The short answer
Tennessee 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 (for TSAC financial-aid purposes); grades PreK-8 local.
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 Tennessee grading scale
| Letter | Percent range | Points wide | GPA points |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 90–100 | 11 | not set per letter in our source |
| B | 80–89 | 10 | not set per letter in our source |
| C | 70–79 | 10 | not set per letter in our source |
| D | 60–69 | 10 | not set per letter in our source |
| F | below 60 | — | not set per letter in our source |
Applies to: grades 9-12 (for TSAC financial-aid purposes); grades PreK-8 local.
Tennessee’s State Board Policy 3.301 (T.C.A. 49-6-407) moved to the 10-point scale for grades issued from 2022–23 on, replacing a 93/85/75/70 scale. It covers grades 9–12 for TSAC financial-aid purposes; grades PreK–8 are local. The policy adds percentage points before the letter is assigned: +3 for honors and similar courses, +4 for AP, IB and Cambridge. So an 87% in an AP class becomes 91% — an A.
Same score, different letter: Tennessee 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 Tennessee's scale instead, and on the scale it replaced:
| Score | Tennessee letter | Plus/minus letter | Previous Tennessee scale |
|---|---|---|---|
| 97% | A | A+ | A |
| 93% | A | A | A |
| 91% | A | A− | B |
| 89% | B | B+ | B |
| 86% | B | B | B |
| 84% | B | B | C |
| 80% | B | B− | C |
| 78% | C | C+ | C |
| 75% | C | C | C |
| 72% | C | C− | D |
| 70% | C | C− | D |
| 68% | D | D+ | F |
| 65% | D | D | F |
| 61% | D | D− | F |
| 59% | F | 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 Tennessee'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. Compared with the previous 93/85/75/70 scale, 90–92 moved from B to A, 80–84 moved from C to B, 70–74 moved from D to C, and 60–69 moved from F to D — every change raised the letter.
What the state's documents say
SBE Policy 3.301 (T.C.A. 49-6-407): 10-point scale for grades issued from 2022-23 on (replacing the 93/85/75/70 scale). Honors etc. get +3 percentage points and AP/IB/Cambridge +4. Per-letter quality points not confirmed. The tn.gov PDF reset the connection; values come from search-indexed content of the official PDF.
Source: www.tn.gov. Verification: taken from search-engine-indexed text of the cited page because the official site blocked direct access — verify with your district.
Turning a Tennessee letter into GPA points
Our source does not give a point value for each letter on this scale. Many schools use A 4, B 3, C 2, D 1, F 0 for a 10-point scale, but check your transcript or student handbook before calculating, especially for weighted courses.
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 Tennessee school facts page.
Frequently asked questions
What is the grading scale in Tennessee?
Does Tennessee use plus and minus grades?
Who does the Tennessee grading scale apply to?
Sources & method
- Tennessee scale: https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/stateboardofeducation/documents/2022-sbe-meetings/july-22%2c-2022-sbe-meeting/7-22-22%20III%20O%20Uniform%20Grading%20Policy%203.301%20Clean.pdf (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.