Two different questions, one calculator
Most grade questions are really one of two things: what am I sitting on right now? or what do I need on the final to get where I want? The maths differs, so both modes are here.
Working out your current grade
A weighted course grade is the sum of each score multiplied by its weight, divided by the weight that has actually been graded.
Say homework is 20% and you have 92%, quizzes are 15% at 85%, the midterm is 25% at 78%, and a project is 15% at 88%. That gives 18.4 + 12.75 + 19.5 + 13.2 = 63.85 points out of the 75% graded so far, which is 85.1% — a B.
The important subtlety is the divisor. Dividing by 100 instead of 75 would give 63.85%, which looks like a failing grade and is simply wrong: the remaining 25% has not been graded yet, so it cannot count against you.
What you need on the final
Rearranging the same formula for the one unknown gives:
With an 84% going into a final worth 20%, aiming for 90%: (90 − 84 × 0.8) ÷ 0.2 = (90 − 67.2) ÷ 0.2 = 114%. That target is not reachable, and knowing it in advance is worth more than finding out afterwards. Aiming for a B+ at 87% instead needs 99% — still brutal. An 85% needs 89%, which is a real plan.
Why finals matter less than they feel
A final worth 20% can only move your course grade by 20 points in either direction from where you would land with a zero. If you are at 84% before the exam, your grade will finish somewhere between 67.2% and 87.2% no matter what happens on the day. Heavier finals of 30% or 40% genuinely can rescue a term; a 15% final mostly cannot.
Points-based courses
Some classes do not use weights at all — everything is out of a shared pool of points. In that case just add up all the points you have earned and divide by all the points possible so far. You can enter each item here as raw points, for example 44/50, and give every item a weight equal to its point value to get the same answer.
Common letter-grade cutoffs
| Letter | Percentage | Letter | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 93–100 | C+ | 77–79 |
| A− | 90–92 | C | 73–76 |
| B+ | 87–89 | C− | 70–72 |
| B | 83–86 | D | 60–69 |
| B− | 80–82 | F | below 60 |
These are the most common American cutoffs, but they are not universal — always check the syllabus. Once you have your letter grades, the GPA calculator will turn them into a term and cumulative grade point average.