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Scenario planning

What-If Grade Calculator

Compare three realistic future scores at once so you can see exactly how an upcoming exam or assessment could change your course average.

Compare three scenarios

All scenarios use the same current grade and assessment weight.

Side-by-side
Conservative79.8% · C+
Expected82.8% · B
Optimistic85.8% · B
Try realistic, stretch, and minimum acceptable scores to compare the outcomes.

How a What-If grade calculation works

A what-if calculation treats a future score as hypothetical. If your current grade represents 70% of the course and the next exam is worth 30%, each scenario replaces that future 30% with a different score.

Projected Grade = Current × (1 − Weight) + Scenario Score × Weight

Why compare three scores?

One scenario is easy to dismiss as too optimistic or too pessimistic. Seeing three outcomes makes the size of the grade swing clear and keeps the calculation tied to the weight of the assessment.

Keep going. Related guide: How to calculate a weighted grade.

What-If grades in Canvas, Blackboard, and your own syllabus

Canvas has a built-in What-If Grades feature on the student Grades page — click any score cell, type a hypothetical number, and Canvas recalculates your current and total grade instantly. The simulation is browser-session only (it disappears on reload) and is visible only to you, not your instructor. One important limitation: if your instructor hides total grades in Course Settings, Canvas won't display a total to calculate from, making the What-If feature unavailable for that course.

Blackboard's student grade view does not include a canvas-style what-if simulator. Schoology and Brightspace have varying levels of what-if support depending on institutional configuration. When your LMS doesn't offer it, or when you want to test scenarios without logging into a course, this standalone calculator gives you the same result from the same formula — just enter your current grade and the weight of the upcoming assessment.

What-if grade calculator for Aeries, Infinite Campus, and PowerSchool

School management systems like Aeries, Infinite Campus, and PowerSchool are primarily gradebook and student-information systems — they display posted grades but generally don't include student-facing what-if simulation tools. Students using these systems can use this calculator as a direct replacement: enter the current grade your SIS shows, the weight of the upcoming assignment or test, and the score you're planning for (or hoping for), and the projected outcome appears immediately.

How a what-if grade is calculated

A what-if grade uses the same weighted-average formula as your real grade. The only difference is that you supply a hypothetical score for work that has not been graded yet, instead of leaving it out.

What-If Grade % = Σ(Category Score % × Category Weight) ÷ Σ(Category Weights)

Worked example

Say your current grade reflects 70% of the course at 84%, with a final exam worth the remaining 30%. Testing a hypothetical 85% on the final: (84×70 + 85×30) ÷ 100 = (5,880 + 2,550) ÷ 100 = 84.3%. Testing a 95% instead: (84×70 + 95×30) ÷ 100 = 87.3%. Comparing a few scores side by side shows exactly how much the final can move your grade in either direction.

What-if tools across different platforms

Canvas has the most complete built-in version of this feature. From the student Grades page, click any score cell and type a hypothetical number; Canvas recalculates instantly, and a "Revert to Actual Score" button clears the simulation. This only works from your own browser session and disappears on reload; your instructor never sees it.

Blackboard's student view does not include a Canvas-style simulator. Schoology and Brightspace support varies by institution configuration. When your platform does not offer this feature, or when you want to compare scenarios across platforms, a standalone calculator using the same formula your syllabus already uses gives you the same answer regardless of platform.

Why your number might not match your LMS exactly

The most common reason is the current-grade vs. total-grade distinction. Canvas's "total grade" counts ungraded work as zero, while its "current grade" does not. Make sure your starting percentage reflects only graded work, not the total grade, before testing a hypothetical score here.

When to use this instead of the Final Grade Calculator

Use the Final Grade Calculator when you have a specific target grade and want to know the exact score needed to reach it. Use this What-If calculator when you want to compare several possible scores side by side, or when more than one piece of work remains and you want to see how different combinations play out. Our guide on how to calculate your final grade covers both formulas together.

Frequently asked questions

What does "what-if grade" mean?

A what-if grade is a hypothetical projection — you enter a score you haven't received yet, and the calculator shows what your overall grade would be if you got that score. It doesn't change your actual grade anywhere; it's a planning tool.

How is the what-if grade calculated?

Projected Grade = Current Grade × (1 − Assessment Weight) + Hypothetical Score × Assessment Weight. Enter your current grade and the upcoming assessment's weight as listed in your syllabus, then try different hypothetical scores to see the range of outcomes.

Can I test three scenarios at once?

Yes — the 3-scenario mode (Conservative, Expected, Optimistic) fills in default scores of 70%, 80%, and 90% and calculates all three projected grades side by side. You can edit any of the three hypothetical scores to match your own range.

My Canvas what-if grade doesn't match this calculator — why?

The most common reason is Canvas's current/total grade toggle. Canvas's "current grade" counts only graded assignments; its "total grade" counts ungraded work as zero. Make sure you're entering the right Canvas number — current grade if you want to project from only completed work, total grade if you want to include the effect of pending assignments.

Does a what-if grade affect my official grade?

No. What-if calculations — whether run in Canvas's built-in tool or here — are simulations only. Your official grade changes only when your instructor posts a real score in the gradebook.