Grade Calculator
Calculate your grade from points earned and points possible, or from a list of percentages. Works for a single test, a set of assignments, or a full course.
Use this when you know the points earned and points possible for each item, like 42 out of 50.
Letter grade scale used by this calculator
| Grade | Percentage |
|---|---|
| A+ | 97 and above |
| A | 93 – 96 |
| A− | 90 – 92 |
| B+ | 87 – 89 |
| B | 83 – 86 |
| B− | 80 – 82 |
| C+ | 77 – 79 |
| C | 73 – 76 |
| C− | 70 – 72 |
| D+ | 67 – 69 |
| D | 63 – 66 |
| D− | 60 – 62 |
| F | Below 60 |
This is a common U.S. scale, but grading policies vary by school, district, and teacher. Check your syllabus or grade portal for your official scale.
Need weighted categories like Homework 20% and Exams 50%? Use the Weighted Grade Calculator. Trying to find the score you need on a final exam? Use the Final Grade Calculator.
What this grade calculator does
This calculator turns your scores into a grade percentage and a letter grade. It has two input modes because students usually arrive with one of two things:
- Raw scores — like 42 out of 50, or 18 out of 20. Use Points mode.
- Percentages — like 84%, 91%, 78%. Use Percentages mode.
Each mode treats every item the same way. It does not apply category weights — if your course has weighted categories, see the Weighted Grade Calculator.
How to calculate your grade
The basic formula for the total-points method is:
Grade % = (Total points earned ÷ Total points possible) × 100
For percentage mode, the calculation is a simple average of the percentages you enter:
Grade % = (Sum of percentages ÷ Number of grades)
Worked example
Suppose your course has the following graded items and each item is worth the points shown:
| Item | Earned | Possible |
|---|---|---|
| Homework 1 | 18 | 20 |
| Quiz 1 | 8 | 10 |
| Midterm | 42 | 50 |
| Essay | 90 | 100 |
| Total | 158 | 180 |
Calculation: 158 ÷ 180 × 100 = 87.78%, which is a B+ on the scale above.
Notice that the essay is worth 100 points while the quiz is only worth 10. The total-points method accounts for this automatically because everything is added into the same pool.
Points mode vs. percentage mode
These two modes are not interchangeable. They answer different questions.
Points mode
Use it when you know the raw score and the maximum for each item. This is the most accurate way to calculate your current grade in a points-based course because it correctly weights each item by its point value.
Percentage mode
Use it when you already have each item as a percentage and each item should count equally. For example, if you have three quiz percentages of 84%, 91%, and 78% and each quiz counts the same, the average is 84.33%.
Percentage mode is not appropriate for weighted courses. If a final exam is worth 30% of your grade and a quiz is worth 2%, averaging their percentages would give a misleading result.
Where this grading method is used
The total-points method — earned points divided by possible points — is one of the most common ways grades are calculated. It is used in many middle school, high school, and college courses, including many AP, IB, and university classes where teachers assign point values to each assignment, quiz, test, and project.
If your syllabus lists graded items with point values rather than percentage weights, this calculator matches that method. If your syllabus lists categories with percentages — for example "Tests 40%, Homework 20%" — you need a different calculation.
The percentage this calculator produces is a mathematical result from your numbers. The letter grade it displays is based on the scale shown above, which is a common default but is not universal. Schools, districts, and universities set their own letter grade cutoffs, and some courses apply curves or drop low scores. Always check your own syllabus or grade portal for the official scale.
When to use a different ToolPoint calculator
This page handles ordinary points-based and percentage-based grade calculation. Use a different tool when your situation falls outside that scope:
- Weighted categories — if your syllabus assigns percentage weights to categories such as Homework 20%, Quizzes 15%, Midterm 25%, Final 40%, use the Weighted Grade Calculator.
- Final exam planning — if you know your current grade and want to find the minimum score you need on a future final exam to reach a target grade, use the Final Grade Calculator.
- Grading curve — if your instructor applies a curve to the whole class (for example, adding points or setting a target average), use the Grade Curve Calculator.
How letter grades are determined
Letter grades are not universal. A 90% is usually an A− in many U.S. schools, but some districts use a 10-point scale without plus/minus, some use a 7-point scale, and some universities set their own cutoffs. IB and many international systems use a 1–7 scale rather than letters at all.
The scale used by this calculator is shown in the expandable panel just below the result. If your school uses a different scale, use the percentages from this calculator and compare them against your school's official chart.
Common mistakes
- Mixing points and percentages in the same list. Don't enter "85" for an 85-out-of-100 item and "0.9" for a 90% item. Pick one mode and stay in it.
- Averaging percentages when the point values differ. If one assignment is worth 100 points and another is worth 10, averaging their percentages gives the 10-point item the same influence as the 100-point item. Use points mode instead.
- Using this page for a weighted course. If your syllabus says "Exams 40%," you need the weighted calculator, not this one.
- Entering the points possible wrong. "Points possible" is the maximum score for that item, not the score you got. A 42 out of 50 means earned = 42 and possible = 50.
- Forgetting that some assignments are dropped. Many courses drop the lowest quiz or homework score. If your course does this, remove that item from the list before calculating.
- Assuming extra credit is a mistake. If a teacher awards bonus points, points earned can legitimately exceed points possible for that item, and your overall grade can exceed 100%.