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Use weighted percents for syllabus categories, or points when your gradebook is point-based.
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Blank scores mark upcoming work for the target runway.
Choose the headline math that matches your gradebook before using the target runway.
Enter the final course percent you want, e.g. 90 for an A-range target.
%
Use 0 for normal gradebooks; keep at least one completed row active.
Choose whole, tenth, hundredth, or directed tenth rounding for reporting.
When entered weights total below 100%, the target runway reserves the missing share instead of ignoring it.
One band per line as Label, minimum percent. Example: A,90.
Optional short label such as Biology midterm plan.
Component Score {{ enteredWeightHeader }} Effective weight Weighted points Status Copy
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Active total {{ result.currentGradeDisplay }} {{ result.activeWeightDisplay }} {{ result.activeEffectiveWeightDisplay }} {{ result.currentGradeDisplay }} {{ result.weightStatus }}
Runway item Value Interpretation Copy
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Audit item Value Interpretation Copy
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A weighted grade combines several scores after giving each score its share of the course. A final exam worth 25% affects the course result more than a quiz group worth 10%, even when both are recorded as percentages. The useful question is not only what the average score is, but how much of the course that score represents.

Weighted grading is common when a syllabus separates homework, quizzes, projects, participation, exams, and a final. A student with 92% homework and 85% quizzes may look secure, but the answer changes if the final is still blank and carries a large course share. Completed work, remaining work, and the grade target need to be kept separate until the course is finished.

Weighted course grade diagram with completed rows, a blank final row, and total course weight.

Point-based gradebooks answer the same question with a different weight. Instead of a syllabus share such as 40%, each row's possible points act as its weight. A 120-point final affects the total more than a 20-point quiz because the denominator includes more possible points.

A weighted grade is still a planning estimate until the official gradebook is complete. Dropped rows, extra credit, missing categories, and rounding rules can move the displayed percentage or letter label. The safest reading keeps the arithmetic visible and checks it against the syllabus or instructor's stated grading policy.

Technical Details:

Weighted grade math starts by converting each completed component to a percentage score and pairing it with a weight. In a syllabus-weighted course, the weight is the component's share of the final course grade. In a points course, the weight is the row's possible points. Rows marked as upcoming reserve future weight for target planning but do not add earned score to the current grade.

Two current-grade views are common. A completed-work average renormalizes only graded rows, which answers "how am I doing on the work already scored?" A full-course share treats entered weights as portions of the whole 100% course, which answers "how many course percentage points have I banked so far?" Both are valid only when the chosen basis matches the gradebook policy.

Formula Core:

The main syllabus-weighted calculation multiplies each completed score by its weight, then divides by either completed active weight or the whole course denominator.

Cpoints = ∑active si×wi 100 Gcompleted = ∑active (si×wi) ∑active wi Gcourse = Cpoints Rremaining = T-Cpoints r × 100
Symbol Meaning Tool result connection
s Component score as a percent; letter entries use the built-in percent map. Score in Grade Ledger
w Entered syllabus weight percent for a row. Entered weight and Active completed weight
C Earned course percentage points from active completed rows. Weighted points and Formula check
T Target final course percent. Target grade in Target Runway
r Remaining course share from blank upcoming rows plus any unlisted share when reserved. Remaining course share and Required remaining average

Point mode uses possible points as the weight. The current grade is earned points divided by active possible points. The required remaining average asks how many future points are needed to reach the target after the active earned points are already counted.

Gpoints = ∑activeei ∑activepi × 100 Rpoints = (T100) × (Pactive+Pfuture) - Eactive Pfuture × 100
Input path Current grade denominator Remaining-work denominator Main caution
Component, score %, weight % with Normalize completed weights for current grade Active completed weight after dropped rows. Blank upcoming weights plus reserved unlisted weight when enabled. The current grade can look higher than the course share because future work is not in the headline denominator.
Component, score %, weight % with Use weights as full-course shares The whole 100% course denominator. Blank upcoming weights plus reserved unlisted weight when enabled. A low-looking headline may simply mean a large share has not been graded yet.
Component, earned points, possible points Active possible points after dropped rows. Possible points from rows with blank earned values. A large point-value final can outweigh many smaller completed assignments.

