Final Grade Calculator
Enter your current grade and how much the final exam counts to find the score you need, or check what a particular exam result would do to your course grade.
The formula
If the final exam is worth a fraction w of the course (30% means w = 0.30) and your grade on everything else so far is C, your course grade will be:
Course grade = C × (1 − w) + Final × w
Solving for the final exam score gives:
Final needed = (Target − C × (1 − w)) ÷ w
Worked example
Your current grade is 78%, the final is worth 30%, and you want 80% overall. You need (80 − 78 × 0.70) ÷ 0.30 = (80 − 54.6) ÷ 0.30 ≈ 84.67% on the final. If you score 70% instead, your course grade will be 78 × 0.70 + 70 × 0.30 = 75.6%.
The key assumption
The calculation assumes your "current grade" is the weighted average of all the work that makes up the other (100 − w)% of the course, and that no other work remains. If assignments are still outstanding, or your course platform shows a current grade that counts only completed work, the answer can be off. To be precise, use the weighted average calculator with every component and its weight.
Other grading scales
Grading systems vary widely: percentages are common in many countries, the Netherlands uses 1–10, Germany uses 1.0–5.0 or 6 (where lower is better) and many US institutions convert to a 4.0 GPA scale. The formula is the same for any scale that is averaged arithmetically, so you can enter grades on another scale as long as all three values use the same one; ignore the % signs in that case. The "impossible" and "already secured" notes assume a 0–100 scale where higher is better. Letter-grade cut-offs and GPA conversions are set by each institution, so this calculator does not convert between them.
Common questions
What if the score I need is over 100%?
Then the target cannot be reached on the final alone unless your course offers bonus or extra-credit points. Try a slightly lower target to see what is achievable.
What if the score I need is zero or negative?
You have already secured the target, as long as the rules do not require a minimum exam score to pass. Many courses do, so check your syllabus.
My course weights are in points, not percentages. What do I do?
Convert the final exam's points to a share of the total: an exam worth 150 of 500 points is 150 ÷ 500 = 30%.