About the MCPS Grading Scale
Montgomery County Public Schools serves approximately 160,000 students across Rockville, Bethesda, Silver Spring, Gaithersburg, Germantown, Potomac and surrounding communities in MD. The district publishes its grading scale through the academics office; the cutoffs on this page reflect policy verified on 2026-04-18.
MCPS-Specific Grading Notes
MCPS reports flat letter grades A, B, C, D, E on secondary-school transcripts. E is the failing designation rather than F. MCPS applies a two-quarter-plus-semester-assessment formula to compute each semester grade before averaging into the final course grade.
Letter Grade Cutoffs
| Letter Grade | Percent Range |
|---|---|
| A | 90–100% |
| B | 80–89% |
| C | 70–79% |
| D | 60–69% |
| E | Below 60% |
Weighted GPA at MCPS
MCPS caps unweighted GPA at 4.0 and weighted GPA at 5.0. Course-rigor bonuses are added to the base grade point value before averaging, so a strong grade in an advanced course carries more weight toward the weighted number that colleges evaluate.
Weighted GPA = Sum((Grade Points + Rigor Bonus) × Credits) / Sum(Credits)
- Grade Points = 4.0 (A), 3.0 (B), 2.0 (C), 1.0 (D), 0.0 (E)
- Rigor Bonus = Honors: +0.5, AP: +1.0, IB: +1.0
- Credits = course credit hours (typically 1.0 per full-year course)
Rigor Bonus Summary
- Honors: +0.5
- AP: +1.0
- IB: +1.0
MCPS Report Card Schedule
Grades at MCPS are reported on a quarters cycle, four quarterly report cards plus a final exam cycle. Each reporting period typically has a cut-off date after which teachers finalize grades in the gradebook. Live in-progress grades are visible through Canvas throughout the reporting period.
Source and Verification
The grading scale and GPA policy shown here is published by Montgomery County Public Schools and was last verified on 2026-04-18. The original policy document is at https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/policy/. Policies may change between school years; confirm cutoffs with your school counselor before making GPA-dependent decisions.