Grade Percentage Calculator

Points to percentage

Use this calculator when an assignment is scored in points rather than questions. The percentage is the points earned divided by the points possible, multiplied by 100.

grade % = points earned ÷ points possible × 100

Single assignment vs. a points-based course total

For one assignment, enter that assignment's earned and possible points directly. If your course is a pure points system with no category weighting, add the earned points across the included assignments, add the possible points, and enter those two totals here.

If homework, exams or other categories have separate percentage weights, do not combine them as raw points unless your syllabus says to. Use the Weighted Grade Calculator instead.

Letter-grade cutoffs, rounding and extra-credit policies vary by course, so treat the displayed letter as a reference and compare the percentage with your syllabus.

Privacy: calculator inputs are processed in your browser; Lynara does not need to upload these values to calculate the result.

Why two assignment percentages do not always average to your course grade

Suppose a course counts every earned point equally, without separate assignment-category weights. On a 20-point quiz you earn 18 points (90%); on a 30-point assignment you earn 24 points (80%). Taking the simple average of 90% and 80% gives 85%, but it incorrectly gives the smaller quiz the same influence as the larger assignment.

For a pure total-points course, add the earned points (18 + 24 = 42), add the possible points (20 + 30 = 50), and calculate 42 ÷ 50 × 100 = 84%. Type 42 and 50 into this calculator to check the combined grade. In this example, the second assignment counts 30/50 = 60% of the total available points, rather than half.

When you must not combine all points

If your syllabus gives exams 60% and homework 40% regardless of how many points each has, follow the published category weights instead of pooling raw points. Use the Weighted Grade Calculator. For a final exam with its own stated course weight, the Final Grade Calculator solves a different forward-or-target problem. Extra credit, dropped scores, missing assignments and rounding can also alter the institution's official grade. Check the gradebook before treating a modeled result as final.

Formula

percentage = points earned ÷ points possible × 100

Should an ungraded assignment reduce your grade today?

1. Imagine two graded assignments: 37 points out of 50 and 18 points out of 25. Add the earned points: 37 + 18 = 55. Add only graded possible points: 50 + 25 = 75. The current points-based grade is 55 ÷ 75 × 100 = 73.33%.
2. A third assignment worth 25 points has not been graded. Counting it as zero prematurely changes the denominator to 100 and shows 55%, which is not the same as a 73.33% grade on completed work.
3. If the third assignment is later graded at 21/25, the combined points-based grade becomes (55 + 21) ÷ (75 + 25) × 100 = 76%.

What the result tells you

A points-based total depends on which assignments belong in the calculation. The same score history can look dramatically different if unfinished work is treated as a zero.

Before you use the result

Your class may explicitly count missed work as zero or weight homework, quizzes and exams by category. Check the gradebook policy; use a weighted-grade tool when category weights apply instead of adding raw points across unlike categories.

Useful for

• Assignment grades
• Quiz percentages
• Points-based grading