Turn points into a percentage and letter grade
Enter the points you earned and the points possible to get your grade as a percentage and a letter — instantly, on any test, quiz, or assignment.
Your grade
84%
42 out of 50 points
Letter grade
B
How to turn a score into a grade
When a test comes back as “36 out of 40,” a percentage makes it meaningful. Divide the points you earned by the points possible and multiply by 100 — that's your grade, and from there you can read off the letter.
This calculator does both at once: enter your points and it returns the percentage and the matching letter grade on the standard scale, where 90 and up is an A, 80s are B's, 70s are C's, and so on.
It also handles extra credit gracefully — if you earned more points than were possible, your percentage simply goes above 100%.
How to use the grade percentage calculator
Two numbers from your graded work are all you need.
Enter points earned
The number of points you scored on the test, quiz, or assignment.
Enter points possible
The maximum points the assignment was out of.
Read your grade
Your percentage and its letter grade appear instantly.
Grade percentage formula
Divide your earned points by the total possible and multiply by 100 to get the percentage.
To find the points needed for a target grade, reverse it: points needed = (target % ÷ 100) × points possible. A 90% on a 50-point test needs 45 points.
Map the percentage to a letter with the standard scale — 90+ A, 80–89 B, 70–79 C, 60–69 D, below 60 F.
Examples
A quiz score
36 out of 40 is 36 ÷ 40 × 100 = 90% — an A− on most college scales, or a straight A on the simple 90/80/70 scale.
Scoring by wrong answers
Got 7 wrong on a 40-question test? That's 33 right: 33 ÷ 40 × 100 = 82.5%, a B.
A big exam
425 points out of 500 is 425 ÷ 500 × 100 = 85% — a solid B.
Points needed for an A
To earn 90% on a 50-point test, you need 0.90 × 50 = 45 points — so you can miss at most 5.
GPA grade scale (4.0)
Most US high schools and colleges use this standard unweighted 4.0 scale to convert letter grades and percentages into grade points.
| Letter | Percentage | GPA points |
|---|---|---|
| A+ | 97–100% | 4.0 |
| A | 93–96% | 4.0 |
| A− | 90–92% | 3.7 |
| B+ | 87–89% | 3.3 |
| B | 83–86% | 3.0 |
| B− | 80–82% | 2.7 |
| C+ | 77–79% | 2.3 |
| C | 73–76% | 2.0 |
| C− | 70–72% | 1.7 |
| D+ | 67–69% | 1.3 |
| D | 63–66% | 1.0 |
| D− | 60–62% | 0.7 |
| F | 0–59% | 0.0 |
Scales vary by school. Some cap A+ at 4.0 (shown here); others award 4.3. Honors and AP/IB courses are often weighted +0.5 or +1.0.
Common grade-percentage mistakes
- Mixing up earned and possible points — always divide earned by possible, not the reverse.
- Averaging the percentages of point-based assignments instead of summing points; the weighted grade calculator handles that correctly.
- Forgetting extra credit can push you above 100% — that's expected, not an error.
- Assuming every school uses the same cutoffs; some use 93 for an A, others 90.
FAQ
Grade Percentage Calculator — FAQ
Answers to the questions students ask most about this tool.
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