If you can't wait until your final report card to see your grade or you need to know if you should drop a class, don't worry. Calculating your grade is easy, even if you happen to be majoring in a very non-mathematical field like English or art. Just follow these steps to calculate unweighted and weighted grades.
Unweighted Grades
Add up all the available points. Use the professor's syllabus to determine that a specific weight, or percentage, is not given to a component of classwork. Next, add up all the possible points to the current date. Do not add points you have not yet attempted. For example, do not include points from tests you have not yet taken. Write this number down so you don't forget it.
Add up all the points you have received. Make sure you add the point value, not the percentage, of each test or homework assignment. Write this number down so you don't forget it.
Divide the number of points you've earned by the number of points possible. The result will be a decimal. Move the decimal point two spaces to the right and add a percentage sign. Make sure to check it against the professor's syllabus for the corresponding letter grade.
Weighted Grades
- Grades received in course
- Professor's syllabus
Perform your calculations more than once to make sure you haven't made an error.
Make a list of all your grades within each evaluation category. For instance, follow the advice of the University of Richmond Education Department and make a list of your homework grades, test grades and paper grades.
Average the grade for each section. For instance, if you had five tests, you would add together the grades on all five test and divide by five, the number of tests you took.
Multiply each section by the weight your instructor has assigned. If tests are worth 25 percent of your grade, multiply the number you got in the last step by 0.25. Do this for each section of your grade.
Add the final numbers together. The final number is your overall grade. Compare this with the grading sheet on your professor's syllabus to get your final letter grade.
Things You'll Need
Tips
Tips
- Perform your calculations more than once to make sure you haven't made an error.
About the Author
Miranda Morley is an educator, business consultant and owner of a copywriting/social-media management company. Her work has been featured in the "Boston Literary Magazine," "Subversify Magazine" and "American Builder's Quarterly." Morley has a B.A. in English, political science and international relations. She is completing her M.A. in rhetoric and composition from Purdue University Calumet.
Photo Credits
Calculator image by Alhazm Salemi from Fotolia.com