. Enter them as they appear in your syllabus; the calculator scales them.
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate my grade with weighted categories?
Multiply each category score by its weight, add the results and divide by the sum of the weights. With 92 (20%), 85 (15%), 78 (25%) and 88 (15%) that is 6,385 ÷ 75 = 85.13%.
What grade do I need on the final to get a B?
Use (target − current grade × (1 − final weight)) ÷ final weight. With a current grade of 85.13% and a final worth 25%, a B at 80% takes (80 − 85.13 × 0.75) ÷ 0.25 = 64.6% on the final.
How do I convert points to a percentage?
Divide the points you earned by the points possible and multiply by 100: 46 out of 50 is 92%. In the list you can type 46/50 directly.
Is 89.5% an A or a B?
By the numbers it is a B when an A starts at 90%, and this calculator does not round. Many instructors do round up, though – the syllabus decides.
What percentage is each letter grade?
On the common US scale: A 90–100%, B 80–89%, C 70–79%, D 60–69%, F below 60%. With plus and minus grades, for example, A− is 90–92%, B+ 87–89% and B− 80–82%. Individual schools set their own cut-offs.
Sources and legal basis
- College Board, BigFuture: How to Convert Your GPA to a 4.0 Scale (percent grade ranges: A 90–100, B 80–89, C 70–79; schools calculate differently)
- Wikipedia: Academic grading in the United States (letter grades, plus/minus variants, percentage cut-offs set by each institution)
As of: · Editorial policy
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