
HOME	who am I	resources	course notes	FAQ	contact

FAQ: How can I figure out what grade I'm getting in your course?

For students in my courses, you should be able to estimate your grade from the grades you have received on various assignments, taking into account that some count more than others. Talk to me if you have questions.

Calculating your grade to date

A formula from Dr. Susan Cloninger

Note: This is intended to show you how I calculate grades, but I don't guarantee 100% accuracy. Feel free to come to my office during office hours, or by appointment, if your calculation doesn't seem accurate, or if you have remaining concerns.

On a sheet of paper, make a table with 4 columns.

Label Column 1 "item"

List here each exam, paper, or other component of the grade. Examples: Exam1, Exam2, Exam3, Paper1, Paper2, Paper3, etc.

Label Column 2 "grade"

List here your grade, in percents, for each item.

Label Column 3 "weight"

List here the weight of each component. (See the syllabus for this information.)

Label Column 4 "weighted item"

For each item, multiply Column 2 by Column 3 and enter the answer here. Example: If you got 78% on an exam, and that exam counts 20% of your grade, enter 0.156 Why? Because (.78) x (.20) = 0.156

Total Columns 3 and 4.

If the total of Column 3 is 1.00 [that is, if you have all the grade components], then the total of Column 4 is your overall grade, in percent. If the total of Column 3 is less than 1.00 [that is, if you still have remaining work to be completed or graded], then divide Column 4 total by Column 3 total to get your estimated grade to date.

To convert your percent grade to a letter grade, consult the instructor. For my classes this term, here's the breakdown

A's are 100 to 85% B's are <85 to 75% C's are <75 to 65% D's are <65 to 55% F's are <55% If a grade is within 3 percentage points of the cutoff, it is given a + or - For example, 82% is B+ and 68% is C-

Converting letter grades from papers to percents (when no percent was originally given):

Paper Grade	%
A+	98
A	93
A-	88
B+	83
B	80
B-	77
>C+	73
C	70
C-	67
D+	63
D>	>60
D-	57>
F	54 to 0 (see instructor)

Whatever your calculations, remember that the instructor's calculation is what matters. This list of instructions is only a guideline, for those of you who want to ask "What is my grade so far?" or "What would I have to get on the final / last paper in order to get a B [or whatever]?"