Grade & GPA
Grade Calculator
Your overall course grade from weighted assignments — plus the best and worst you can still finish on.
Grade Calculator
About the Grade Calculator
Course grades are almost never a straight average. Your homework might be worth 20%, quizzes 15%, a midterm 25% and the final 40%. Scoring 95% on homework and 70% on the final does not average to 82.5% — the final counts twice as much, so it pulls harder. This calculator handles that weighting properly.
Enter each assignment or category with the score you earned and the weight it carries. The tool returns your overall percentage, the matching letter grade, and the grade points it converts to. Weights do not have to add up to 100. If you are only halfway through the term, enter what you have and the result is normalised across the weight completed so far.
It also shows the best and worst grades you can still finish with, given the weight still unmarked. That range tells you at a glance whether the outcome is already settled or still genuinely in play.
How to use the Grade Calculator
- Enter each assessment with the score you got and its weight in the course.
- Weights need not add to 100 — partial-term grades work fine.
- Use + Add assessment for more rows.
- Select Calculate my grade.
- Best and worst show where you could still land with the weight that remains.
How to calculate grades: the weighted grade formula
Multiply each score by its weight, add those products, then divide by the total weight. Dividing by the total weight rather than by 100 is what lets a part-finished term work correctly.
Grade = Σ(score × weight) ÷ Σ(weight)
Σ simply means "add up all of them"
Worked example
Homework 92% at weight 20, quizzes 85% at weight 15, midterm 78% at weight 25, final 88% at weight 40.
92 × 20 = 1840. 85 × 15 = 1275. 78 × 25 = 1950. 88 × 40 = 3520.
Those add to 8585. The weights add to 100.
8585 ÷ 100 = 85.85% — a B
The plain average of those four scores is 85.75%. Close here, but only because the weights happen to be balanced. Skew them and the two numbers separate fast.
Working out your grade mid-semester
You do not need every assignment marked to know where you stand. Enter only what has been graded. If homework (20) and the midterm (25) are done, the calculator divides by 45 rather than 100 and reports your grade as it stands across completed work.
That figure is not your final grade — it is your current standing. To find out what the remaining assessments have to deliver, use the final grade calculator.
Converting a raw score to a percentage
Marks often arrive as "16 out of 20" rather than a percentage. Divide the score by the maximum and multiply by 100. Here are the conversions students look up most:
| Score | Percentage | Letter |
|---|---|---|
| 18 out of 20 | 90% | A− |
| 17 out of 20 | 85% | B |
| 16 out of 20 | 80% | B− |
| 15 out of 20 | 75% | C |
| 14 out of 20 | 70% | C− |
| 13 out of 20 | 65% | D |
| 12 out of 15 | 80% | B− |
| 11 out of 15 | 73.3% | C |
| 45 out of 50 | 90% | A− |
| 42 out of 50 | 84% | B |
For any maximum not listed, the grade scale converter handles it, including curved marks.
What counts as a passing grade
It depends on the institution, and the gap between systems is wide. In most US colleges a D (60%) passes a course but a C (70%) is required for major credit or a prerequisite. Graduate programmes commonly set the floor at B (80%). Many Indian and UK-influenced systems pass at 40%, and 33% at school level.
Check the syllabus rather than assuming. "Passed the course" and "passed well enough to progress" are frequently two different numbers.
Where weighted grades go wrong
- Averaging the percentages. This silently treats a 40%-weighted final as equal to a 5% quiz.
- Mixing points and percentages. Convert every score to a percentage first, or the weighting is meaningless.
- Assuming weights total 100. Many syllabi include extra credit or a dropped-lowest rule, so they often do not.
- Ignoring category rules. "Lowest quiz dropped" or "final replaces midterm if higher" changes the arithmetic before the weighting even starts.
- Rounding too early. Round once, at the end. Rounding each score first can shift a borderline grade a full letter.
Calculating grades by weight: step by step
Most courses split your grade into categories — homework, quizzes, exams. Each one has a weight. Here is how to work out a weighted grade by hand:
- Find your average score in each category.
- Multiply each average by its weight (as a decimal).
- Add the results together.
Worked example
Homework 92% (weight 20%), quizzes 85% (30%), midterm 78% (20%), final 88% (30%).
92 × 0.2 = 18.4. 85 × 0.3 = 25.5. 78 × 0.2 = 15.6. 88 × 0.3 = 26.4.
18.4 + 25.5 + 15.6 + 26.4 = 85.9% — a B
The grade calculator with weights above does exactly this, row by row. It also handles weights that do not add up to 100%.
Grade calculator with extra credit
Extra credit works in one of two ways. Check your syllabus to see which one your teacher uses.
- Points added to one assignment. Five bonus points on a 100-point test turn an 82 into an 87. Enter 87 for that test.
- Points added to the final grade. A 2% bonus on top of an 85.9% course grade makes 87.9%. Add it after you calculate.
A score above 100% is allowed in either case — just type it in.
Percent to letter grade chart (letter grades to percentages)
What grade is a 70? An 80? Use this common US scale. Your school may shift the lines by a point or two, so check the syllabus.
| Percentage | Letter grade | 4.0 GPA points |
|---|---|---|
| 93–100% | A | 4.0 |
| 90–92% | A− | 3.7 |
| 87–89% | B+ | 3.3 |
| 83–86% | B | 3.0 |
| 80–82% | B− | 2.7 |
| 77–79% | C+ | 2.3 |
| 73–76% | C | 2.0 |
| 70–72% | C− | 1.7 |
| 67–69% | D+ | 1.3 |
| 63–66% | D | 1.0 |
| 60–62% | D− | 0.7 |
| Below 60% | F | 0.0 |
So a 70 is a C−, a 76 is a C, an 80 is a B−, a 67 is a D+ and a 60 is a D− — the lowest passing grade on this scale. Scores out of 20 or 50? Convert them first with the grade scale converter.
