Use this calculator to determine a course’s grade based on weighted averages. The calculator takes both numerical and letter grades. It can also compute the grade required for the remaining assignments in order to get the desired grade for a current course.

The calculators listed above employ the following letter grades and their typical numerical equivalents based on grade points.

Brief history of different grading systems

In 1785, students at Yale were ranked based on “optimi” being the highest rank, followed by second optimi, inferiore (lower), and pejores (worse). At William and Mary, students were ranked as either No. 1, or No. 2, where No. 1 represented students that were first in their class, while No. 2 represented those who were “orderly, correct and attentive.” Meanwhile at Harvard, students were graded based on a numerical system from 1-200 (except for math and philosophy where 1-100 was used). Later, shortly after 1883, Harvard implemented a “Classes” system in which students were classified as Class I, II, III, IV, or V, with V denoting a failing grade. All of these examples demonstrate the subjective, arbitrary, and inconsistent ways in which different institutions rated their students, emphasizing the necessity for a more standardized, yet equally arbitrary, grading system.

Mount Holyoke College was the first to use letter grades in the same way that they are used today.  The college employed a grading scheme that included the letters A, B, C, D, and E, with E representing a failing grade.  This grading system, however, was significantly tougher than what is typically used now, with a failing mark defined as anything less than 75%. The college eventually redefined its grading system, adding the letter F for a failing grade (still less than 75%). This method of employing a letter grading scale became increasingly popular in colleges and high schools, eventually leading to the letter grading systems that are often used today. However, there is still significant variance in terms of what constitutes an A and whether a system utilizes plusses or minuses (i.e., A+ or B-), among other differences.

An alternative to the letter grade system

Letter grades are an easy way to generalize a student’s performance. They can be more effective than qualitative evaluations in instances where “right” or “wrong” answers can be easily defined, such as an algebra exam, but they may not provide sufficient feedback for an assessment like a written paper (which is considerably more subjective).

Although a written analysis of each individual student’s work may be a more useful type of feedback, some argue that students and parents are unlikely to read it, and teachers may not have the time to compose such an analysis. There is precedent for this type of evaluation system at Saint Ann’s School in New York City, an arts-oriented private school that does not use letter grades. Instead, teachers prepare anecdotal reports for each kid. This form of evaluation focuses on facilitating learning and progress rather than achieving a certain letter grade in a course. For better or worse, these types of programs are a minority in the United States, and while the experience may be better for the student, most schools continue to employ a pretty typical letter grading system, which students must acclimate to. This type of evaluation method’s time investment for teachers/professors is unlikely to be viable on university campuses with hundreds of students per course. As a result, while other high schools, such as Sanborn High School, use a more qualitative approach to grading, it remains to be seen whether such techniques are scalable. Until then, more generalized methods of grading, such as the letter grading system, are unlikely to be completely eliminated. However, many educators are already working to establish an environment in which grades play a limited role in encouraging pupils. One may argue that combining these two systems would be the most practical and effective way to deliver more standardized student evaluations while also promoting learning.