Dropped rows are removed after parsing and before totals are computed. Only completed rows can be dropped, and at least one completed row must remain. Extra-credit entries are allowed up to 200% in percent mode, and point rows may show earned points above possible points; those cases produce warnings rather than blocking the result.

Rule or output Boundary Result behavior
Percent score Blank, tbd, todo, future, upcoming, pending, na, n/a, -, --, or blank means upcoming; numeric scores must be 0 through 200. Upcoming rows reserve weight; scores above 100% are accepted with a warning.
Weight Must be greater than 0. Invalid weights appear under Fix grade inputs.
Earned points Blank or upcoming markers mean future work; completed earned points must be 0 or greater. Earned points above possible points are accepted as extra credit with a warning.
Possible points Must be greater than 0. Possible points become the row weight in point mode.
Target status Required remaining average: at most 0, at most 100, at most 120, or above 120. Already banked, Within 100%, Needs extra credit, or Above practical range.
Grade bands One label and a 0 through 200 minimum percent per line. The rounded current grade maps to the highest band whose minimum is met.

Display rounding changes printed percentages in the summary, tables, exports, and chart labels. The grade-band lookup uses the rounded current grade, so a value near a cutoff should be checked with the same rounding mode used by the course policy.

Everyday Use & Decision Guide:

Start with Input format. Use Component, score %, weight % when the syllabus lists categories such as homework 40%, quizzes 35%, and final 25%. Use Component, earned points, possible points when the gradebook is built from point totals and the possible points should decide each row's influence.

In percent mode, choose Grade basis before trusting the headline. Normalize completed weights for current grade is best for checking performance on graded work so far. Use weights as full-course shares is better when you need the course contribution already earned out of the whole 100% course.

  • Leave a score or earned-points cell blank for future work, such as a final exam that has not happened yet.
  • Keep Treat unlisted weight as remaining work on when entered percent weights total below 100% and the missing share should count toward the target runway.
  • Use Drop lowest completed rows only when the grading policy really drops low scores. It excludes completed rows before the headline, audit, and chart are built.
  • Set Display rounding to match the course policy before reading a letter band near a cutoff.
  • Edit Grade bands when the class uses a plus/minus scale, pass/fail labels, or custom cutoffs.

Read Grade Ledger when explaining how each row contributes. It shows entered weight, effective weight, weighted points, and whether a row is active, upcoming, or dropped. Use Weight Audit when a total seems surprising, especially if the entered weights do not add to 100%.

Target Runway is most useful before a final, project, or remaining quiz group. Set Target grade, confirm the remaining course share or upcoming possible points, then read Required remaining average. A status of Needs extra credit means the remaining average must exceed 100%, not that the target is automatically impossible under every classroom policy.

Do not treat the chart or letter badge as official by itself. The Weight Contribution Chart visualizes active completed rows only, and the letter band follows the entered cutoff table. Keep the result with the syllabus, the instructor's drop policy, and the official gradebook before making a final academic decision.

Step-by-Step Guide:

Work from the gradebook structure first, then use the audit rows to check whether the calculation matches the course policy.

  1. Set Input format. Choose percentage-and-weight rows for syllabus categories, or point rows when each assignment's possible points should act as the weight.
  2. Enter Grade rows as one component per line. In percent mode, use rows like Homework, 92, 40. In point mode, use rows like Homework, 184, 200. Leave the score or earned value blank for upcoming work.
  3. If percent mode is selected, set Grade basis. Use completed-work normalization for a current average, or course-share mode when the headline should show earned course percentage points.
  4. Enter Target grade. The summary subtitle and Target Runway update the required remaining average without changing the grade already earned.
  5. Open Advanced when the policy has drop rules, special rounding, unlisted remaining weight, custom grade bands, or a scenario label for exports and JSON.
  6. If Fix grade inputs appears, correct the listed row. Common fixes are adding a positive weight, entering positive possible points, or replacing a nonnumeric score that is not a recognized letter grade or upcoming marker.
  7. Read the summary percentage and badges, then open Grade Ledger to confirm active, upcoming, and dropped rows. The footer should agree with the active total and headline basis.
  8. Use Target Runway for the target average, Weight Audit for weight totals and warnings, Weight Contribution Chart for active earned versus uncaptured share, and JSON only after the result rows match your gradebook assumptions.

