How to use the grade calculator
- Choose My weighted course grade if you want to combine categories, or The score I need on the final exam to plan for a target.
- For a weighted grade, enter each category such as homework, quizzes and exams with your grade and its weight in percent. Leave unused rows blank.
- For the final exam, enter your current grade, the weight of the final and the grade you want.
- Read the result and the notes. If the weights do not add to 100 or the target is out of reach, the tool says so.
Formula
Weighted grade = sum of (grade x weight) / sum of weights
Needed on final = (target - current x (1 - final weight)) / final weight
Weights are written as percents in the form and as fractions in the second formula, so a 25 percent final is 0.25.
Worked examples
Weighted grade: homework 90 at 20 percent, quizzes 80 at 10 percent, midterm 75 at 30 percent and project 85 at 40 percent contribute 18 + 8 + 22.5 + 34 = 82.5 points. The weights total 100, so the course grade is 82.5 percent, a B- on a common scale.
Final exam: you have 88 percent, the final is worth 25 percent and you want 90. The rest of the course contributes 88 x 0.75 = 66 points, so the final must supply 24 points, and 24 / 0.25 = 96 percent.
Not possible: with 60 percent, a 20 percent final and a target of 90, you would need (90 - 48) / 0.2 = 210 percent. The tool shows 210 percent and flags it as not possible without extra credit.
Already secured: with 95 percent, a 20 percent final and a target of 70, the result is -30 percent, meaning even a zero on the final keeps you above 70.
When the weights do not add to 100
If you are partway through a course, your categories may total less than 100 percent. The tool then reports the average over the graded part, and also tells you what the course grade would be if the remaining weight scored zero. If the weights add to more than 100 percent, it divides by the total and warns you to check them.
Planning for the final
The stats show what your course grade would be with 100 percent and with 0 percent on the final. That range is the most you can move. Remember that the formula assumes your current grade covers everything that is not the final, so enter it as a percent of that portion.
Letter grades
The letter shown uses a common 10-point scale with plus and minus: A 93 and up, A- 90, B+ 87, B 83, B- 80, C+ 77, C 73, C- 70, D+ 67, D 63, D- 60 and F below that. Your syllabus is the authority, so use its cutoffs. To turn letters into a term GPA, use the GPA calculator, and for a simple weighted mean of any numbers see the average calculator.
Assumptions and limits
- Grades and weights are percents. Grades up to 200 percent are accepted to allow extra credit, and each weight must be between 0 and 100.
- The final exam formula treats your current grade as the grade on all non-final work, and the final and the rest add up to 100 percent.
- Dropped lowest scores, category caps, curves and rounding up at the end of a course are not modeled.
- The letter grade uses a common scale and may differ from your school's scale.
- All math runs in your browser and nothing you enter is sent anywhere.
Frequently asked questions
How is a weighted grade different from an average?
A plain average treats every score equally. A weighted grade multiplies each category by how much it counts, so a 40 percent project influences the result far more than a 5 percent quiz.
What does it mean when the needed final score is over 100?
It means the target cannot be reached with a perfect score alone. Only extra credit or a change in grading policy could get you there, so the tool shows the number but flags it as not possible.
What if I already have enough points?
The result can be zero or negative. That means you would meet your target even with a zero on the final, and the tool labels it as already secured.
Should I include assignments I have not done yet?
Leave them out. The tool averages only the work you enter, so unfinished categories do not drag the grade down. It also shows the grade you would have if the missing weight scored zero.
Can I use this for points instead of percentages?
Yes. Convert each category to a percent first by dividing your points by the points possible, then enter that percent and the category weight.