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Weigh assignments by percentage to find your current overall course grade.
Weigh assignments by percentage to find your current overall course grade.
Enter values above and click Calculate — results will appear here with the formula explained.
Syllabi rarely count assignments equally — the final might carry 40% while quizzes carry 10%. Weighted grading multiplies each score by its share of the outcome, so early low scores in heavily-weighted finals loom larger than their count suggests. The formula's division by total weights (not just 100) is what allows partial-semester estimates: homework (20%) plus two midterms (40%) entered as 60% total still scales correctly to the decided portion.
Mid-semester estimates need only completed categories. If homework (20%), two midterms (40%) are done but not the final, entering just those yields your grade-so-far scaled to what's been decided — while the remaining weight reveals how much upside remains. A 88% so far on 60% of the grade can still swing between 79% and 93% final depending on the remaining 40% — the calculator's normalization makes that range visible.
Weight misreading is the common syllabus error: 'midterms 30%' meaning 30% combined versus 30% each changes the divisor from 30 to 60. Overlaps (participation inside 'coursework 40%') double-count if entered twice. When weights listed don't sum to 100, either some categories carry implicit remainder or extra credit distorts the base — itemize the syllabus and check the sum before entering; the tool warns when totals stray from 100.
Points-based systems masquerade as weighted but are simpler division: 87 earned ÷ 100 possible = 87% regardless of assignment count. Mixing points and percentages (e.g. 45/50 on homework plus 88% on the midterm) requires converting points to percentages first (45/50 = 90%), then weighting. Dropped lowest scores refine both systems — omit the dropped item from both scores and weights so the remaining items renormalize automatically.
Curves and letter thresholds sit outside the weighted percentage but decide its meaning: an 89.5% rounded to A− versus B+ depends on the professor's rounding, truncation or curve policy. Some curves add points uniformly, others scale by distribution; this tool reports the raw weighted percentage, and the letter shown (A≥90, B≥80, etc.) is the common convention — verify your institution's cutoffs before celebrating or despairing.
Strategic studying flows from the weights: an hour on a 30%-weight midterm buys 3× the grade impact of an hour on 10% homework at equal score potential. When time is scarce, rank unfinished work by (points obtainable × weight) ÷ hours needed, and allocate to the highest grade-per-hour — the calculator's per-assignment contribution (score × weight) already ranks them when entered.
Weigh assignments by percentage to find your current overall course grade. Formula: grade = Σ(score × weight) ÷ Σ(weights). Example: Scores 92, 85, 78 against weights 20, 30, 50: (1840 + 2550 + 3900) ÷ 100 = 82.9% → letter B.
Syllabi rarely count assignments equally — the final might carry 40% while quizzes carry 10%. Weighted grading multiplies each score by its share of the outcome, so early low scores in heavily-weighted finals loom larger than their count suggests. The formula's division by total weights (not just 100) is what allows partial-semester estimates: homework (20%) plus two midterms (40%) entered as 60% total still scales correctly to the decided portion.
Mid-semester estimates need only completed categories. If homework (20%), two midterms (40%) are done but not the final, entering just those yields your grade-so-far scaled to what's been decided — while the remaining weight reveals how much upside remains. A 88% so far on 60% of the grade can still swing between 79% and 93% final depending on the remaining 40% — the calculator's normalization makes that range visible.
Weight misreading is the common syllabus error: 'midterms 30%' meaning 30% combined versus 30% each changes the divisor from 30 to 60. Overlaps (participation inside 'coursework 40%') double-count if entered twice. When weights listed don't sum to 100, either some categories carry implicit remainder or extra credit distorts the base — itemize the syllabus and check the sum before entering; the tool warns when totals stray from 100.
Points-based systems masquerade as weighted but are simpler division: 87 earned ÷ 100 possible = 87% regardless of assignment count. Mixing points and percentages (e.g. 45/50 on homework plus 88% on the midterm) requires converting points to percentages first (45/50 = 90%), then weighting. Dropped lowest scores refine both systems — omit the dropped item from both scores and weights so the remaining items renormalize automatically.
Curves and letter thresholds sit outside the weighted percentage but decide its meaning: an 89.5% rounded to A− versus B+ depends on the professor's rounding, truncation or curve policy. Some curves add points uniformly, others scale by distribution; this tool reports the raw weighted percentage, and the letter shown (A≥90, B≥80, etc.) is the common convention — verify your institution's cutoffs before celebrating or despairing.
Strategic studying flows from the weights: an hour on a 30%-weight midterm buys 3× the grade impact of an hour on 10% homework at equal score potential. When time is scarce, rank unfinished work by (points obtainable × weight) ÷ hours needed, and allocate to the highest grade-per-hour — the calculator's per-assignment contribution (score × weight) already ranks them when entered.
Scores 92, 85, 78 against weights 20, 30, 50: (1840 + 2550 + 3900) ÷ 100 = 82.9% → letter B. A partial case: 92 on homework (20% weight) and 85 on midterm 1 (25%) with final 30% pending → (92×20 + 85×25) ÷ 45 = 88.1% so far, with 55 remaining points at stake — showing why the final dominates the remaining trajectory.
Formulas are standard public references (see our methodology). External standards are cited in the text where they apply.
Last reviewed: September 2026 · Report an error