One of the most important grades students calculate is the final grade. The final grade calculator gives you a clear idea of what you’ll need to achieve your goal.

All course components are considered, including tests, quizzes, homework assignments, projects, and mid-term and final exams. Before you learn how to calculate final grade requirements, it’s important to know your current grade, as this becomes part of the equation.

Calculating the Final Exam Grade

The final exam grade is calculated by using the following formula:

Final grade = Grade you want for class times the weight of the exam, plus ((1 – the weight of the final exam divided by 100) x current grade)weight of the final exam. You’ll find the information you need in the course syllabus, where there are details about each section of the course and how the weight contributes to the overall score.

Essentially, you’ll need to know three things before calculating your final grade, including your current course grade, the approximate grade to date, the grade you want (or goal), and the percentage weight of the final exam.

There are various calculations to find the final grade, with some calculations factoring weight for each assignment, test, and project, along with the mid-term and final exam.

The total course is represented as 100%, less the weight of the final exam (35%, for example), and 65% as the remaining weight of the course.

If your current grade is 85%, and the weight of the course is 65% or 0.65, then the current grade or weighted value is 85 x 0.65 = 55.25.

If you take the desired grade as 90%, then you can determine the grade you’ll need to achieve this goal by deducting 55.25 from 90, as follows: 90 – 55.25 = 34.75. The result means you’ll need to score 34.75 out of 35, which is 99.2% on the final exam.

Adjusting Your Final Goal or Score

You can adjust your goal using a final exam calculator by changing the goal or desired grade you need. For example, if the grade you need is lower than expected, you may still want to aim for a higher score and find the new grade you need for the final exam.

It’s important to take into consideration changes to your course’s syllabus or changes to your grade as you complete each assignment and test.

Factoring in the Mid-term Exam

If your course includes a mid-term exam, it’s essential to include the weight of this item in your final grade. In some cases, a mid-term exam may count as much as the final exam or carry a similar weight.

If you score higher on a mid-term, this can make it easier to achieve your desired grade, including what you’ll need on the final.

If you calculate your final grade early in the course, you may find significant changes to your mark during the first month or so.

You’ll need to recalculate the final grade, especially after a major project is completed and graded, as this shifts your mark for the course.

This is especially important following the mid-term exam, as they tend to hold a significant weight toward the final score or mark.

For this reason, you’ll need to use the final calculator more than once, using the final exam mark calculator.

How to Use Your Course’s Syllabus and Requirements

When you receive a course outline and requirements, it’s important to review them carefully and determine what you’ll need to succeed or meet your goal.

Not only is every course different in terms of what’s required to achieve your grade, but there are also various weights assigned to each component, which is unique to each course.

To achieve credit, you’ll need to score a minimum grade, which can range from 50% to 60% or 70% and above.

While a passing grade in high school and some college courses may require only 50% for a pass, you’ll likely want to achieve a higher mark to ensure a good score of B+ or higher.

Some college or university programs require a minimum average to earn a credit or accreditation, which affects your goal or may change the direction you take in your study patterns to score a higher grade.

While most students focus an incredible amount of effort on the final exam, as it’s a major part of the course, it’s important to earn high marks in assignments, even if they carry a smaller weight of between 5% and 15%, as this can influence the overall grade at the end of the course.

Makeup Exams and Similar Options

If you score lower than expected on your final exam or get an unfortunate failing grade, this will decrease your final grade and may cause you to fail the course entirely.

Instead of re-taking the course, which may be necessary, some programs allow for a final exam to be retaken. The average of the two final exams is calculated to determine your new final grade.

To calculate your final grade with the two exams, in this situation, you’ll need both final marks to determine the average. If your first final exam grade was 55%, for example, and retaking the exam scored 75%, your average will be 65%.

This is calculated as follows: (75 + 55)/2 = 65%. If there is the option to make up a mid-term exam, the same formula applies.

Once the average of the two marks is calculated, you’ll need to find the weight or mark based on how much the mid-term and/or final exam is worth.

For example, if the average mark is 65% for a final exam, and the weight is 30%, you can calculate how much the exam will contribute to the final grade by multiplying 65 by 0.3, which is 19.5.

If you haven’t yet completed the makeup exam and aim for 85%, for example, you can determine how that would contribute to the final grade as follows: 85 x 0.3 = 25.5.

This formula applies to any exam or major test that can be retaken, as this will impact your final grade.

Since your final exam isn’t marked until after the course is finished, you may try a few projected (or estimated) grades to determine what your final grade might be so that you can calculate final grade estimates.

