Final Grade Calculator
What you need on the final exam to reach your target grade, given your current grade and the exam's weight — plus a table of required scores for every target.
Final Grade Calculator: with the default inputs, score needed on the final is 83%.
Your grade on everything except the final, as a percent.
The overall course grade you're aiming for.
How much of the course grade the final counts for. Check the syllabus.
- Verdict
- Reachable — score 83% or better on the final.
- Points already earned (current × other weight)
- 46.8%
- Best possible final grade (100 on the exam)
- 86.8%
- Worst possible final grade (0 on the exam)
- 46.8%
Assumptions
- The course grade is a straight weighted average of the current grade and the final exam score.
- Scores can exceed 100% (extra credit) on the input side; a needed score above 100% is flagged as unreachable.
| Target grade | Needed on final | |
|---|---|---|
| 60% | 33% | |
| 65% | 45.5% | |
| 70% | 58% | |
| 75% | 70.5% | |
| 80% | 83% | |
| 85% | 95.5% | |
| 90% | 108% | Not reachable |
| 95% | 120.5% | Not reachable |
| 100% | 133% | Not reachable |
How this is worked out
The formula
Required final score = (desired − current × (1 − w)) ÷ w w = final exam weight as a decimal (40% → 0.40) Best case = current × (1 − w) + 100 × w; worst case = current × (1 − w)
Open How it’s calculated above to see this worked through with your own numbers.
What you enter
- Current grade
- Your grade on everything except the final, as a percent.a percentage · from 0 to 150 · defaults to 78
- Grade you want
- The overall course grade you're aiming for.a percentage · from 0 to 150 · defaults to 80
- Final exam weight
- How much of the course grade the final counts for. Check the syllabus.a percentage · from 0 to 100 · defaults to 40
What you get back
- Score needed on the finalmain answer
- Verdict
- Points already earned (current × other weight)
- Best possible final grade (100 on the exam)
- Worst possible final grade (0 on the exam)
What this assumes
- The course grade is a straight weighted average of the current grade and the final exam score.
- Scores can exceed 100% (extra credit) on the input side; a needed score above 100% is flagged as unreachable.
About this calculator
Your course grade is a weighted average of two pieces: everything you've done so far, and the final exam. If the final is worth 40%, the rest is worth 60%, so your final grade = 0.6 × current + 0.4 × final score. Set that equal to the grade you want and solve for the final score — that's the whole calculation, and this page does it while showing each step.
How to use it
Enter your current grade (as your gradebook shows it, excluding the final), the overall grade you're aiming for, and the final's weight from the syllabus. The headline number is what you need on the exam. The table below it repeats the calculation for every common target, so you can see at a glance which letter grades are still in play.
Reading the verdict
- Reachable: study to that number, and remember it's a floor, not a goal.
- Out of reach (needed score above 100%): the math says a perfect final still falls short. The calculator tells you the best grade you can still get, so you can adjust your target or ask about extra credit.
- Already made it (needed score at or below 0%): the points you've already banked exceed the target. You could skip the final and still hit it — though most syllabi require you to sit the exam.
Finding your current grade
If your gradebook only shows category scores, compute the current grade first with the Grade Calculator (weighted grade), using the categories' weights re-scaled to exclude the final. For example, if homework is 20%, midterm 40%, final 40%, your current grade is (20 × homework + 40 × midterm) ÷ 60.
Common mistakes
- Using the final's weight including other things (a "final project + exam = 50%" line usually needs splitting).
- Entering the current grade as points instead of a percent.
- Treating the needed score as a target rather than a minimum — aim a few points higher to absorb a bad question.
Frequently asked questions
▸How do I calculate what I need on my final?
Required = (target − current × (1 − w)) ÷ w, where w is the final's weight as a decimal. With 78% now, an 80% target and a 40% final: (80 − 78 × 0.6) ÷ 0.4 = 83%.
▸What if the answer is more than 100%?
The target isn't reachable with a normal exam. The calculator shows the best grade you can still earn (with a perfect final) so you can pick a realistic target or ask your instructor about extra credit.
▸What if the answer is negative?
You've already earned enough points that even a zero on the final keeps you at or above your target. Still take the exam if the syllabus requires it.
▸My final has two parts with different weights — what do I enter?
Add the weights together and treat them as one exam if you expect similar scores on both. Otherwise, compute the required combined points and split them according to the weights.
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