Final Grade Calculator

Two questions, one formula

Most students arrive here with one of two questions. The calculator handles both from the same underlying formula, just solved in opposite directions.

The projection formula

Example: current grade 84%, final worth 30%, you expect to score 92%. Projected grade = 84 × 0.70 + 92 × 0.30 = 58.8 + 27.6 = 86.4%.

The required-score formula

Example: current grade 84%, final worth 30%, target 90%. Required score = (90 − 84 × 0.70) ÷ 0.30 = 31.2 ÷ 0.30 = 104%. A result above 100% means the target is not reachable through the final alone, even with a perfect score.

What your "current grade" number should actually represent

Both formulas depend on your current grade meaning only the work completed so far, with the final excluded and not counted as a zero. If your gradebook includes future ungraded assignments as zeroes, your current grade will look lower than it really is, and both formulas will give you a pessimistic result.

Canvas: current grade versus total grade

Canvas shows two separate numbers. The "current grade" counts only graded assignments. The "total grade" counts every assignment in the course, treating ungraded work as zero. Use the current grade for these formulas, not the total grade. The two can differ by 5 to 15 percentage points early in a term.

What if you have more than one thing left?

Treat each remaining item as a separate weighted contribution and solve for one at a time. Say your current grade reflects 60% of the course, and a final project (15%) and a final exam (25%) are both remaining. If your project comes back at 85%, plug the resulting combined grade into the calculator for the final exam. Or use the What-If Grade Calculator to test several projected final scores side by side.

How extra credit and dropped scores affect the result

Extra credit typically adds to points earned without adding to points possible in a total-points class, or lifts a specific category's average in a weighted class. In either case, calculate your adjusted current grade first, then enter that number into the final grade formula. Our guide on how extra credit changes your grade explains the three most common methods.

Dropped scores work the opposite way: they raise your current grade by removing your weakest result from the category average. If your syllabus drops the lowest quiz, your quiz category average is already higher than a plain mean would suggest. Most gradebooks apply this automatically, so the current grade they display already reflects any dropped score.

For a full explanation of both formulas, worked examples, and the negative-required-score case, read the final grade guide.

The final grade formula, step by step

The required-score calculation is algebra rearranged — starting from the weighted-average formula and solving for the one unknown (the final exam score) rather than the overall grade.

Start with: Overall Grade = (Current Grade × Pre-Final Weight) + (Final Score × Final Weight). Replace "overall grade" with your target, replace "current grade" and both weights with your known values, and solve for Final Score:

Worked example: current grade 79%, target 85%, final worth 40%.
Required = (85 − 79 × 0.60) ÷ 0.40 = (85 − 47.4) ÷ 0.40 = 37.6 ÷ 0.40 = 94%. You need a 94% on the final to finish at exactly 85%.

If the result is above 100%, the target is mathematically unreachable through the final alone — you'd need extra credit, a dropped-score policy, or a different target. If it's 0% or negative, congratulations: you've already locked in your target grade no matter what you score.

Projected grade formula

The reverse question ("what will my course grade be if I score X on the final?") uses the same formula solved the other way:

Example: same setup, but you scored 88% on the final. Projected = 79 × 0.60 + 88 × 0.40 = 47.4 + 35.2 = 82.6%. Your final course grade would be 82.6%.

Extra credit changes the math

Extra credit is usually applied within a specific assignment category before it's weighted into the course total — not simply added to the final percentage afterward. A 5-point bonus in a category worth 30% of the grade adds 5 × 0.30 = 1.5 percentage points to your course grade, not 5. The Extra Credit mode handles this automatically.

Dropped lowest score

Many courses drop one low quiz, homework, or lab score from the category total before calculating the category average. If your gradebook already applies that policy, the current grade it displays already reflects the dropped score — enter it as-is and you don't need this mode.

The Drop One mode handles the other case: removing an entire assignment worth a stated share of your course grade. Enter your current grade (which includes the item), the item's score, and the item's weight in the whole course — not its weight inside a category. The mode subtracts the item's weighted contribution and re-normalizes the remaining grade. For example, with a current grade of 84% that includes a 60% quiz worth 10% of the course: (84 − 60 × 0.10) ÷ 0.90 = 86.7%.