Calculate your course grade
Enter the score earned and the points possible for each assignment.
Letter grade reference (standard plus/minus scale)
| Letter | Percentage | 4.0 GPA |
|---|---|---|
| A+ | 97-100% | 4.0* |
| A | 93-96% | 4.0 |
| A- | 90-92% | 3.7 |
| B+ | 87-89% | 3.3 |
| B | 83-86% | 3.0 |
| B- | 80-82% | 2.7 |
| C+ | 77-79% | 2.3 |
| C | 73-76% | 2.0 |
| C- | 70-72% | 1.7 |
| D+ | 67-69% | 1.3 |
| D | 63-66% | 1.0 |
| D- | 60-62% | 0.7 |
| F | Below 60% | 0.0 |
* A+ GPA = 4.0 at most US colleges; a minority award 4.3.
How to Calculate the Grades for Your Course
To calculate the grades for any course, divide the total points you earned by the total points possible across all assignments, then multiply by 100. The result is your percentage. Map the percentage to a letter on the standard scale published by the College Board: A = 93-100, B = 83-92, C = 73-82, D = 63-72, F below 63 on the plus/minus 12-row variant. The grade calculator handles this in Points mode automatically. If you only have letter grades or percentages, switch to Letter or Percentage mode and the same calculator runs the right formula. For courses that assign explicit category weights instead, the weighted grade calculator applies the weighted-average formula across those same three input modes.
Calculate Class Grade in Three Steps
- Pick the mode that matches your data: Points (score and total), Letter (A, B+, etc.), or Percentage (raw %).
- Enter every graded assignment. Skip assignments not yet returned; the calculator shows your current standing based only on what is graded.
- Read your overall percentage and letter grade. Check the contribution chart to see which assignments pull the average up or down most.
The arithmetic in Points mode is the same points-over-possible method instructors use in their gradebooks. A 100-point exam counts more than a 10-point quiz because its point value is larger, not because of any special setting. Always verify the letter-grade cutoffs with your school's registrar, since some selective programs use a 7-point scale where A starts at 94 instead of 93.
How the Grade Calculator Works: Points, Letters, or Percentages
The grade calc above runs three formulas, one per mode. Every assignment row feeds into one running total, and the calculation updates on every keystroke so the running grade is always current. None of the modes apply category weights. For category weights, the weighted grade calculator offers the same three modes with a Weight column added.
Points Mode: Score Divided by Points Possible
Enter the score you earned and the maximum points possible for each assignment. A 100-point exam and a 10-point quiz both contribute proportionally to the average: the exam carries 10 times more weight because it has 10 times the point value. Extra credit that pushes earned above possible is preserved, so you can see the real buffer above a grade cutoff. Most schools cap the reported grade at 100% for transcript purposes, but the underlying calculation stays exact.
Letter Mode: Average Letter Grades to a Percentage
When your gradebook only shows letter grades, switch to Letter mode and pick the letter for each assignment from the dropdown. Each letter maps to the midpoint of its plus/minus band: A is 94.5%, A- is 91%, B+ is 88%, B is 84.5%, B- is 81%, C+ is 78%, C is 74.5%, C- is 71%, D+ is 68%, D is 64.5%, D- is 61%, and F is 50%. The calculator averages those midpoints unweighted (every assignment counts equally) and reports the resulting percentage and letter. For an output on the 4.0 GPA scale instead of a percentage, the GPA calculator applies credit-hour weighting and reports a GPA value.
Percentage Mode: Mean of Raw Percentages
Percentage mode takes the unweighted mean of percentages you enter directly: a 92% and an 84% average to 88%, which is a B+ on the standard scale. Use this mode when each assignment is already reported as a percentage and every assignment counts equally. If your assignments have different point values (a 10-point quiz versus a 100-point exam), Points mode is more accurate because it weights by raw points automatically. If your syllabus assigns category weights, switch to the weighted grade calculator.
How This Grade Average Calculator Works
Every grade average calculator runs some form of average where assignment size or count determines importance. Points mode weights by raw point value automatically. Letter and Percentage modes treat every assignment equally, an unweighted arithmetic mean. The right mode depends on what your gradebook reports.
