Final Grade Calculator
Enter your current grade, the grade you want, and how much the final is worth. This tells you what you need to score — and says plainly when the target is out of reach.
Needed on the final
101.7%
- Needed on the final
- 101.7%
- Best possible
- 89.5% (B+)
- If you score zero
- 59.5% (F)
- Current grade
- 85.0% (B)
- Final is worth
- 30%
- That target is out of reach. Even a perfect final gives you 89.5%, because the final is only worth 30% of the course.
- Check the weight against your syllabus. A final worth 40% rather than 20% roughly halves what you need to score to move the same distance.
- Assumes your current grade already reflects everything graded so far, weighted as the syllabus says.
About the final grade calculator
This answers the question most searched for in the week before exams: what do I need on the final. It works backwards from the target, subtracting the part of your grade already locked in, and dividing what remains by the weight of the final.
The result can come out above 100, and that is not an error — it is the genuinely useful answer. If you are sitting on 85, want 90 overall, and the final is worth 30%, you would need 101.7%. No amount of studying fixes that, and knowing it now is better than finding out afterwards.
It also shows the range the course can still finish in. That framing is often more useful than the target itself, because it tells you both what is safe and what is unreachable — if a perfect final only gets you to 89.5, aiming for an A is not the plan.
The weight of the final matters more than people expect. A final worth 40% rather than 20% roughly halves what you need to score to move the same distance, because more of the grade is still in play. Check the figure against your syllabus rather than guessing.
What it works out
- The score you need on the final
- The best and worst the course can finish
- A plain warning when the target is unreachable
- Letter grades for each outcome
The formula
Needed = (Target − Current × (1 − Weight)) ÷ Weight
Your current grade covers everything graded so far, which is the part of the course the final does not cover — that is one minus the final's weight. Multiply your current grade by that share and you have the points already banked.
Subtract those banked points from the target and you have the gap the final must close. Divide by the final's weight and you have the score it needs to be.
For the worked example: the final is worth 30%, so 70% of the grade is settled. 85 times 0.7 gives 59.5 points banked. The target of 90 leaves a gap of 30.5, and 30.5 divided by 0.3 is 101.7. Just out of reach, by less than two points.
The same arithmetic gives the range. Score zero and you finish on the banked 59.5; score full marks and you add 30 for 89.5. Everything possible lies between those, and a target outside that band cannot be reached no matter how the exam goes.
- Current
- Your grade so far, as a percentage, before the final.
- Target
- The overall course grade you want.
- Weight
- What share of the final course grade the exam is worth.
A worked example
Sitting on 85%, aiming for 90%, with a final worth 30% of the course.
That works out to 101.7 %.
- Needed on the final
- 101.7%
- Best possible
- 89.5% (B+)
- If you score zero
- 59.5% (F)
- Current grade
- 85.0% (B)
- Final is worth
- 30%
Questions
What do I need on my final to get an A?
It depends on where you are and what the final is worth. On 85 with a final worth 30%, an A at 90 would need 101.7% — out of reach. On 88 with a final worth 40%, an 85 target needs only 80.5.
Can the answer be more than 100?
Yes, and it is worth knowing. It means the target cannot be reached even with a perfect final, because too much of the grade is already settled. The best possible figure shown alongside tells you what is actually still available.
What if I get a negative number?
You have already secured the target. Even scoring zero on the final leaves you above it — though check whether your course requires a minimum exam mark to pass regardless of the total.
How much does the weight of the final matter?
A lot. The heavier the final, the more of your grade is still in play and the less your current grade holds you back. Going from a 20% final to a 40% one roughly halves the score you need to move the same distance.
Where do I find my current grade?
Usually on your course management system, already weighted by category. If it only lists individual scores, work out the weighted average of everything graded so far and use that.
Does this account for grade cut-offs?
It works in percentages and shows the letter each outcome corresponds to on a common scale. Cut-offs vary between institutions and some round differently, so confirm the boundaries with your syllabus before relying on a borderline result.