Answer: Enter your values and the Test Grade Calculator returns the exact result instantly — formula, worked example, and a plain-English explanation are included below the tool.
Turn any raw score into a percentage, letter grade, and GPA
Enter the points possible on any test and get a grading key for every score. No more long division at the podium.
| Score | Percentage | Letter |
|---|
| Percentage | Letter (10-pt, +/−) | GPA (4.0 scale) |
|---|---|---|
| 97 – 100% | A+ | 4.0 |
| 93 – 96.9% | A | 4.0 |
| 90 – 92.9% | A− | 3.7 |
| 87 – 89.9% | B+ | 3.3 |
| 83 – 86.9% | B | 3.0 |
| 80 – 82.9% | B− | 2.7 |
| 77 – 79.9% | C+ | 2.3 |
| 73 – 76.9% | C | 2.0 |
| 70 – 72.9% | C− | 1.7 |
| 67 – 69.9% | D+ | 1.3 |
| 63 – 66.9% | D | 1.0 |
| 60 – 62.9% | D− | 0.7 |
| Below 60% | F | 0.0 |
This is the most common US scale, but cutoffs vary. Many high schools use a plain 10-point scale (90 A, 80 B, 70 C, 60 D), and some districts grade on a 7-point scale where an A starts at 93. Your syllabus always wins.
Grading a test by hand is one division problem per student. This calculator does the division, converts it to a letter grade on the scale you pick, and then answers the two follow-up questions every student actually has: what letter is that, and how close was I to the next one up?
Percentage = points earned ÷ points possible × 100. The percentage then maps onto a letter scale. For "how many points for the next letter up," the calculator multiplies the next band's cutoff by points possible and rounds up — that's the smallest whole-point score that clears the bar.
Type in your points earned and points possible, pick the scale your class uses, and read the result. Teachers can scroll to the quick-grade table, set the points possible once, and keep the grading key open while they mark. It works for quizzes, homework, midterms — anything scored in points.
Take 21 out of 30. The division is 21 ÷ 30 = 0.70, so the percentage is 70%. On the 10-point scale with plus/minus grades, 70% lands at the bottom of the C− band (70–72.9%), worth 1.7 GPA points.
Now the follow-up. To reach a C at 73%, you'd need 73% × 30 = 21.9 points, which rounds up to 22 — one more point buys a whole letter step, since 22/30 = 73.3%. A B− at 80% takes 24 points, and a B at 83% takes 25 (24.9 rounded up). Another common one: 18 out of 25 is 72%, also a C−, and 45 out of 50 is exactly 90%, an A−.
Most tests are out of a handful of standard totals. This is the minimum whole-point score for each letter on the 10-point scale, worked out the same way the calculator does it: cutoff × points possible, rounded up. On the plus/minus scale these are the A−, B−, C− and D− cutoffs.
| Points possible | A (90%) | B (80%) | C (70%) | D (60%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 |
| 15 | 14 | 12 | 11 | 9 |
| 20 | 18 | 16 | 14 | 12 |
| 25 | 23 | 20 | 18 | 15 |
| 30 | 27 | 24 | 21 | 18 |
| 40 | 36 | 32 | 28 | 24 |
| 50 | 45 | 40 | 35 | 30 |
| 75 | 68 | 60 | 53 | 45 |
| 100 | 90 | 80 | 70 | 60 |
Watch the odd totals. On a 15-point quiz, 90% is 13.5 points, so an A takes 14, which is really 93.3%. On a 25-point quiz, 22 is 88% and a B+, while 23 is 92%. The fewer points a test has, the bigger each point is. Every question on a 10-point quiz is worth a full 10%.
That depends on how your teacher weights categories. A common setup is something like tests 50%, homework 30% and participation 20%. In that case, a single test only moves the tests category, and the category only counts for half.
Say you've taken three tests worth 100 points each and scored 85, 78 and 90. Your test average is 253 ÷ 300 = 84.3%. A fourth test at 70 drops it to 323 ÷ 400 = 80.75%. That's 3.6 points off the category, but only about 1.8 points off your overall grade if tests are 50% of it. A strong homework average can hold a letter grade steady through one bad test.
If your class uses total points instead of weights, every point counts the same no matter where it came from. A 100-point test then outweighs ten 5-point quizzes put together. For the full picture, the final grade calculator works out what you need on the final to reach a target grade, and the GPA calculator turns letter grades into a GPA.
21 out of 30 is 70%, which is a C- on the standard 10-point scale (C- covers 70-72.9%). On a simple letter scale without plus/minus grades it's a C. To reach a solid C (73%) you'd need 22 out of 30, and a B- (80%) takes 24 out of 30.
Divide the points you earned by the points possible and multiply by 100. For example, 18 out of 25 is 18 ÷ 25 × 100 = 72%. That percentage maps to a letter grade using your class's grading scale, most commonly the 10-point scale where 90-100 is an A, 80-89 a B, 70-79 a C, and 60-69 a D.
Multiply the cutoff percentage by the points possible and round up. If you have 21 out of 30 (70%, a C-) and want a C at 73%, you need 73% × 30 = 21.9, rounded up to 22 points, which scores 73.3%. The calculator shows this gap for every letter band automatically.
On the 10-point scale, 60% (a D) is technically passing in most high school and college classes, but many programs require a C or better (70%) for credit toward a major, and degree-specific courses often require higher. Always check your syllabus, because cutoffs vary by school and by teacher.
With plus/minus grading, 70-72.9% is a C-, so exactly 70% is a C-. Without plus/minus grading, anything from 70-79.9% is a plain C. The GPA difference is real: a C- is usually 1.7 while a C is 2.0 on the 4.0 scale.
17 out of 20 is 85%. On the standard plus/minus scale that's a B (83 to 86.9%), worth 3.0 GPA points. On a plain 10-point scale it's also a B. One more point, 18 out of 20, is exactly 90% and an A−.
On a 10-point scale you need 90%, so you can miss 10% of the points. That's 1 question on a 10-question test, 2 on 20, 5 on 50 and 10 on 100. On a 25-question test you can miss 2 (23/25 = 92%), because missing 3 drops you to 88%.