Calculate the final-exam score you need for a target grade
To calculate the exam score needed for a target grade, first find how many percentage points your completed work has already contributed. Your average on completed work is not the same as your contribution to the whole course.
Check the course weights
Use the weights in your course syllabus or official grade system. This method assumes the final exam is the only remaining assessment and that the course uses a straightforward weighted percentage. Dropped assignments, extra credit, grade curves and special pass requirements need separate treatment.
Find the completed-work contribution
Enter your completed scores and their course weights in the Grade Calculator. For example, an assignment score of 80% weighted at 30% contributes 24 points. A midterm score of 70% weighted at 30% contributes another 21 points.
Together, that work contributes 45 percentage points toward the final course grade. Its completed-work average is 75%, because 45 / 60 × 100 = 75. Use the 45-point contribution in the next step, not 75.
Solve for the exam score
Suppose the final exam is worth the remaining 40% and your target course grade is 70%. You need another 25 percentage points: 70 − 45 = 25.
Use this formula, entering the exam weight as a percentage number such as 40:
Required exam score (%) = (target grade − completed contribution) / exam weight × 100
For this example: (70 − 45) / 40 × 100 = 62.5%. You can enter that arithmetic in the Simple Calculator. The Grade Calculator itself does not automatically solve for an unknown exam score.
Check the result against the full course
Return to the Grade Calculator and add a final-exam row with a score of 62.5 and weight of 40. With the two earlier rows, the total weight is 100% and the calculated course grade is 70%. This checks the arithmetic and helps catch a mistyped weight.
Interpret an impossible or unusually low target
A required score above 100% means the target is not achievable under this simple model without another grading rule changing the result. A result below zero means the entered contribution already exceeds the target mathematically; it does not override attendance rules, a required exam sitting or a separate exam pass mark. Check official rounding rules and avoid relying on rounded display values near a grade boundary.