Weighted Grade Calculator

Band {{ resultsReady ? analysis.grade_band_label : '—' }} Rows {{ resultsReady ? `${analysis.completed_count} graded · ${analysis.upcoming_count} upcoming` : '—' }} Target {{ resultsReady ? analysis.target_status : '—' }}

Input format:

Match the source gradebook before entering rows.

Grade rows:

Leave the score or earned-points cell blank to reserve upcoming work.

Grade basis:

Use the basis that matches the gradebook headline.

Target grade:

Enter a final course target from 0% through 200%.

Drop lowest completed rows:

The neutral default is 0 rows.

Display rounding:

The default reports the nearest hundredth.

Reserve missing weight:

When enabled, entered weights below 100% reserve the missing share in target planning.

Custom grade bands:

The neutral default is empty; matching uses the rounded display grade.

Scenario label:

Optional, up to 80 characters.

Component	Score	Entered basis	Effective weight	Contribution	Status	Copy
{{ row.label }}	{{ row.score_display }}	{{ row.entered_display }}	{{ row.effective_display }}	{{ row.contribution_display }}	{{ row.status_label }}

Runway item	Value	Interpretation	Copy
{{ row.label }}	{{ row.display }}	{{ row.detail }}

The chart renderer is unavailable. The grade ledger still contains every contribution value.

Course totals can look deceptively simple. A quiz worth 10 points, a project worth 30% of the course, and an ungraded final do not belong in the same ordinary average. The grade only makes sense after each result is placed on the same basis as the syllabus or gradebook.

Two common systems reach that common basis in different ways. A weighted course assigns a fixed share to each category or item. A points course lets each item's possible points determine its influence. Both can produce a current percentage, but they answer different questions when work is still ungraded.

Differences between weighted and points-based grades
Gradebook basis	What gives a row influence	Typical mistake
Weighted percentages	A syllabus share such as 20% or 35%	Averaging category percentages without their weights
Points	Possible points, so a 100-point exam counts more than a 10-point quiz	Treating every displayed percentage as equally important
Future work	Blank weight or possible points reserved for later	Reading the completed-work average as the final course grade

A completed-work average renormalizes the work graded so far to 100%. A full-course share instead shows how many percentage points have already been earned toward the final course total. For example, earning 80% on work worth half the course is an 80% completed average but only 40 percentage points of the final course grade. Neither view is universally correct; the useful one is the view that matches the official gradebook.

Drop rules, extra credit, blank grades, category caps, curves, late penalties, and instructor overrides can all change the official result. A weighted-grade calculation is therefore a planning and audit aid, not a replacement for the syllabus and the learning-management system's aggregation settings.

How to Use This Tool:

Begin with the same row format and denominator used by the course gradebook.

Choose percentage weights or earned and possible points under Input format.
Enter one comma-separated grade row per line. Leave the score or earned-points field blank for future work, and keep its weight or possible points present.
Select Normalize completed weights for a current average of graded work, or Use weights as full-course shares when each entered percentage is a fixed slice of the final course.
Set the target grade and any drop count. Use Treat unlisted weight as remaining work only when missing weighted share really represents future coursework.
Review the current grade, target runway, dropped rows, and weight warnings before comparing the estimate with the official gradebook.

Interpreting Results:

The Current grade uses only active completed rows. In completed-average mode it is renormalized over active weight; in full-course-share mode it is the percentage points already earned. A large difference between those views is normal when much of the course remains ungraded.

Within 100% means the target can be reached with an average of at most 100% on the reserved work.
Already banked means the entered completed contribution already meets the target, so the solved remaining average is 0% or lower.
Needs extra credit covers a required average above 100% and at most 120%.
Above practical range means the required average exceeds 120% under the entered assumptions.
No runway means there is no blank weight or possible-points balance on which to solve a remaining average.

Technical Details:

Weighted grading first converts each completed row to a percentage, then applies either a fixed course weight or a possible-points denominator. Upcoming rows stay out of the current grade but can supply the denominator for target planning. Dropped rows are removed before the active totals are formed.

Formula Core:

For percentage-weight rows, a row's earned course contribution is its score multiplied by its course weight. Completed-average mode divides the sum of those contributions by active completed weight, while full-course-share mode keeps the contributions as final-course percentage points.

\begin{array}{lcl} C_{i} & = & \frac{S_{i}}{100} \times W_{i} \\ G_{completed} & = & \frac{\sum S_{i} W_{i}}{\sum W_{i}} \\ G_{course} & = & \sum C_{i} \\ R_{weighted} & = & \frac{T - G_{course}}{W_{upcoming} + W_{unlisted}} \times 100 \end{array}

Here S is a score in percent, W is weight in course-percentage points, C is an earned course contribution, T is the target final percentage, and R is the average required on remaining work. With scores of 92% at 40% weight and 85% at 35% weight, the completed contributions are 36.80 and 29.75. The completed average is 66.55 divided by 75, or 88.73%; a 90% course target across a remaining 25% requires 93.80%.

Points mode uses possible points as weight. Its current grade and remaining average are calculated independently of the percentage-weight route.

\begin{array}{lcl} G_{points} & = & \frac{\sum E_{i}}{\sum P_{i}} \times 100 \\ R_{points} & = & \frac{\frac{T}{100} \times (P_{completed} + P_{upcoming}) - E_{completed}}{P_{upcoming}} \times 100 \end{array}

Rule Core:

Weighted grade rules and boundaries
Rule	Exact behavior
Score range	Percentage scores and targets may be 0% through 200%; values above 100% are retained as extra credit and warned.
Weights	Each weighted row needs a weight greater than 0 and no more than 200. Totals above or below 100% produce an audit warning.
Points	Possible points must be greater than 0. Completed earned points may be 0 through 1,000,000,000.
Dropped rows	The lowest completed score is dropped first; higher entered weight and then alphabetical label order break ties. At least one completed row always remains.
Grade bands	Custom minimums are sorted from highest to lowest and compared with the displayed, rounded current grade using an inclusive greater-than-or-equal test.

The supported letter inputs use a fixed repository convention before aggregation: A+ 98.5, A 95, A- 91.5, B+ 88.5, B 85, B- 81.5, C+ 78.5, C 75, C- 71.5, D+ 68.5, D 65, D- 61.5, and F 50. These values are not a universal academic standard.

Rounding affects the displayed grade and custom grade-band match. It can use the nearest hundredth, tenth, or whole percent, or force the value down or up to the nearest tenth. Full-precision values remain the basis for contributions and target arithmetic.

Accuracy Notes:

The result matches only the rules represented by the rows. Confirm category nesting, extra-credit treatment, excluded submissions, group-specific drop rules, caps, curves, penalties, and the official handling of empty grades. The simple drop rule operates across all completed rows, so it should not be used when a syllabus limits drops to one category or protects specific assignments.

References:

Grade aggregation, MoodleDocs, updated October 31, 2024.