Examples of Course Syllabus and Assigned Weights

When you begin a course, you’ll receive a syllabus, along with an outline, and topics for each section, so you can plan ahead and study.

You’ll also find the weight or percentage assigned to each section, which can help you “budget” your time and effort so that you can dedicate more time to the larger projects and exams and less time to the quizzes and smaller assignments, as they take up less of the final grade.

An example of a grading plan may look as follows:

Projects/assignments – 15%, quizzes/tests – 25%, mid-term exam – 25%, final exam – 35%. Based on this outline, if you find that the total number of projects and assignments is 10, for example, this means that each assignment is assigned 1.5% of the final grade or 1.5% x 10 = 15% of the total projects and assignments.

This same principle applies to other sections of the course, including quizzes. If there are five quizzes or surprise tests throughout the course, each one will make up 5% of the final grade.

Calculating Your Final Grade Based on Weighted Marks

If you know what your grades are up to, but not including your final exam, you can determine what you’ll need to meet your preferred final grade.

For example, suppose the total of your projects/assignments score 88%, quizzes and tests score 80%, and the mid-term exam is 90%, but the final exam is not yet graded; you can calculate the weight of each section based on the above model, as follows:

0.15 x 88

0.25 x 80

0.25 x 90

0.35 x (?)

If your goal is to earn 85% minimum as a final grade, and you want to determine what you need to get on the final exam, you’ll need to calculate the weighted marks based on the percentage or grades you have already, as follows:

0.15 x 88 = 13.2

0.25 x 80 = 20

0.25 x 90 = 22.5

Total = 55.7

The 55.7 total is your grade based on 65% or the weight of the total course, based on what you’ve completed so far. The final exam weights 35%, and if 85% is your goal, you’ll need to find what mark you require on the final exam to reach this final mark:

85 (desired grade) – 55.7 = 29.3

The result, 29.3 is what you need to score out of 35 to achieve 85%, this means your percentage must be 29.3/35 or 83.7% to meet your goal.

Calculating My Final Grade Based on Points

You may ask, what grade do I need to score a certain final score based on points assigned to each section of the course?

Some course outlines and breakdowns skip percentages altogether and instead assign points, which can be used to calculate what you’ll need to reach your goal, and the percentage weight for each part of the course.

The following example is what a course breakdown looks like when points are used, instead of percentages, to assign weights: projects/assignments score 200 points, quizzes and tests score 150 points, the mid-term exam is 350 points, and 300 for the final exam, for a point total of 1,000 points. Suppose your grades, based on this point system, are as follows:

180 out of 200 for projects/assignments

120 out of 150 for quizzes and tests

313 out of 350 for the mid-term exam

(?) out of 300 for the final exam

There are two ways to calculate your final grade, by either calculating the percentage for each section, such as 180/200 for projects/assignments = 0.9 or 90%, or you can add the points and the grades you have so far and use this total to convert to a percentage and determine what you’ll need on your final exam to earn your desired goal or final grade.

180/200 = 90% for projects/assignments

120/150 = 80% for quizzes and tests

313/350 = 89% for the mid-term exam

?/300 = ? for final exam

Considering the final exam carries a weight of 300 points, you’ll need to calculate the percentage of these points based on the total points for the course, which is 1,000.

This is done by dividing 300 by 1,000, which means the final exam is 30% or 0.3. Of the total 700 points assigned to components of the course, not including the final exam, the total score or grade is 613, or 613 out of 700. You can calculate the percentage so far as 613/700, which is 87.5%.

If the final grade you’re aiming for is 90%, you’ll need to find the number of points needed out of 300 on the final exam to reach this score.

If 300 points represent 30%, and you’re looking for 90%, you’ll need to find 87.5% of the 70% weight, which is 61.25, then you’ll need to deduct this grade from 90, which is 28.75 out of 30. If the final exam is 300 points, this means you’ll need to achieve 287.5 out of 300.

Grade Calculator Final – Online Options

One of the easiest ways to calculate a final grade is by using online calculators. These are found on various websites, including RogerHub, RapidTables, Calculator.net, and many other tools that make the process easy.

Essentially, you’ll find the answer the same regardless of your method. To save time and effort, you’ll notice that many online calculators provide various formats so that you can find different numbers based on your course’s syllabus.

Final Grade Calculator Summary

If you calculate the final grade and project your results early in the course, you’ll have a better idea of what you’ll need to achieve your desired grade.

Final grade calculators are great for teachers and students because they provide a better plan for students and how much they need in order to achieve their goals.

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