How to use it
Current grade. Add a row for each category, such as homework, quizzes, midterm and final, with its weight in percent and your score in percent. Leave the score empty for categories that are not graded yet.
Score needed on the final. Enter your current grade, the weight of the final exam and the grade you want. The result shows the score you need, and the scores needed for A, B, C and D.
How it works
Current grade = Σ (weight × score) ÷ Σ weight of the graded categories.
Needed on the final = (target − current × (1 − w)) ÷ w, where w is the weight of the final as a fraction (30% = 0.3) and current is your grade on all other work.
Worked example
Homework 20% (90), quizzes 30% (85), midterm 20% (78), final 30% not yet taken:
- graded weight: 20 + 30 + 20 = 70
- grade so far: (20 × 90 + 30 × 85 + 20 × 78) ÷ 70 = 5,910 ÷ 70 = 84.4%, a B
- to finish with 90% the final must be (90 − 84.43 × 0.7) ÷ 0.3 = 103%, which is out of reach, while a B (80%) needs only about 70%.
Limits and tips
- Syllabi sometimes drop the lowest score or round up. This calculator does neither.
- A needed score above 100% means the target cannot be reached on that exam alone.
- Check the weights against your syllabus; a wrong weight is the most common mistake.