A final grade is the overall grade recorded for a course at the end of the term; when there’s a final exam, it’s a weighted blend of your grade before the exam and your exam score.
How the final exam weight works
If the final is worth w percent, your pre-exam grade counts for the rest:
Final grade = current grade × (1 − w) + exam score × w
Example. Current grade 84%, final worth 20%, exam score 70%:
84 × 0.8 + 70 × 0.2 = 67.2 + 14 = 81.2%
Scoring 70 on the final cost this student about 3 points, not 14, because the exam is only a fifth of the grade.
Working backward: what do I need?
Rearrange the formula to find the exam score that hits a target:
Required score = (target − current × (1 − w)) ÷ w
Same student, wanting at least 85%:
(85 − 67.2) ÷ 0.2 = 17.8 ÷ 0.2 = 89%
If the answer comes out above 100, the target isn’t reachable through the exam alone. The final grade calculator runs this in both directions.
Things that change the math
- Category weighting. Some teachers fold the final into the “tests” category instead of giving it its own weight. Then you need the full weighted grade calculation, which the grade calculator handles.
- Semester vs. year. In year-long high school classes, the semester grade may combine two quarters and an exam, for example 40/40/20. The semester grade calculator is built for that setup.
- Exemptions and replacement policies. Some schools let a strong final replace a low test score. Read your syllabus.
Related: summative assessment · letter grade