Plan your final exam
Find the final exam score you need to reach your target, or predict your course grade from an expected exam score.
Your overall grade excluding the final. The final must be the only remaining ungraded component.
Use the final’s share of the entire course grade.
Compare possible final exam scores
These scenarios use your current grade and exam weight.
| Final exam score | Resulting course grade |
|---|
How to use this final grade calculator
- Enter your current overall course percentage, excluding the final.
- Enter the final exam’s percentage weight from your syllabus.
- Enter your desired course percentage. Switch modes if you already know or want to estimate your exam score.
The final exam formula
Required final score = [target − current × (1 − weight)] ÷ weight. Convert the weight to a decimal first: 40% becomes 0.40.
With a current grade of 80%, a target of 85%, and a final worth 40%, the required score is [85 − 80 × 0.60] ÷ 0.40 = 92.5%.
To predict a course grade instead, use current × (1 − weight) + final score × weight. An 80% current grade and a 90% final worth 40% produce 80 × 0.60 + 90 × 0.40 = 84%.
Check these assumptions first
This model assumes the final is the only remaining ungraded component, its weight is known, and the current grade correctly represents the rest of the course. It does not automatically apply curves, extra credit, dropped scores, or an exam that replaces another grade.
If your final sits inside a larger test category, the category’s weight is not necessarily the final’s weight. Check the syllabus. For several course categories, use the weighted grade calculator.
Frequently asked questions
What if I need more than 100%?
The target is not reachable within a standard 100% exam maximum under the entered assumptions. Extra credit or a curve would require a separate policy; the calculator does not assume either.
What if the required score is below zero?
A zero on the exam is mathematically sufficient for the entered target. This does not cancel exam attendance, minimum-score, or other course requirements.
Can it tell me what I need for an A?
Enter the percentage threshold for an A from your syllabus. Letter-grade thresholds vary, so this tool does not assume that every course uses the same scale.
How is the required score rounded?
Required scores are rounded upward to the next hundredth of a percentage point when necessary, so the displayed requirement is not rounded below the mathematical target. Predicted course grades are displayed to two decimal places. Your school’s rounding policy may differ.
For grading a single paper, use the grading calculator. See methodology for more details.