Grade Calculator

Look at your syllabus for the weights, such as homework 20 percent and midterm 25 percent. Then list what you have so far, one item to a line.

1. In the Scores box, write each item as name, score, weight %. For example, Midterm, 78, 25 is a 78 percent score on work worth 25 percent of the course.
2. The score can be a percent or a fraction such as 45/50, which the tool reads as 90 percent. Only include work that has been graded.
3. Choose the Letter scale: US, where A starts at 90, B at 80, C at 70 and D at 60, or US with plus and minus.
4. Read the current weighted grade and letter, along with how much of the course weight is counted and how much is still to come.
5. Use the table of averages needed on the remaining weight to see what an A, B, C or D would take, and check the contribution of each item below it.

A weighted grade is an average in which bigger items count for more. The tool uses grade = sum of (score x weight) / sum of weights, so a 20 percent homework category matters twice as much as a 10 percent quiz.

The sample list is Homework 92 at 20 percent, Quiz average 85 at 15, Midterm 78/100 at 25 and Project 94 at 15. Multiply each score by its weight to get 1,840, 1,275, 1,950 and 1,410, which total 6,475. The weights add up to 75, so the current grade is 6,475 / 75 = 86.33 percent, a B. In points toward the final course grade, the items contribute 18.4, 12.75, 19.5 and 14.1.

Because only 75 percent of the course is counted, the grade shows how you are doing so far, not where you will finish. With 25 percent still to come, the table of averages needed on the rest is the useful part. The tool solves needed = (target x 100 - current x weight counted) / weight remaining:

Reaching an A would need slightly more than a perfect score, so it is not possible without extra credit. A B, however, needs only 61 percent.

The US scale gives A for 90 and above, B for 80, C for 70 and D for 60, with anything lower an F. The plus and minus option splits each band, for instance A- from 90, A from 93 and A+ from 97, and B- from 80, B from 83 and B+ from 87. Your instructor's own cut-offs may differ, so use the percent as the real number.

Weights do not have to add up to 100. If they come to less, the tool treats the rest as still to come and reports it. If they exceed 100, it warns you and divides by the total you entered, which usually means a typing mistake or a category counted twice. Items with a weight of zero or less are skipped, as are lines it cannot read.

A few limits are worth remembering:

• Dropped lowest scores, curves and extra credit are not modeled, so enter the adjusted figure yourself.
• An average of several quizzes should go in as one line with the combined weight.
• The needed average assumes the remaining work is graded at one flat percent, which real courses rarely do.

When only the exam is left, the final grade calculator is simpler, and the GPA calculator turns finished course grades into a semester average. For raw conversions, try the percentage calculator or the average calculator. The result is an estimate; your school's record is the official one.