Course Grade Calculator: Add Up Every Assignment, See Your Grade

This free course grade calculator adds up your assignments, either by weighted category or by total points, and shows your letter grade for the whole course. Leave an assignment’s points earned empty if it is not graded yet, and you also see the lowest and highest grade you can finish with.

Note: the calculator has not started. If this message stays, JavaScript is switched off in your browser, or this website is blocking the calculator’s script. Site owners: see the install guide, “calculator does not respond”.

How is your course graded?

Check your syllabus. If it lists percentages such as “tests 40%”, choose weighted. If it says the grade is points earned out of total points, choose total points.

Your categories

Name each category and enter its weight. The weights usually add up to 100. A category with no graded assignments is treated as work still to come.

Total weight entered: 0%

Your assignments

Enter points earned and points possible for each assignment. For an assignment that is not graded yet, enter only the points possible and leave points earned empty. Percentages work too: 88 earned out of 100 possible.

These are example scales, not universal standards. Schools and teachers set their own cutoffs. Choose Custom to enter yours.
Settings and custom scale

The shortcut works when keyboard focus is inside the calculator and not in a text field. The Reset button does the same thing.

This calculator runs in your browser and does not send your numbers anywhere. Only your scale settings are saved on this device. Your grades are not.

Result

Enter your categories, weights and assignments to see your course grade.

Course grade calculator: the quick answer

Your course grade is the average of everything graded so far, counted the way your syllabus counts it. In a weighted course, find each category’s percentage, multiply it by the category weight, add the results and divide by the weights used. In a total-points course, divide all points earned by all points possible. With 80.31% so far and a 25% project still to come, a B needs 79.07% on the project, a C needs 39.07%, a D is already secured and an A is out of reach. The course grade calculator above does this for any list of assignments.

Course grade calculator example: with 80.31% so far and a 25% project still to come, a B needs 79.07% on the project, a C needs 39.07%, a D is secured and an A is out of reach
Course grade calculator example: the average needed on the project for each grade.

How to use the course grade calculator

  1. Choose your grading style: weighted categories or total points.
  2. For weighted grading, enter each category and its weight, such as Homework 20 or Tests 40.
  3. Add your assignments. Enter the points earned and the points possible, and pick the category for each one.
  4. For work that is not graded yet, enter only the points possible. A category with no graded work counts as still to come.
  5. Read your grade, the lowest and highest you can finish with, and the average you need on the remaining work for each letter.

Weighted or total points in the course grade calculator

The two styles can give different answers for the same scores. In total points, a 100-point exam counts five times as much as a 20-point quiz, because points are simply added. In weighted grading, each category is first turned into a percentage, so a category worth 20% counts for 20% however many points it holds. Inside a category, the calculator adds the points earned and divides by the points possible, so a larger assignment counts for more within its category. If your teacher averages the percentages instead, the result can differ slightly. The grade average calculator averages a plain list of percentages.

What the course grade calculator shows when work is missing

When part of the course is not graded yet, the course grade calculator treats it as still to come, not as zero. It shows your grade so far, based only on graded work. It also shows the lowest course grade, with 0% on everything left, and the highest, with 100%. The table then lists the average you need on the remaining work for every letter. Each answer is one of three: a score you need, secured because even 0% keeps the grade, or out of reach because more than 100% would be needed. Needed scores are rounded up to two decimals so they never understate what you need.

In a weighted course, only a category with no graded assignments counts as still to come. An ungraded assignment inside a category that already has grades is left out until you add its points earned, and the calculator tells you so.

Course grade calculator formulas and worked examples

Category average = Points earned ÷ Points possible × 100 Course grade = Σ(Category average × Weight) ÷ Σ(Weights of graded categories) Average needed = (Target × Total weight − Σ(Category average × Weight)) ÷ Weight still to come

The letter is the first grade on the scale, counting down from the top, whose minimum is at or below the percentage. A result exactly on a cutoff earns that grade. The full rules are on the grading methodology page.

Example 1 (weighted): Homework is worth 20%, quizzes 15%, tests 40% and a final project 25%. Homework scores are 18 of 20 and 45 of 50, so 63 of 70, which is 90%. Quizzes are 8 of 10 and 13 of 20, so 21 of 30, which is 70%. Tests are 78 of 100 and 41 of 50, so 119 of 150, which is 79.33%. The project is not graded yet.

Weighted course grade example
QuestionResultStandard
Grade so far: (90 × 20 + 70 × 15 + 79.33 × 40) ÷ 7580.31%B
Lowest possible (0% on the project)60.23%D
Highest possible (100% on the project)85.23%B
Needed on the project for a B79.07%
Needed on the project for a C39.07%
Needed on the project for an A119.07%Out of reach

Example 2 (total points): you have earned 412 of 500 points, so you are at 82.4%. Another 200 points are still to come. To finish with 80% of 700 points you need 560, which is 148 of the last 200, an average of 74%. An A would need 630 points, which is 218 of 200, so it is out of reach.

Choosing a grading scale

The standard and plus/minus scales are examples, not rules. If your syllabus uses different cutoffs, choose Custom and enter them, or build and print a chart with the grading scale calculator.

Sources and further reading

Instructors set their own weights, drop rules and rounding, so check your syllabus first. For background, see Academic grading in the United States and Weighted arithmetic mean on Wikipedia.

Related tools

Course grade calculator questions

Is this course grade calculator free and private?

Yes. It is free, needs no sign-up, and runs in your browser. Your numbers are not sent anywhere or saved.

Should I choose weighted or total points?

Follow your syllabus. If it gives percentages for categories such as homework and tests, choose weighted. If it says the grade is points earned out of total points, choose total points.

How do I enter an assignment that is not graded yet?

Enter the points possible and leave the points earned empty. In total-points grading it counts as work still to come. In weighted grading, a category with only ungraded work counts as still to come.

What if my missing assignment counts as zero?

Enter 0 as the points earned. An empty points-earned box means “not graded yet”, not zero.

What if my weights do not add up to 100?

The calculator divides by the total weight you entered and tells you the total. Check your syllabus for a missing category, such as participation.

Does it drop my lowest score?

No. If your teacher drops a score, leave that assignment out. The quarter grade calculator has a drop-lowest option.

What does “out of reach” mean?

You would need more than 100% on the remaining work. Tick “Allow extra credit” if bonus points are possible and the calculator will show the average instead.

Why is my result shown as 90% but graded as a B?

The value was rounded for display only. A result like 89.5% is graded on the unrounded number, and the page tells you when this happens. If your teacher rounds first, turn on “Round before grading” in Settings.

Is this course grade calculator result what my school will record?

It is a quick, transparent calculation. Your instructor or school sets the official grade. See the disclaimer.