Points Mode Formula
- Points Earned = your score on each assignment
- Points Possible = the maximum points the assignment is worth
- Sum = the total across every assignment row entered
Letter Mode Formula
- Letter Midpoints = mapped percentage for each entered letter (A = 94.5, B+ = 88, etc.)
- N = total number of assignments entered
- Result = unweighted mean across assignments
Percentage Mode Formula
- Percentages = the raw percent for each assignment
- N = total number of assignments entered
- Result = unweighted mean of the entered percentages
What Are Grading Percentages on the 4-Point Scale?
A few institutions report grades on a 4-point scale rather than percentages, where each letter maps to a fixed grade-point value (A = 4.0, B = 3.0, C = 2.0). The grade calculation doesn't change; the calculator still divides earned by possible (or averages letters or percentages) and converts the result to a letter, but that letter maps to a GPA value used by the GPA calculator. The 4.0 and 4.3-point variants are both tracked by mainstream registrars; the GPA scale reference shows every value side-by-side.
Standard Grading Calculator and Letter Grade Scale
Most US colleges and high schools use the standard plus/minus scale to convert percentages into letter grades. The National Center for Education Statistics tracks grading-practice variation across institutions; the table below shows the most common variant used by public universities and state K-12 systems. For a dedicated grade percentage chart covering all 13 letter grades with exact percentage ranges and specific score lookups, see the grade percentage reference.
| Letter Grade | Percentage Range | 4.0 GPA |
|---|---|---|
| A+ | 97-100% | 4.0 |
| A | 93-96% | 4.0 |
| A- | 90-92% | 3.7 |
| B+ | 87-89% | 3.3 |
| B | 83-86% | 3.0 |
| B- | 80-82% | 2.7 |
| C+ | 77-79% | 2.3 |
| C | 73-76% | 2.0 |
| C- | 70-72% | 1.7 |
| D+ | 67-69% | 1.3 |
| D | 63-66% | 1.0 |
| D- | 60-62% | 0.7 |
| F | Below 60% | 0.0 |
Borderline Scores: 60, 70, 72, 73, 80, 84 Letter Grades
A 60 letter grade is the lowest passing score on the standard scale, exactly D- territory. A 59% drops to F. A 72 letter grade is C- and a 73 letter grade is C; the boundary matters because many programs require a C or better in major coursework, so a 72 may need to be retaken even though it satisfies the general passing threshold. Many merit scholarships require a B+ average (87% or higher) and federal aid requires a C average (typically 73%) for satisfactory academic progress. An 84 letter grade lands at B (83-86 band). A 80 percent grade is exactly the B- threshold. Scores at the 60, 70, 80, and 90 cutoffs decide whether you cross a letter boundary, which is why every percentage point near a cutoff matters more than one mid-band.
Grading Scale Percentage Variants
The 7-point scale used at some private schools and selective programs requires 94 for an A, 86 for a B, 78 for a C, and 70 for a D, so every band shifts up four points. A specialized grading scale reference covers the 7-point, 10-point, and pass/fail variants in depth. Always verify with your registrar before assuming the standard cutoffs apply to your transcript.
Grade Calculator College and High School Differences
A college grade calculator and a high school grade calculator share the same arithmetic across all three modes. College courses lean more toward percentage-weighted gradebooks where each category carries a published weight; for those, use the weighted grade calculator. High school courses lean toward points-based scoring where each assignment has a fixed point value and the running grade is total earned over total possible, which is exactly what Points mode computes. Letter mode is useful at either level when only a letter (not a number) is reported.
Aeries Grade Calculator and Other LMS Tools
The Aeries grade calculator and other LMS gradebooks (Canvas, PowerSchool, Schoology, Infinite Campus, Skyward, D2L, Blackboard) all run the same fundamental formula this calculator runs in Points mode. They differ in how they handle missing assignments (zero or excluded), how they round, and how many decimal places they display. If the calculator's percentage and the LMS percentage disagree by less than one point, rounding is usually the cause. If they disagree by more, look for a missing assignment treated as zero or a weight setting that differs from the syllabus.
