This final grade calculator answers the question students ask before every exam week: what score do I need on the final to finish the class with the grade I want? Enter your current grade, how much the final exam counts and your target, and you get the required score. A table below shows the same answer for every letter grade at once, and a what-if field shows where you’d land with a given score on the final.
How to use the final grade calculator
- Choose Current grade if you already know your grade in the class, or By category if you’d rather enter the scores and weights of the work you’ve done so far.
- Enter the final exam weight in percent, as listed in your syllabus (in By category mode it is filled in as 100% minus the weights you entered).
- Enter the grade you want in percent and pick a letter scale.
- Read the score you need. If you have a score in mind, type it into the what-if field to see your final grade.
The formula
Your final grade is a weighted average of the work before the final and the final itself:
Final grade = current × (1 − w) + final exam × w
where w is the final’s weight as a fraction (30% = 0.3). Solving for the exam score gives:
Score needed = (target − current × (1 − w)) ÷ w
Two results need a special reading. Above 100% means the target is out of reach without extra credit. Zero or below means the target is already safe, whatever happens on the exam. The calculator labels both instead of showing a bare number.
Examples
Aiming for an A-. Your grade is 88% and the final is worth 30%. The work so far contributes 88 × 0.7 = 61.6 points, so for 90% you need (90 − 61.6) ÷ 0.3 = 94.67% on the final. An A (93%) would take 104.67%, which isn’t possible; a B+ (87%) needs 84.67%; and a D (60%) is already secured.
What if you get 80%? With the same numbers, 61.6 + 80 × 0.3 = 61.6 + 24 = 85.60%, a B on the plus/minus scale.
By category. Homework 92% (weight 20%), quizzes 85% (30%) and a midterm of 78% (25%) give a current grade of 6,340 ÷ 75 = 84.53%, and the final carries the remaining 25%. To finish with 80% you need (8,000 − 6,340) ÷ 25 = 66.40% on the final. A 90% would need 106.40%, so it is out of reach.
A high grade and a light final. At 95% with a final worth 20%, a target of 70% needs (70 − 76) ÷ 0.2 = −30%: the C- is already secured.
Letter grades
The table of letters uses the same cut-offs as our grade calculator: A 93, A- 90, B+ 87, B 83, B- 80, C+ 77, C 73, C- 70, D+ 67, D 60 on the plus/minus scale, or 90/80/70/60 on the simple one. Schools set their own cut-offs, so if your syllabus prints a different table, enter that percentage as the target.
Common mistakes
- Using the wrong weight. “The final is 30%” means 30% of the course grade, not 30 points. If the final is graded in points, use its share of all course points.
- Forgetting work that’s still ahead. If a project or lab is due after your current grade was posted, the final isn’t the only thing left, and the result will be off. Enter the remaining work as part of the weight, or use By category.
- Counting on rounding. The required score is computed for the exact target. A teacher who rounds 89.5% up to 90% lowers what you need a little, but don’t plan on it unless the syllabus says so.