Out of 20, 15 and 30: score as a percentage
Divide your score by the total and multiply by 100. The letter grade uses the common US scale (A 90+, B 80–89, C 70–79, D 60–69).
| Score | Percentage | Letter grade |
|---|---|---|
| 13 out of 20 | 65% | D |
| 14 out of 20 | 70% | C |
| 15 out of 20 | 75% | C |
| 16 out of 20 | 80% | B |
| 17 out of 20 | 85% | B |
| 10 out of 15 | 66.7% | D |
| 11 out of 15 | 73.3% | C |
| 12 out of 15 | 80% | B |
| 13 out of 15 | 86.7% | B |
| 10 out of 12 | 83.3% | B |
| 19 out of 25 | 76% | C |
| 26 out of 30 | 86.7% | B |
| 6 out of 8 | 75% | C |
| 5 out of 7 | 71.4% | C |
| 9 out of 12 | 75% | C |
| 10 out of 13 | 76.9% | C |
| 22 out of 25 | 88% | B |
| 23 out of 30 | 76.7% | C |
| 24 out of 30 | 80% | B |
| 27 out of 30 | 90% | A |
| 28 out of 30 | 93.3% | A |
| 35 out of 50 | 70% | C |
| 38 out of 50 | 76% | C |
So 15 out of 20 as a percentage is 75%, and 14 out of 20 is 70%. For a full list of scores out of 20, see out of 20 grades explained.
Easy grader for teachers
An easy grader (sometimes called an EZ grader) shows the percentage for each number of wrong answers, so you can mark a stack of tests fast. The formula is (total questions − wrong) ÷ total × 100.
| Wrong answers | 20-question test | 25-question test |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 95% | 96% |
| 2 | 90% | 92% |
| 3 | 85% | 88% |
| 4 | 80% | 84% |
| 5 | 75% | 80% |
| 6 | 70% | 76% |
A 95 on a test is an A on any common scale. This free, online easy grader approach works for any test length: each wrong answer costs 100 ÷ number of questions points.
Grading on a curve calculator
The simplest curve adds the same points to every score so the top score becomes 100. If the highest mark is 88, add 12 to everyone: a 70 becomes 82. Another common method scales scores instead: multiply each by 100 ÷ top score, so a 70 becomes 79.5. Always check how your teacher or school defines the curve.
What-if grade calculator
Want to know what happens if you score 85 on the next test? Add it as a new row with its weight and recalculate. Try a few scores to see the best and worst case before the exam. For the exact score you need on a final exam, the final exam grade calculator solves it directly.
Other ways to use this calculator
Weighted grade maths answers most course-grade questions.
- Weighted average calculator for grades — enter each category score and weight.
- High school and college course grade calculator — works with any syllabus that uses percentages and weights.
- Letter grade average calculator — convert letters to percentages with the chart above, then average.
- Final grade needed — use the final grade calculator.
- Weighted grade calculator and class grade calculator — enter each assignment weight and score.
Related guides
- Grades Out of 20: What Is 14/20, 15/20, 16/20 or 17/20?
- Percentage to Letter Grade Chart
- How to Calculate Weighted Grades and Weighted GPA
Frequently asked questions
Multiply each score by its weight, add all those products together, then divide by the sum of the weights. For homework at 92% with weight 20 and a final at 88% with weight 40, you get (92×20 + 88×40) ÷ 60 = 89.3%. Dividing by the total weight rather than by 100 is the key step, and it is what lets you calculate a grade partway through a term.
That is fine, and often correct. Weights fall short of 100 when part of the term is still unmarked, and exceed it when extra credit is offered. The calculator divides by whatever your weights actually total, so the result stays accurate either way. Below 100, read the answer as your standing across completed work rather than as a final grade.
Enter only the assignments that have been graded and leave the rest out. The calculator normalises across the weight completed, so if 45% of the course has been marked, it divides by 45. That gives you your current standing. The tool also shows the highest and lowest grades still reachable with the remaining weight, so you can see whether the outcome is settled.
A weighted grade reflects how much each assessment is actually worth, so a 40% final counts eight times as much as a 5% quiz. An unweighted grade treats every score equally. Weighted is what your instructor uses, and it is what appears on your transcript. Use our average grade calculator only when every assessment genuinely carries equal weight.
On the common US scale, 70% is a C−. 73% to 76% is a C and 77% to 79% is a C+. Some schools use a 10-point scale with no plus or minus, where 70% to 79% is simply a C.
If the bonus points go to one assignment, add them to that score and enter the new score. If the bonus goes on the final grade, calculate your weighted grade first and then add the bonus percentage on top.
75%. Divide 15 by 20 to get 0.75, then multiply by 100. On the common US scale that is a C. 16 out of 20 is 80%, a B, and 14 out of 20 is 70%, a C.
Sources and further reading
- University of Illinois Registrar — Courses and grades — letter grade bands and grade point values
- Indiana University Registrar — Grading system — official percentage-to-letter mapping
- Academic grading in the United States — background on passing thresholds across institutions