1. How a weighted course grade is worked out
A course grade is a weighted average of percentages. Each assessment is converted to a percentage of what it was out of, multiplied by the share of the final grade it carries, and the products are added up and divided by the total weight.
| Assessment | Score | Percent | Weight | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Homework | 92 / 100 | 92% | 15% | 13.80 |
| Quizzes | 85 / 100 | 85% | 15% | 12.75 |
| Midterm | 78 / 100 | 78% | 25% | 19.50 |
| Project | 95 / 100 | 95% | 15% | 14.25 |
| Entered | — | — | 70% | 60.30 |
Those four items are worth 70% of the course between them, and 60.30 of that 70 has been earned.
The Score column takes marks in any form: 43 out of 50 is entered as
43 with a total of 50, and a score already expressed as a percentage
just uses 100 as the total.
2. Why a mid-term grade should not be scaled down
With 70% of the course graded, there are two ways to report the position and only one of them is useful. Dividing by the full 100 gives 60.3% — a failing grade that treats every ungraded assessment as a zero. Dividing by the 70 actually entered gives 86.14%, which is the grade you would finish with if the rest of the course went the same way.
This calculator does the second, and says so: weights that do not add up to 100 are normalised over what has been entered, and the Weight entered and Weight remaining tiles keep the basis visible so the figure is never mistaken for a final grade.
If you genuinely want an assessment counted as a zero — a missed test that will not be
rescheduled — enter it as 0 with its real weight rather than leaving it out. Those
are different questions and they deserve different answers.
3. What the letter grade maps to
The letter shown is the standard US percentage scale, where each ± band is three points wide and the plain letter covers four:
| Letter | From | Letter | From | Letter | From |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A+ | 97% | B+ | 87% | C+ | 77% |
| A | 93% | B | 83% | C | 73% |
| A− | 90% | B− | 80% | C− | 70% |
| D+ | 67% | D | 63% | D− | 60% |
| F | below 60% | Grade points follow the same bands on the 4.0 scale | |||
These cut-offs are a widespread convention rather than a rule. Plenty of institutions use a 90/80/70/60 scale with no ± at all, some set A at 94, and individual instructors curve, drop the lowest score or round up at the boundary. Check your syllabus before treating 89.6% as settled — and note that whether 89.6 becomes an A− depends entirely on whether your instructor rounds.
The example above sits at 86.14%, which is a B: the B+ band opens at 87, so it is under a point short. That is the kind of gap the unrounded figure exists to show, because a percentage displayed as “86%” hides whether you are 0.9 away from the next letter or 4.
The Grade points tile converts the same percentage to the 4.0 scale, which is the figure that feeds a GPA calculation once the course is finished.
4. The mark you need on the final
Enter a target course grade and the weight of the final, and the calculator solves for the mark that gets you there:
needed = (target × (current weight + final weight) − current grade × current weight) ÷ final weight
With 86.14% over 70% of the course and a final worth 30%, reaching an overall 90% needs
(90 × 100 − 86.14 × 70) ÷ 30 = 99.0% on the final. An 85 needs 82.3%, and an 80
needs 65.7%. If you leave the weight of the final blank it defaults to whatever weight is still
unaccounted for, so on the example above it assumes 30 without being told.
Requirements above 100% are reported as they come out rather than clamped. “You need 118%” is genuinely more useful than a 100% that implies the target is still live: it tells you the target is gone and by how much, which is the point at which you either talk to the instructor about extra credit or revise the goal. The same applies in the other direction — a requirement at or below zero means the grade is already secured whatever happens on the final.
The GPA calculator runs the same solve one level up, across a whole transcript: give it a target average and the credits you have left and it returns the GPA you need across them — and reports an unreachable target the same blunt way rather than capping it at 4.0.
5. Reading the result honestly
A few things this arithmetic cannot know about, all of which can move a real grade:
- Dropped scores. If the syllabus drops your lowest quiz, leave it out of the rows rather than entering it — the calculator has no way to know which one goes.
- Curves. A curve is applied to the class distribution after the fact. Nothing computed from your own scores can predict it.
- Category caps and floors. Some courses require a minimum exam average regardless of coursework, or cap the contribution of extra credit. Those are gates, not weights, and no weighted average expresses them.
- Rounding at the boundary. Whether 89.5% is an A− or a B+ is a policy question. The unrounded percentage is shown so you can see exactly how close you are.
Everything is computed in your browser as you type. Nothing you enter about a course, an assessment or a score is uploaded, logged or saved anywhere, and the page keeps working with the network off once it has loaded.
6. Grade Calculator FAQs
How do I calculate my grade with weighted assignments?
Convert each assessment to a percentage of what it was out of, multiply by its weight, add the products and divide by the total weight. Homework 92% at 15, quizzes 85% at 15, a midterm 78% at 25 and a project 95% at 15 come to 60.30 points over 70% of the course — a grade of 86.14%.
What if my weights do not add up to 100?
They are normalised over what you have entered, which is what you want mid-term: the result is the grade you are on course for, not a grade that counts every ungraded assessment as a zero. The Weight entered and Weight remaining tiles keep the basis in view so the figure is never mistaken for a final grade.
What grade do I need on the final exam?
Enter a target course grade and the weight of the final. The calculator solves (target × total weight − current grade × current weight) ÷ final weight. At 86.14% over 70% of the course with a 30% final, a 90 overall needs 99.0% on the final, an 85 needs 82.3% and an 80 needs 65.7%.
What does it mean if I need more than 100% on the final?
That the target is out of reach, and the figure tells you by how much. The requirement is reported as it comes out rather than clamped to 100, because a clamped 100 would imply the target is still live. A requirement at or below zero means the grade is already secured whatever happens on the final.
How do I enter a score that is not out of 100?
Put the mark in the Score box and what it was out of in the Out of box — 43 out of 50 is 43 and 50. The percentage is worked out for you. A score already expressed as a percentage just uses 100 as the total.
What percentage is a B+?
On the standard US scale, 87% and above up to 90%. Each ± band is three points wide: A+ 97, A 93, A− 90, B+ 87, B 83, B− 80, C+ 77, C 73, C− 70, D+ 67, D 63, D− 60, and F below 60. Many institutions use a plain 90/80/70/60 scale instead, so check your syllabus.
Does it handle dropped scores and curves?
No, and neither can any calculator working only from your own marks. If the syllabus drops your lowest quiz, leave that row out. A curve is applied to the class distribution after the fact, and category minimums are gates rather than weights — no weighted average expresses them.
Are my scores stored or uploaded?
No. Everything is computed in your browser as you type. Assessment names, scores and weights are never sent to a server, never logged and never written to storage — close the tab and they are gone.