Final Grade Calculator
Find out exactly what you need to score on your final exam — and see what every letter grade requires at the same time, so you know which ones are still in play.
- Free forever
- No sign-up
- Never leaves your device
Calculate the score you need
You need
—
What every grade needs
| Target grade | Overall % | Score needed on final | Status |
|---|
At a glance
- Price
- Free, with no usage limit
- Account
- Not required
- Watermark
- None
- Your data
- Processed entirely in your browser and never uploaded
- Works on
- Any modern browser, desktop or mobile
How the calculation works
Your course grade is a weighted average. Everything you have already been assessed on is locked in and carries forward; the final exam is the only part still moving. So the question is not "what mark do I want" but "what does the remaining slice have to deliver".
The arithmetic is:
needed = (target − current × (1 − weight)) ÷ weight
With an 85% going in, a final worth 30%, and a 90% target: your existing work carries 85 × 0.7 = 59.5 points of the final total. To reach 90 you need another 30.5 points from a slice worth 30 — which means 101.7% on the exam. Not possible. That is a much more useful thing to learn a fortnight before the exam than the night after it.
Reading the result
| Status | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Achievable | The score you need is between 0 and 100%. | Work back from the number. Needing 62% is a different revision plan from needing 94%. |
| Secured | You would still hit the target with zero on the final. | Check whether your course has a minimum-exam-mark rule before easing off — many do. |
| Perfect score | You need essentially 100%. | Treat it as out of reach for planning, and aim at the next grade down. |
| Out of reach | The target needs more than 100%. | Re-aim at the highest grade still marked achievable, and put the time where it can move something. |
Getting the inputs right
Current grade
Use the percentage across work already graded, not across the whole course. If four of six assignments are marked, your current grade is your average on those four — the two unmarked ones are not part of it yet. Most online gradebooks show this figure directly.
Weight of the final
Take this from the syllabus or module handbook, where it is normally given as a percentage of the overall grade. If your course has both a final exam and a final project counted separately, run them as one combined weight only if you expect similar marks in both; otherwise calculate the exam alone and treat the project as part of your carried-forward grade once it is marked.
Target grade
Use the percentage boundary your institution actually applies. The table on this page uses the common US thresholds — 90 / 80 / 70 / 60 — but plenty of courses set their own, and UK degree classifications sit at 70 / 60 / 50 / 40. Enter your real boundary in the target field if it differs.
Two things people get wrong
Rounding. Some courses round 89.5% up to an A; others do not round at all. If you land within half a point of a boundary, find out which rule applies before assuming you are safe.
Minimum exam marks. A number of courses require a minimum score on the final regardless of your overall average — fail that threshold and you fail the course even with the points. This calculator does not know about those rules, so check your handbook.
Frequently asked questions
How do you work out what I need on the final?
Your grade so far covers the portion of the course already assessed. We subtract that carried-forward amount from your target and divide by the weight of the final, which gives the score the final has to earn.
What if it says I need more than 100%?
That target is no longer mathematically reachable, however well you do. The table shows every letter grade at once, so you can immediately see which ones are still in play.
Where do I find the weight of my final exam?
It is normally in the syllabus or module handbook, listed as a percentage of the overall grade — often somewhere between 20% and 40%.
Can my current grade be above 100%?
Yes. If you have earned extra credit, enter the figure as it stands. The calculator accepts current grades above 100%.