How the score you need is worked out
Your current grade covers everything in the course except the final, so it counts for the part of the grade the final does not. If the final is worth 25%, your current grade counts for the other 75%. The score you need is the one that makes the two add up to your target: Needed = (Target − Current × (1 − Final Weight)) ÷ Final Weight. With 84.5% now, a final worth 25% and a B (80%) as the goal, that is (80 − 84.5 × 0.75) ÷ 0.25 = 66.5%. The same course needs 106.5% for an A and 26.5% for a C, and a D is already secured.
When the answer is over 100% or below zero
An answer above 100% means that grade is out of reach with the final alone: even a perfect score leaves you short, unless the exam offers extra credit. An answer of zero or below means the grade is already secured, because even a zero on the final keeps you at it. The results always show where your course grade can land, from a zero on the final to 100%, so you can see which letters are still open.
If your final replaces your lowest test
Some syllabi let the final take the place of your lowest test when the final scores higher. Once the final passes that test’s score it counts twice, in its own place and in the test’s, so the plain formula overstates what you need. Tick the option, enter that test’s score and weight, and the calculator switches to the right formula at the point the final beats the test. With 78% now, a 20% final, a 62% test worth 20% and an 80% goal, you need 75% rather than 88%.
Points-based classes
In a class graded by points, the final is worth its points divided by all the points in the course. A 150-point final in a 1,000-point course is worth 15%. Switch the final’s weight to Points and enter both numbers; your current grade is still a percentage, the points you have earned divided by the points possible so far.
Other grading rules and how to enter them
If the final counts as one of the tests in an exam category, its weight is its share of that category: four equal tests in a 40% exam category make the final worth 10%. A final in two parts, such as a written paper and a lab practical, can be entered as one final with the parts’ weights added together; the score you need is then the average you need across both. If your lowest score is dropped, take it out before working out your current grade; the Grade Calculator can work it out from your assignments. Letter scales differ between schools, so if yours does not use 90, 80, 70 and 60, type your own target. Curves are not modelled.
Where your current grade comes from
Most students read their current grade from the course portal. It can be off: an instructor may hide the course total, and unposted or ungraded work is left out of it. If you are not sure, work it out from your scores and weights in the Grade Calculator, then carry it across with Continue in another calculator.