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Reference

Grading Scale: Percentage to Letter Grade

A common percentage-to-letter reference chart for quick checking. Your school, instructor, or institution may use different boundaries. Need a printable score chart for a specific number of questions instead? Use the Grading Chart.

Common US A+ to F reference scale

PercentageLetterGeneral description
97–100%A+Exceptional
93–96.99%AExcellent
90–92.99%A−Excellent
87–89.99%B+Very good
83–86.99%BGood
80–82.99%B−Good
77–79.99%C+Average+
73–76.99%CAverage
70–72.99%C−Average−
67–69.99%D+Below average
63–66.99%DLow pass
60–62.99%D−Low pass
Below 60%FFail
Not universal: There is no single grading scale used by every school. When your syllabus provides specific cutoffs, use those values instead.

How to use a grading scale

First calculate the exact percentage for your assignment or course. Then find the percentage range that includes your score. The corresponding letter is a reference only; some instructors use plus/minus systems, curves, or custom boundaries.

Related tools

Grade Calculator for current points, Weighted Grade Calculator for category weights, and Test Grade Calculator for one assessment. To see how one score becomes a percentage first, read how to calculate a test grade.

Keep going. Related guide: How to read a grading scale. Related tool: Class Grade Calculator.

How to convert a percentage to a GPA point

Once you have a letter grade, converting it to a GPA point uses a second, separate scale. The table below is a common US reference for 4.0 GPA points, shown alongside the percentage scale above. It is not a universal GPA conversion standard, and many schools publish their own.

Letter4.0 GPA pointSome schools use
A+4.04.3
A4.04.0
A−3.73.7
B+3.33.3
B3.03.0
B−2.72.7
C+2.32.3
C2.02.0
C−1.71.7
D+1.31.3
D1.01.0
D−0.70.7
F0.00.0

Notice that GPA conversion is not linear against percentage. An 89% and a 93% are only 4 points apart, but they cross a letter-grade boundary (B+ to A), which is a 0.7-point GPA swing. A single percentage point at the wrong boundary can matter more than several points in the middle of a letter range. Our Semester Grade Calculator shows how this plays out across a full semester of courses.

How to use a grading scale correctly

A grading scale is only a reference until your syllabus says otherwise. Three checks matter before you trust any scale, including this one.

  1. Check your syllabus first. Many instructors state exact cutoffs, and these override any general scale.
  2. Check for plus and minus grades. Some schools use only whole letters (A, B, C), where 90% and 99% are both simply an A.
  3. Check the passing threshold. Most US K-12 schools use 60% as the F cutoff, but some schools and many graduate programs set it at 70%.

Once you know your scale, convert a raw score to a letter grade using our Grade Calculator or Test Grade Calculator, both of which let you compare a percentage directly against this reference.

Frequently asked questions

Why do grading scales differ between schools?

Schools and instructors set their own pass/fail thresholds and letter-grade boundaries as institutional or course policy — there's no single legally mandated standard, so always defer to your syllabus over any general reference.

Does this scale include plus/minus grades?

Yes, the reference table above includes plus/minus boundaries (A+, A, A−, and so on). Some schools use a simpler letter-only scale without pluses or minuses — check your syllabus to see which your course uses.

How do I convert a percentage to a GPA?

GPA conversion depends on your school's specific scale (commonly 4.0, but not always). Use your percentage to find the letter grade here first, then check your institution's GPA table for that letter's point value.

Grading scales around the world — and why "standard" is a local term

The 90/80/70/60 ten-point letter-grade scale is common in US K-12 and many college settings, but it represents one convention among several in widespread use.

Several US universities — particularly in the UC system and some STEM programs — use a strict 93/90/87/83/80 plus/minus scale where the A/A− boundary is 93%, not 90%. Other institutions have no plus/minus grades at all: 90% and 99% are both an A with no distinction. Some graduate programs only award A, B, or C (with a C sometimes being the effective failing grade for a graduate student despite technically passing). And some professional programs (law, medical) use honor/pass/fail or quartile-based systems entirely.

Outside the US: UK universities use a percentage scale where 70%+ is a "First," 60–69% is a "2:1," and 50–59% is a "2:2" — the grading interpretation is completely different from US expectations, where a 70% is a C. German grades run 1 (best) to 5 (fail). Canadian provinces use their own variations. None of these systems maps cleanly to another without an explicit conversion.

This is why every calculator on this site allows custom grading scale input: the "standard" scale shown as default is a reference point, not a claim about your course.

More questions answered

Is a 93% an A or A−?

On the common US plus/minus scale: 90–92% is A−, 93–96% is A, 97–100% is A+. So 93% is a straight A. On a simpler scale without plus/minus, anything 90% and above is just an A.

Is a 67 failing in high school?

On the standard US scale, 67–69% is a D+, which is passing but below satisfactory. Some high schools set their minimum passing grade at 70%, which would make 67% a failing grade in those specific schools. Check your school's published grading policy.

What GPA is a B+?

A B+ corresponds to 3.3 on the standard 4.0 GPA scale, and to roughly 87–89% on the common percentage scale. On a weighted GPA scale (for AP or honors courses), a B+ may be worth 4.3 instead of 3.3.

Is a 5.0 GPA possible?

Yes, on weighted GPA scales used by some high schools. These scales award bonus points for honors, AP, or IB courses — typically 0.5 to 1.0 extra per grade level — so an A in an AP course might count as 5.0 instead of 4.0. Most colleges recalculate applicants' GPAs on an unweighted 4.0 scale for fair comparison.

Does UCLA have A+?

UCLA, like most UC campuses, uses A+ as a grade but caps it at 4.0 grade points (the same as a plain A) for GPA calculation purposes. The distinction between A and A+ is recorded on the transcript but has no numerical GPA advantage at UCLA.