Interpreting Results:

The headline percentage is the first answer, but the basis explains what it means. A completed-work average answers how scored work is going so far. A full-course share answers how much of the course result has already been earned. In point mode, the headline is active earned points divided by active possible points.

The most important cross-check is the remaining denominator. If Remaining course share is 0% or Upcoming possible points is 0, the target runway cannot compute a future average. If the entered weights are below or above 100%, read Weight Audit before sharing the grade because the missing or extra share changes the story.

Output cue What it means Verify before using
Current weighted grade The headline percentage after the selected basis, drop rule, and rounding mode. The Headline basis row matches the gradebook policy.
Required remaining average The average needed on future work to hit the target grade. Blank upcoming rows and unlisted remaining weight represent all future work.
Needs extra credit The required remaining average is above 100% and no more than 120%. The course allows extra credit or another assumption can change the target denominator.
Weights total below 100% The entered percent rows do not cover the whole course. Treat unlisted weight as remaining work is set the way you intend.
Dropped A completed row was excluded before calculating the headline. The number of dropped rows matches the syllabus rule.

A clean grade band does not prove the official transcript label. The band is a lookup against the entered cutoff table after display rounding, while institutions and instructors may apply their own rounding, incomplete-work, extra-credit, or final-review rules.

Worked Examples:

Syllabus weights with a final still blank

Enter Homework, 92, 40, Quizzes, 85, 35, and Final exam, , 25 in percent mode. With Normalize completed weights for current grade, Current weighted grade is 88.73% and the default grade band is B+. For a 90% target, Required remaining average is 93.80% because the completed rows have banked 66.55 course percentage points and 25% of the course remains.

Point rows with a 120-point final

In point mode, use Homework, 184, 200, Labs, 86, 100, Midterm, 78, 100, and Final exam, , 120. The active earned total is 348 out of 400, so the summary shows 87.00% and the default band is B+. To finish at 90%, Required remaining average is 100.00% on the 120 upcoming points.

Course-share reading of the same completed work

Using the first example with Use weights as full-course shares changes the headline to 66.55%. That is not a new score on the completed homework and quizzes. It is the earned share of the whole course before the blank 25% final is counted, so Weight Audit and Target Runway matter more than the letter badge alone.

A row that blocks the result

If a row reads Project, pending, 0 in percent mode, the score is understood as upcoming but the weight is invalid. The result panel shows Fix grade inputs with the line-level message that weight must be greater than 0. Replace the zero with the correct course share or remove the row before using the summary.

FAQ:

Should I use percent weights or point rows?

Use percent weights when the syllabus assigns shares such as homework 40%, quizzes 35%, and final 25%. Use point rows when the gradebook adds earned points over possible points and larger assignments should carry more influence because they have more possible points.

Why is my current grade different from my course share?

Completed-work average divides by active completed weight, while full-course share leaves the denominator at 100%. If a 25% final is still blank, the completed-work grade can be 88.73% while the banked course share is only 66.55%.

How do I mark an assignment that has not been graded yet?

Leave the score or earned-points cell blank, or use an upcoming marker such as tbd, future, pending, na, or -. The row is kept out of the current grade and used as remaining work for target planning.

Why does the target status say extra credit is needed?

The status changes to Needs extra credit when the required remaining average is above 100% and no more than 120%. Check Remaining course share, blank upcoming rows, and unlisted remaining weight before deciding whether the target is realistic.

Why does the result ask me to fix grade inputs?

The input checker blocks missing rows, nonnumeric completed scores, scores outside 0 through 200, weights at 0 or below, possible points at 0 or below, invalid grade-band lines, or a drop-lowest setting that leaves no completed row active. Read the listed line message and correct that row first.

Glossary:

Active completed weight
The completed row weight that remains after upcoming and dropped rows are excluded.
Completed-work average
A current grade that divides active weighted score by active completed weight.
Course share
The earned percentage points already banked toward the whole 100% course.
Effective weight
The row's influence after the selected denominator and dropped-row rule are applied.
Grade band
The label matched by the rounded current grade against the entered cutoff table.
Required remaining average
The average needed on future work to reach the selected target grade.

References: