Final Grade Calculator

needed = (target - current x (1 - weight)) / weight. Your class grade is a weighted average of two things: the work already graded, worth (1 - weight) of the total, and the final, worth weight. The part already banked cannot change, so the final has to carry the whole remaining distance on its own - which is why a final worth 20 percent needs a very high score to move a grade far, and one worth 50 percent can move it a long way.

What do I need on the final to pass?

Set the target to 60 and read the answer, or look at the "For a D-" line. If it says out of reach, a perfect final still would not get you there, and the conversation to have is with the professor rather than with a calculator.

Why is my worst case higher than I expected?

Because most of the grade is already banked. If the final is worth 30 percent, then 70 percent of your grade is fixed, and even a zero leaves you at 70 percent of what you had. People routinely think a bad final will fail them when it will cost them one letter.

My syllabus lists categories, not one final weight. What do I enter?

Add up the weight of everything still ungraded and enter that. If the final is 25 percent and one project worth 10 percent is outstanding, enter 35, and read the answer as the average you need across both.

Does this handle a curve?

No, because a curve is a decision rather than a formula, and it is usually made after the exam. Work out the honest number first, then treat any curve as the cushion it is.

What if my final is also the lowest grade my professor drops?

Then the floor is higher than this shows. A dropped-lowest rule means a bad final costs you nothing but the chance to improve, so the real question becomes whether the final can raise you, which is the "best you can finish at" line.