What grade do I need on my final exam?

Enter your other categories with their scores and weights, mark the final exam category with the ? button, set your target overall grade, and the calculator solves for the score needed on the final.

What if my category weights don't add up to 100%?

That's fine — the calculator automatically scales each weight to its share of whatever they add up to, so a syllabus listing 20/30/45 (95% total) still works correctly.

What does it mean if the required score is over 100%?

It means the target grade isn't reachable in that category alone, even with a perfect score — the other categories haven't left enough room to hit it.

Can I solve for more than one unknown category at once?

No — only one category can be left blank at a time, since solving for two unknowns from one target grade doesn't have a single answer. Give every other category a score first.

My scores are out of raw points, not a percentage. What do I enter?

Divide the points earned by the points possible and multiply by 100 first — for example, 42 out of 50 is 84%.

Final Grade Calculator: Weighted Grades & What You Need

Your overall grade is each category's score multiplied by its share of the total weight, added together. Leave one category blank — like a final exam — and enter a target grade instead, and the calculator solves for the score that category needs.

Show the math

1
Add up what you've already earned
Homework: 92 × 20% = 18.4 · Midterm: 85 × 30% = 25.5
Together these categories are worth 50% of the final grade.
= 43.9

Read the steps as text

Add up what you've already earned. Homework: 92 × 20% = 18.4 · Midterm: 85 × 30% = 25.5 Together these categories are worth 50% of the final grade.
Find the gap to your target grade. 90 − 43.9 = 46.1 Final exam is worth 50% of the final grade, so it has to supply this much on its own.
Solve for the score needed on Final exam. 46.1 ÷ 50% = 92.2

How a weighted grade is calculated

Not every piece of coursework counts equally. If homework is 20% of a grade, midterms 30% and a final exam 50%, a perfect homework score matters far less to the final result than the same score on the exam. The weighted average multiplies each category's score by its share of the total weight, then adds those weighted scores together — so a category's influence tracks how much it's actually worth, not how many points it's out of.

Weights don't need to add up to exactly 100%: if they add to 90% or 110%, each one is automatically scaled to its share of the total, which handles a syllabus that rounds its weights loosely.

Solving for what you need

The more useful question is often "what do I need on the final?" rather than "what's my grade so far?" Tap the ? button on one category — typically something you haven't done yet — to mark it as unknown, add a target overall grade, and the calculator rearranges the same formula to solve for the score that category needs to hit that target.

If the required score comes out above 100%, the target isn't reachable even with a perfect score on what's left. If it comes out below 0%, congratulations — the target is already locked in no matter what happens in that category.

Using it well

Check your syllabus for the exact category weights your instructor uses, since a small difference there changes the required score noticeably on a heavily-weighted final. This calculator assumes every score is out of 100 (a percentage); if your gradebook uses raw points, divide each score by its maximum first to get a percentage before entering it.

Frequently asked questions

What grade do I need on my final exam?: Enter your other categories with their scores and weights, mark the final exam category with the ? button, set your target overall grade, and the calculator solves for the score needed on the final.
What if my category weights don't add up to 100%?: That's fine — the calculator automatically scales each weight to its share of whatever they add up to, so a syllabus listing 20/30/45 (95% total) still works correctly.
What does it mean if the required score is over 100%?: It means the target grade isn't reachable in that category alone, even with a perfect score — the other categories haven't left enough room to hit it.
Can I solve for more than one unknown category at once?: No — only one category can be left blank at a time, since solving for two unknowns from one target grade doesn't have a single answer. Give every other category a score first.
My scores are out of raw points, not a percentage. What do I enter?: Divide the points earned by the points possible and multiply by 100 first — for example, 42 out of 50 is 84%.