How to Calculate Your Final Grade

To find your current grade, you need to know two things:

1. The grade you've earned on each completed assignment
2. The weight of each assignment (if your class uses weighted grading) — or the points possible per assignment

There are two methods depending on how your class is graded:

You've completed these 5 assignments:

• STEP 1: Sum all points earned: 18 + 24 + 19 + 78 + 88 = 227
• STEP 2: Sum all points possible: 20 + 30 + 20 + 100 + 100 = 270
• STEP 3: Divide and multiply: (227 ÷ 270) × 100 = 84.07%

Your current grade is 84.07% — a B.

Your syllabus has this grading breakdown:

• Homework: 20%
• Quizzes: 20%
• Midterm: 25%
• Final Exam: 35%

Suppose you've completed the first 3 categories with these averages:

• Homework average: 85%
• Quiz average: 78%
• Midterm score: 82%

STEP 1: Multiply each percentage by its weight (as decimal):

• Homework: 85 × 0.20 = 17.0
• Quizzes: 78 × 0.20 = 15.6
• Midterm: 82 × 0.25 = 20.5

• STEP 2: Sum the weighted contributions: 17.0 + 15.6 + 20.5 = 53.1
• STEP 3: Sum the weights you've completed: 0.20 + 0.20 + 0.25 = 0.65
• STEP 4: Divide by the completed weights: 53.1 ÷ 0.65 = 81.69%

Your current grade in the COMPLETED portion of the class is 81.69% — a B-.

Note: This is your grade on the 65% of class material that's been graded so far. The final exam (35%) hasn't been taken yet, which is where 'what do I need on the final' comes in.

To figure out what score you need on the final exam to hit a target grade:

Read this before using that formula. It is only valid when your graded work plus the final cover the entire course — that is, when the completed weights and the final's weight total 100%. The term Current grade × (1 − Final weight) assumes everything that is not the final has already been graded. If you still have an unmarked project worth 15%, that assumption is false: the formula silently treats the project as if it will earn your current grade, so the number it returns is too low if you do worse than that on it and too high if you do better. The section below on weights that do not total 100% explains why this is the normal mid-semester situation, so check it first: either wait until the final is the only thing outstanding, or count the ungraded work as part of the final's share and solve for both together.

When that condition holds, in plain English:

1. Subtract from your target grade the contribution your current grade already makes
2. Divide what's left by the final exam's weight

WORKED EXAMPLE:

• Current grade: 81.69% (from above example)
• Final exam weight: 35% (0.35)
• Target final grade: B+ = 87%

• STEP 1: Calculate current grade's contribution: 81.69 × (1 − 0.35) = 81.69 × 0.65 = 53.10
• STEP 2: Subtract from target: 87 − 53.10 = 33.90
• STEP 3: Divide by final exam weight: 33.90 ÷ 0.35 = 96.86%

You need a 96.86% on the final to get a B+ overall. That's a very high target — if it's not realistic, you may need to set a lower target grade or work hard on remaining assignments to boost your current grade before the final.

Use our final grade calculator to skip the math and explore multiple target scenarios.

Note: Some schools use a 10-point scale instead (90-100% = A, 80-89% = B, 70-79% = C, 60-69% = D, below 60% = F). Always check your school's specific grading scale.

Mid-semester, your completed weights won't total 100% — that's normal. The calculation still works using the weights you HAVE completed:

EXAMPLE: You've completed assignments worth 65% of your final grade (homework, quizzes, midterm). Your current grade reflects ONLY that 65%, not the full 100%.

The 'completed grade' you calculate is a snapshot of how you're doing in the graded material so far. Your final overall grade depends on how you do in the remaining 35% (the final exam, in this case).

This is why the 'what do I need on the final' calculation is so useful — it tells you what's still possible based on remaining assignment weights.

Six errors that throw off grade calculations:

1. CONFUSING POINTS WITH PERCENTAGES. If you have '18 out of 20' on a homework, that's 90% — not 18%. Convert to percentage first, then weight.
2. ADDING WEIGHTS THAT DON'T SUM TO 100%. If your category weights total 95% or 105%, double-check the syllabus. It often means you missed a category or mis-recorded a weight.
3. AVERAGING ASSIGNMENTS THAT ARE NOT WORTH THE SAME. If homework is worth 20% and you have 5 homework assignments each out of the same number of points, then averaging the five and weighting that average by 20% gives exactly the same answer as weighting each one by 4%. Those two methods are algebraically identical, so either is fine. They only come apart when the assignments carry different point values: a 100-point project and a 10-point worksheet in the same category are not two equal halves of it. Average the percentages and the worksheet counts as much as the project; total the points earned over the points possible and the project counts ten times more. Check which one your syllabus means before you average anything.
4. IGNORING EXTRA CREDIT INCORRECTLY. Extra credit usually adds to your category score (e.g., +5 points to your homework total), not as a separate category. Check your syllabus for specifics.
5. TREATING DROPPED LOWEST SCORES INCORRECTLY. If your professor drops your lowest quiz, EXCLUDE that quiz from your quiz average calculation. Don't include it then 'subtract it later.'
6. MISSING THE WEIGHT DENOMINATOR. When weights don't sum to 100% (mid-semester), you must divide by the sum of weights you HAVE completed, not by 100%. Otherwise your current grade looks artificially low.

For automatic calculation:

• Grade Calculator — Calculate your current class grade in simple or weighted mode
• Final Grade Calculator — Find out exactly what you need on your final exam to reach any target grade
• Weighted Grade Calculator — Detailed weighted grade calculator with custom category weights