The short answer
North Carolina uses a statewide scale of A = 90–100, B = 80–89, C = 70–79, D = 60–69, F = below 60 — a 10-point scale with no plus or minus grades. It applies to grades 9-12 (since 2015-16). Each letter earns A 4, B 3, C 2, D 1, F 0 GPA points.
Verify with your district: the official site blocked direct access during our research, so these values come from search-engine snippets of the cited official page.
The official North Carolina grading scale
| Letter | Percent range | Points wide | GPA points |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 90–100 | 11 | 4.0 |
| B | 80–89 | 10 | 3.0 |
| C | 70–79 | 10 | 2.0 |
| D | 60–69 | 10 | 1.0 |
| F | below 60 | — | 0.0 |
Applies to: grades 9-12 (since 2015-16).
North Carolina’s State Board approved a standard 10-point scale with no plus or minus grades in October 2014, effective for all high school students in 2015–16. District pages cite State Board policy GRAD-009 and describe quality points of +0.5 for honors and +1.0 for AP/IB courses: a B (3.0) in an honors class counts 3.5, and in an AP class 4.0. Grades K–8 are set locally.
Same score, different letter: North Carolina vs. the plus/minus scale
Many teachers, websites and calculators assume the plus/minus scale (A 93+, A− 90–92, B+ 87–89 …). Here is how sample scores land on North Carolina's scale instead:
| Score | North Carolina letter | Plus/minus letter |
|---|---|---|
| 97% | A | A+ |
| 93% | A | A |
| 91% | A | A− |
| 89% | B | B+ |
| 86% | B | B |
| 84% | B | B |
| 80% | B | B− |
| 78% | C | C+ |
| 75% | C | C |
| 72% | C | C− |
| 70% | C | C− |
| 68% | D | D+ |
| 65% | D | D |
| 61% | D | D− |
| 59% | F | F |
The base letter matches the plus/minus scale for all 15 sample scores, because both use the same 90/80/70/60 cut-offs. What North Carolina's scale removes is the plus and minus: a 91 is a plain A here but an A− (3.7 points) on the plus/minus scale, and an 80 and an 89 are both a B instead of a B− (2.7) and a B+ (3.3). Where a school maps whole letters to whole points, scores of 90–92 gain 0.3 points and scores of 87–89 lose 0.3 compared with plus/minus grading.
What the state's documents say
State Board approved a standard 10-point scale (no plus/minus) in Oct 2014, effective for all high school students in 2015-16. District pages cite SBE Policy GRAD-009. Honors +0.5 and AP/IB +1.0 quality points (district pages). Grades K-8 are set locally. Official policy manual not opened.
Source: ncte.org. Verification: taken from search-engine-indexed text of the cited page because the official site blocked direct access — verify with your district.
Turning a North Carolina letter into GPA points
On a 10-point scale with whole letters, GPA math is simple: average the points of your classes, weighted by credits. Three B's and three A's in equal-credit classes give (3 × 3.0 + 3 × 4.0) ÷ 6 = 3.5. One C among five A's gives (2.0 + 5 × 4.0) ÷ 6 ≈ 3.67.
Enter your grades in the high school GPA calculator (type the letter, not the percent, so the state scale is respected), compare scales in the grading scale converter, or see what a GPA means on the GPA scale. State facts beyond grading are on the North Carolina school facts page.
Frequently asked questions
What is the grading scale in North Carolina?
Does North Carolina use plus and minus grades?
Who does the North Carolina grading scale apply to?
Sources & method
- North Carolina scale: https://ncte.org/report/nc-high-schools-to-adopt-10-point-grading-scale/ (search-indexed copy).
- Plus/minus comparison: the common US scale (A 93+, A− 90–92, B+ 87–89 …) used across this site. Sample-score letters are computed from the published ranges.
Checked October 2026. Grading rules change — if your district's handbook differs, the handbook wins. Spotted an error? Tell us via the about page.