Though your teachers are the ones who give you your final grades, it's important to know how to calculate them yourself so you know for sure what you have.
Before you learn how to calculate your final grade for a course, it's important to understand the two common systems by which you can calculate your final grade. These are:
Follow these steps to calculate your final grade in a points-based system, and refer to the example:
Calculating your grade in a weighted grading system is slightly different but uses the same mathematical processes. Follow these steps to calculate your weighted grade, and refer to the example:
You can also use a spreadsheet application to calculate your unweighted and weighted grades automatically. To set up a grades spreadsheet, follow these steps:
Sometimes you'll get your final exam grade but the instructor hasn't yet posted final class grades. You can use this calculator to find your final class grade once you know your final exam score. Use the formula:
My grade in Statistics class is 85%. I want to get at least an A- or 90% in the class for the term. What score do I need on the final exam if it is worth 40% of my grade?
Going into finals my grade in Economics was 91%. My final exam score was 88.6% and it was worth 15% of my grade for the course. What is my final grade in the course?
In 1887, Mount Holyoke College became the first college to use letter grades similar to those commonly used today. The college used a grading scale with the letters A, B, C, D, and E, where E represented a failing grade.
Letter grades provide an easy means to generalize a student's performance. They can be more effective than qualitative evaluations in situations where "right" or "wrong" answers can be easily quantified, such as an algebra exam, but alone may not provide a student with enough feedback in regards to an assessment like a written paper (which is much more subjective).
Meanwhile at Harvard, students were graded based on a numerical system from 1-200 (except for math and philosophy where 1-100 was used). Later, shortly after 1883, Harvard used a system of "Classes" where students were either Class I, II, III, IV, or V, with V representing a failing grade.
As such, although there are other high schools such as Sanborn High School that approach grading in a more qualitative way, it remains to be seen whether such grading methods can be scalable. Until then, more generalized forms of grading like the letter grading system are unlikely to be entirely replaced.
Therefore, you can calculate the minimum grade you need to score on the final exam using the formula: Required = (Goal − Current × (100% − Final Weight)) / Final Weight.
Usually, teachers will have weighted categories that determine your grade: Homework, Classwork, Test/Quizzes, and the dreadful Final. Because the Final category stays at 0/0, an indeterminate form, all year long, it’s counted as the average of all your other categories and does not affect your grade.
If your final replaces your lowest test grade, then tell the calculator that your lowest 1 test is dropped and your final also counts as 1 test. Your current grade is%. You want (at least) a% in the class. Tests are worth% of your grade. Your have takentests already.
Your current grade should not include any part of your final. Your current grade is%. You want (at least) a% in the class. Your final is worth% of your grade. You haveparts to your final. You have takenpart(s) already. Your 1st part is worthpoints. Your 2nd part is worthpoints. Your 3rd part is worthpoints.