Grade Cal vs. Online Grading Display
A standalone grade cal and an LMS gradebook run the same formula but display the result differently. Electronic grading through an LMS introduces rounding quirks the manual formula doesn't have. Pull the raw earned and possible totals from the gradebook export rather than the displayed percentage when you check a grade calculation against the LMS; that removes the rounding ambiguity entirely.
Grade Calc Tips and Common Grading Calculation Mistakes
A grade calc is only as accurate as the inputs. Four mistakes come up over and over in advisor conversations:
- Pick the right mode for your data. Letter and Percentage modes treat every assignment equally. If your assignments differ in point value (a 10-point quiz versus a 100-point exam), Points mode reflects that automatically; using Letter or Percentage mode would treat them as equal weight.
- Use the weighted grade calculator for category-based courses. If your syllabus assigns weights (Homework 20%, Midterm 30%, Final 50%), no mode on this hub calculator will give the right answer. The weighted grade calculator handles this correctly across all three input modes.
- Account for extra credit. Extra credit can push earned totals above possible totals in Points mode, producing a grade above 100%. The calculator preserves the exact value so you can see the true buffer above the cutoff.
- Watch dropped-lowest rules. Many syllabi drop the lowest quiz or assignment. The calculator can't see those rules, so exclude the dropped row manually before computing, or the running grade will be lower than the registrar will report.
Calculating Your Course Grade When Some Assignments Are Missing or Pending
If a score is PENDING (not yet graded), leave that row out; the running grade reflects only the work already evaluated. To find what score you need on the final to reach a target, use the final grade calculator. If a row is MISSING because you didn't submit it (a zero in the gradebook), enter it as 0 with the assignment's full point value in Points mode, or as 0% in Percentage mode; the calculator then shows the realistic grade including the penalty. An EXCUSED assignment behaves like pending: leave the row out so it doesn't pull the average down or count against the total. Verify your instructor's policy on missing versus excused before relying on either treatment.
Mid-Semester Grades Check Workflow
A grades check at the midterm point is the most useful one because it leaves enough remaining assignments for a course correction. Pull every graded item from the LMS, enter them in Points mode for accuracy, and compare the running grade to your target. The calculation runs on every keystroke so the running grade refreshes the moment you type the last score. If the running grade is below target, the final grade calculator tells you exactly what score you need on the final exam to recover.
Grade Calculator for Teachers and Bulk Tracking
A grades calculator for teachers usually needs to handle dozens of students at once, which is where a spreadsheet or LMS gradebook beats a single-student tool. Tools like Canvas, PowerSchool, and Aeries handle the per-student math; this grade calculator is a quick sanity-check for one student or one assignment. For calculating grades in Excel, the formula is =SUM(scores)/SUM(totals)*100 for Points mode, =AVERAGE(percentages) for Percentage mode, or =SUMPRODUCT(scores,weights)/SUM(weights) for weighted categories.
To find what score you need on the final exam to hit a target course grade, use the final grade calculator. To combine quarter grades plus a final into a semester average, the semester grade calculator handles the multi-period arithmetic. If your course assigns category weights, the weighted grade calculator offers these same three input modes with an added Weight column. To convert letter grades across multiple courses into a cumulative GPA, the GPA calculator takes letter inputs and credit hours and runs the 4.0-scale weighted average.
District Grade Calculators by State
Some school districts publish grading policies that differ from the standard scale: a higher passing cutoff, a district-specific weighted-GPA bonus, or a different failing-grade label (Montgomery County, for example, uses E rather than F). The pages below preconfigure this calculator for each district and document its official scale and GPA weighting, verified against the district's own published policy.
- Broward County Public Schools FL
- Chicago Public Schools IL
- Fairfax County Public Schools VA
- Howard County Public Schools MD
- Los Angeles Unified School District CA
- Montgomery County Public Schools MD
- New York City Department of Education NY