Final grade calculator — what you need on the final exam

How to use the final grade calculator

1. Enter your Current grade in percent: your average on everything except the final exam.
2. Enter your Target overall grade in percent.
3. Enter the Final exam weight, the share of the course the exam is worth (from 0.1% to 100%).
4. Read Needed on the final, then If you score 100% and If you score 0% to see your range. The table below shows the mark needed for overall targets of 90%, 80%, 70% and 60%.

What it does and when to use it

A few weeks before a final, most students ask the same question: what do I need on this exam? The answer depends on how the exam is weighted. A 30% final can shift your grade a lot; a 10% final barely moves it. This calculator shows the exact mark, so you can plan your study time and know whether a target is still realistic.

For a course with several marked parts, the grade calculator works from each score and weight. To see how the result affects your overall average, use the GPA planner. Then use the exam countdown to count the days left.

How it works

Write c for the current grade, t for the target and w for the exam weight as a fraction (30% = 0.3). The final overall grade is c × (1 − w) + exam × w. Solving for the exam mark gives:

needed = (t − c × (1 − w)) ÷ w

The best case puts 100 in place of the exam mark: c × (1 − w) + 100 × w. The worst case uses 0: c × (1 − w). In the table, results above 100% are marked “not reachable”, and results of 0 or less are “already secured”. Results are rounded to two decimals. The maths runs in your browser.

Worked examples

Plenty of room. Current grade 78%, target 80%, final worth 40%. The exam needs 83%. Full marks would give 86.8% overall and a zero would give 46.8%, so this final matters a lot.

Target out of reach. Current 64%, target 75%, final worth 25%. The exam would need 108%, so the tool warns: “A 75% overall is not reachable: even 100% on the final gives 73%.” The table shows 70% is still possible with 88%.

Already safe. Current 95%, target 70%, final worth 20%. The needed mark shows as 0% (already secured), and the tool confirms: “You already have 70% overall even with 0 on the final.”

Limits and tips

• The current grade must already be a weighted average of your other work. A plain average of test scores can be wrong if the tests have different weights.
• Some courses need a minimum exam mark to pass, whatever your average. This tool does not check that rule.
• A required mark close to 100% leaves no room for error. Ask your teacher if extra credit or resits exist.