Enter your current grade, the final exam weight and your target grade to see exactly what score you need on the final.
| Input | Result |
|---|---|
| 75% now, final 40%, target 80% | 87.5% (B) |
| 68% now, final 25%, target 70% | 76.0% (C) |
| 86% now, final 30%, target 90% | 99.3% (A) |
The required score depends on three things: where you are now, how much the final is worth, and what you want to end with. Find your current grade down the left and your final's weight across the top; the value is what you need for an 80% course grade. Switch to a different target using the calculator above.
| Current | Final = 20% | Final = 30% | Final = 40% | Final = 50% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 95% | any score | any score | 57.5% | 65.0% |
| 85% | 60.0% | 68.3% | 72.5% | 75.0% |
| 75% | 100.0% | 91.7% | 87.5% | 85.0% |
| 70% | above 100% | 103.3% | 95.0% | 90.0% |
| 65% | above 100% | above 100% | 102.5% | 95.0% |
The "any score" cells mean you clear the target even with a zero on the final, the remaining 80% of your grade already carries you. The "above 100%" cells mean the target is mathematically out of reach without extra credit or a curve; a lower target is the realistic move.
A final worth 50% is not merely "twice as important" as one worth 25%, it changes the shape of your options. With a light final, your existing work has already decided most of the outcome and the exam can only nudge it. With a heavy final, the exam can pull a C up to a B or drag a B down to a C, and the required-score maths becomes genuinely tight.
| Weight | Range of possible course grades from a 75% standing | What a 0 on the final gives you |
|---|---|---|
| 10% | 67.5%, 77.5% | 67.5% (D) |
| 25% | 56.25%, 81.25% | 56.25% (F) |
| 40% | 45%, 85% | 45% (F) |
| 50% | 37.5%, 87.5% | 37.5% (F) |
| Term | What it does to this calculation |
|---|---|
| Course grade is cumulative from zero | Your "current grade" is already the weighted average of completed work, enter that, not the raw points earned |
| Final replaces the lowest exam | Calculate both ways (with and without the replaced exam) and use the better outcome, the calculator cannot do this for you |
| Mandatory final / minimum final grade | Some courses require a passing final regardless of your average; the required score is then a floor, not a target |
| Curve applied after the final | The curve is added to the final score, so aim for the required score and let the curve be margin rather than planning around it |
| Extra credit available | Required scores above 100% are not automatically impossible, ask whether extra credit counts in that category |
Current grade 75%, final worth 40%, target 80%. The formula is required = (target − current × (1 − weight)) ÷ weight. With weight as a decimal, 0.40: current × (1 − 0.40) = 75 × 0.60 = 45. Then (80 − 45) ÷ 0.40 = 35 ÷ 0.40 = 87.5%. That is the score you need, and it is comfortably achievable from a 75% base, which is the reassuring part of the calculation: with 60% of the grade locked at a solid level, the final does not have to be spectacular.
If your course uses category weights rather than a single final weight, use the weighted grade calculator instead. To see where a given exam score lands you as a letter grade, the test grade calculator handles the points-to-percentage step.
Multiply your current grade by (1 − final weight), subtract that from your target grade, then divide by the final weight. This calculator does it instantly.
Then the final cannot change your course grade, your grade is already determined by the graded work so far.
It means the target is mathematically unreachable without extra credit or a grading curve. Try a slightly lower target to see what is achievable.
Yes, if you know your current overall grade and the final's weight, the category breakdown does not matter for this calculation.