🎯 Grade Needed Calculator
Find the score you need on your remaining coursework or final exam to reach your target overall grade.
How the required score is found
The work already graded carries whatever weight the remaining work does not, and the two must add up to your target:
completed weight = 100 - remaining weight
needed = (target x 100 - current x completed weight) / remaining weight
85% so far, 30% still to come, aiming for 88:
needed = (8800 - 85 x 70) / 30 = 2850 / 30 = 95.0%The answer is the average across everything still outstanding, not one paper. If the remaining 30% is a 20% final and a 10% project, 95% is what the pair of them must average.
Getting the inputs right
- Current grade must be your percentage on the work graded so far, on its own. Take it from the gradebook line that ignores unsubmitted items - anything counting missing work as zero will understate you badly.
- Remaining weight comes from the syllabus, not from how many assignments are left. Three quizzes worth 5% each is 15%, not three.
- Set the remaining weight to 100 and the required score simply equals the target, which is a quick check that you have read the weights correctly.
Frequently asked questions
What do I need on the final to get a 90?
With 85% banked and the final worth 30%, you would need 101.7%, so a 90 overall is gone unless there is extra credit. Dropping the target to 88 needs 95%, and to 85 needs 85%.
What is the worst grade I can end up with?
Your current grade multiplied by the completed weight. At 85% with 30% outstanding, a zero on everything left still leaves 59.5% overall - which is why a skipped final costs more than a bad one.
Does this work when the final replaces a lower test score?
No. This assumes fixed weights that always apply. For a replacement policy, run the calculation twice - once with the old weights and once with the final standing in for the dropped test - and use whichever is kinder.