Final Grade Calculator — What Do I Need on My Final?
Find the score you need on the final exam, or work out a weighted course grade with what-if scenarios.
Reachable.
With 100% on the final you would finish at 88.8%; with 0% at 58.8%. Each point on the final moves your course grade by 0.3 points.
| Target | Needed on final |
|---|---|
| 90% | 104% (not reachable) |
| 85% | 87.3% |
| 80% | 70.7% |
| 70% | 37.3% |
| 60% | 4% |
| 50% | Already secured |
Don’t know your current grade? Switch to the weighted grade calculator and enter each category.
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This final grade calculator tells you what you need on your final exam to finish a course with the grade you want. Enter your current grade, how much the final is worth, and your target, and it shows the exam score you need, whether that is reachable, and a table for the other common targets. It also shows where you would land with 100% or 0% on the final, so you know your best and worst case before you start studying.
If you do not know your current grade, the second tab is a weighted grade calculator. List the course’s categories (assignments, quizzes, midterm, final) with their weights and your scores, leave anything not yet graded blank, and it works out your current grade, the average you need on the remaining work, and what your final grade would be for any score you assume. It assumes a standard weighted average; courses that drop the lowest mark, replace the midterm with the final or curve the results need those rules applied by hand.
How to use
- Enter your current grade in the course as a percentage.
- Enter the weight of the final exam, as a percentage of the whole course grade (for example 30).
- Enter the grade you want to finish with. The score you need on the final appears immediately, along with a table for other targets.
- For a full breakdown, open the weighted grade calculator, enter each category’s weight and score, and leave ungraded ones blank.
- Use the target box and the what-if slider to see what you need on the remaining work.
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate what I need on my final?
Required final score = (target grade − current grade × (1 − final weight)) ÷ final weight, with the weight as a decimal. For example, with 84% now, a final worth 30% and a target of 85%: (85 − 84 × 0.7) ÷ 0.3 = 87.3%. The calculator does this for you and rounds to one decimal place.
What if the calculator says I need more than 100%?
Then the target is not reachable through the final alone, unless the course offers extra credit, bonus questions or a curve. The table shows which lower targets are still within reach. It is worth asking the instructor whether any remaining work can still be submitted or regraded.
How do I calculate a weighted grade?
Multiply each category’s score by its weight, add them up, and divide by the total weight of the graded categories. For example, homework 90% (20%) and midterm 70% (30%): (90 × 20 + 70 × 30) ÷ 50 = 78%. The weighted grade tab does this for any number of categories and also tells you how much of the course is still to come.
What should I enter as my current grade?
Your weighted average for everything graded so far, the number most learning platforms show as the current or running grade. Make sure it does not already include a zero for the final; if it does, use the weighted grade tab instead and leave the final blank.
What if the weights do not add up to 100%?
The weighted grade calculator treats them as relative weights and shows a warning. For example, weights of 1, 1 and 2 are read as 25%, 25% and 50%. If your syllabus weights do add to 100 and you see the warning, check for a typo.
The formula, and a worked example
Your course grade is a weighted average: final grade = current × (1 − w) + exam × w, where w is the final’s weight as a decimal. Solving for the exam gives exam = (target − current × (1 − w)) ÷ w.
Worked example: you have 72% going into a final worth 40%, and you need 70% for a prerequisite. (70 − 72 × 0.6) ÷ 0.4 = (70 − 43.2) ÷ 0.4 = 67%. Each point you score on the final moves your course grade by 0.4 points, so going from 67% to 77% on the exam raises your course grade from 70% to 74%.
The bigger the final’s weight, the more the exam can change your grade in either direction. A final worth 50% can move a grade by up to 50 points; one worth 15% can move it by at most 15.
When the simple formula does not apply
• Dropped lowest score: remove the dropped mark before you calculate the category average.
• Final replaces a lower midterm: run the calculation both ways and use whichever rule your syllabus states.
• Must-pass final: some courses require a minimum exam score regardless of the overall grade. Check that threshold separately.
• Curved or scaled grades: the formula gives your raw grade; the curve is applied afterwards by the instructor.
• Points-based courses: convert to percentages first (points earned ÷ points possible in each category).
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