Final Grade Calculator
Find the exact score you need on your final exam—or see how any final score changes your course grade.
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Your result
You need
94.67%
on your final exam to finish the course at 90%.
Your coursework already contributes 61.6 of the 90% you want, so the final needs to supply the remaining 28.4 percentage points.
- Your coursework contributes
- 61.6 pts
- Your final must contribute
- 28.4 pts
- Grade with a zero on the final
- 61.6%
- Grade with 100% on the final
- 91.6%
Show the maths
Formula
Required final score = (target course grade − current grade × (1 − final weight)) ÷ final weight, with the weight written as a decimal.
With your numbers
(90 − 88 × 0.7) ÷ 0.3 = (90 − 61.6) ÷ 0.3 = 28.4 ÷ 0.3 = 94.6667
Calculated at full precision and rounded only for display, so the figure above may differ in the last decimal place from a calculator that rounds at each step.
How the status labels are decided
- Already secured: You reach the target even with a zero on the final.
- Comfortable: Needs 70% or less of the maximum score.
- Achievable: Needs more than 70% and up to 85% of the maximum score.
- Stretch: Needs more than 85% and up to 95% of the maximum score.
- Very difficult: Needs more than 95%, up to and including a perfect score.
- Impossible without extra credit: Needs more than the maximum score obtainable on the final.
These labels describe how demanding a score is, not any school’s grading policy.
You need 94.67% on your final. Status: Stretch. Your coursework already contributes 61.6 of the 90% you want, so the final needs to supply the remaining 28.4 percentage points.
Try different final exam scores
Move the slider to see where any exam score leaves your course grade. The markers show the score at which you cross each grade boundary on the US letter with +/− scale.
Projected course grade
87.1%B+
with 85% on the final
0%100%
You cross 90% at 94.67% on the final.
| Exam score | Course grade | Letter | Target |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0% | 61.6% | D- | Short |
| 50% | 76.6% | C | Short |
| 60% | 79.6% | C+ | Short |
| 70% | 82.6% | B- | Short |
| 80% | 85.6% | B | Short |
| 90% | 88.6% | B+ | Short |
| 100% (the maximum score) | 91.6% | A- | Met |
How this calculator works
Your course grade is a weighted average. Everything you have already been marked on carries one share of it, and the final exam carries the rest. Once you know how big the exam’s share is, the score you need is a single rearrangement of that average — no guesswork, no assumptions about a curve.
The two modes are the same equation solved for different unknowns. What do I need solves for the exam score given a target course grade. Predict my final grade solves for the course grade given an exam score. Both work at full precision internally and round only when a number reaches the screen, so nothing you see has been rounded twice.
The one number you have to get right is the weight. It is on your syllabus, usually as “Final exam: 30%” or as a points total you can convert with the grade percentage calculator. If your course is built from weighted categories rather than one coursework grade, work out your current grade first with the weighted grade calculator, then bring that number back here.
A worked example
Suppose you are sitting at 88% with a final worth 30% of the course, and you want to finish at 90%.
- Your coursework is worth the other 70%, so it contributes 88 × 0.70 = 61.6 points toward your course grade.
- You want 90 points in total, so the exam has to supply 90 − 61.6 = 28.4 points.
- The exam is only worth 0.30 of the course, so you need 28.4 ÷ 0.30 = 94.67% on it.
Notice how much leverage the weight has. Keep everything else the same but make the final worth 40%, and the same target needs only 93% — because more of your grade is still up for grabs. That relationship is what the scenario slider above lets you feel directly.
| Final worth | You need | Comfort |
|---|---|---|
| 10% | 108% | Out of reach without extra credit |
| 20% | 98% | Very difficult |
| 30% | 94.67% | Stretch |
| 40% | 93% | Stretch |
| 50% | 92% | Stretch |
Related calculators
- What Grade Do I Need?Target-first flow for the single question: what score gets me there?
- Final Exam CalculatorWork forwards: pick an exam score and watch the course grade follow.
- Weighted Grade CalculatorTurn a syllabus of categories or a list of assignments into one grade.
- Grade Percentage CalculatorPoints to percentage to letter, and back again.
The formulas in full
Score you need on the final
required = (target − current × (1 − w)) ÷ w, where w is the final’s weight written as a decimal — 30% becomes 0.30.
Course grade you would finish with
projected = current × (1 − w) + score × w, using the same w.
The two edges
At w = 0 the first formula divides by zero, which is the maths telling you something true: a final worth nothing cannot change your grade, so either you are already there or you cannot get there at all. At w = 1 the current grade drops out entirely and the exam simply is your course grade.
For a fuller treatment — weighted categories, points-based courses, extra credit and why platforms round differently — read how to calculate your final grade.
Frequently asked questions
- What grade do I need on my final exam?
- Subtract the points your coursework already contributes from the course grade you want, then divide by the weight of the final. If your grade is 88%, you want 90%, and the final is worth 30%, your coursework contributes 88 × 0.70 = 61.6 points, so the final must supply 28.4 points — which means scoring 28.4 ÷ 0.30 = 94.67%.
- What does it mean if I need more than 100% on my final?
- It means the target is out of reach with a normal exam. The gap has to come from somewhere else: extra credit, a dropped low score, a curve, or a grade correction. Switching on extra credit in the advanced options lets the calculator show the figure instead of stopping at impossible.
- What does a negative required score mean?
- It means you have already secured your target. Even a zero on the final would leave you at or above the grade you asked for, so the number the formula produces drops below zero. The calculator reports it as already secured and shows the grade you would finish with.
- Why does my learning platform show a slightly different grade?
- Platforms differ in when they round, which assignments they include before everything is graded, and how they treat dropped or excused work. A tool that rounds each category before combining them can land a few tenths away from one that rounds only at the end, as this calculator does. Treat a small difference as a rounding difference, and a large one as a sign the weights need checking.
- Is my current grade the same as my final course grade?
- No. Your current grade covers only the work that has been graded so far. Your final course grade includes the exam and anything else still outstanding, weighted according to your syllabus. That gap is exactly what this calculator closes.
- Are my grades stored or sent anywhere?
- No. Every calculation runs in your browser, and there is no server that receives grades. Your grading scale and last-entered numbers are kept in your own browser's local storage so you do not have to retype them, and you can clear them at any time from the advanced options.
Privacy and accuracy
Every calculation runs in your browser. Your grades are never sent to a server, there is no account, and there is nothing to sign up for. Read the privacy policy for exactly what is stored on your device.
The arithmetic is exact, but the answer is only as good as the numbers you enter. Weights, rounding rules and drop policies vary between courses, so check your syllabus — and remember that your learning platform may round differently from the figure shown here.