Quick Grade Calculator
Enter how many questions a test has to get a grading chart with the percentage and letter grade for every possible score. Add the number a student got right to see their grade straight away, and print the chart to keep beside you while you mark.
Test details
1 to 500. The chart below updates as you type.
Enter one student’s score to see the percentage and grade.
Score
Enter the number correct, out of 20, to see the percentage and letter grade.
Grading chart: 20 questions
Maximum score: 20 of 20 correct (100%). Each question is worth 5%.
- A 90% and above
- B 80% to below 90%
- C 70% to below 80%
- D 60% to below 70%
- F below 60%
| Correct | Wrong | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | 0 | 100% | A |
| 19 | 1 | 95% | A |
| 18 | 2 | 90% | A |
| 17 | 3 | 85% | B |
| 16 | 4 | 80% | B |
| 15 | 5 | 75% | C |
| Correct | Wrong | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | 6 | 70% | C |
| 13 | 7 | 65% | D |
| 12 | 8 | 60% | D |
| 11 | 9 | 55% | F |
| 10 | 10 | 50% | F |
| Correct | Wrong | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 11 | 45% | F |
| 8 | 12 | 40% | F |
| 7 | 13 | 35% | F |
| 6 | 14 | 30% | F |
| 5 | 15 | 25% | F |
| Correct | Wrong | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 16 | 20% | F |
| 3 | 17 | 15% | F |
| 2 | 18 | 10% | F |
| 1 | 19 | 5% | F |
| 0 | 20 | 0% | F |
Everything is calculated in your browser. The number of questions and your grade scale are remembered on this device only, so the chart is ready next time; student scores are never saved or sent anywhere.
How the quick grade calculator works
- Enter the number of questions on the test, from 1 to 500. The grading chart appears at once.
- To grade one paper, enter the number of questions the student answered correctly. The percentage and letter grade update as you type, and that score is highlighted in the chart.
- If your school or course uses different cut-offs, open Grade scale and change the minimum percentage for A, B, C and D.
- Press Print chart for a paper copy of the full chart and the scale it uses.
When you mark a paper by hand it is often quicker to count the wrong answers than the right ones, so the chart lists both: find the number wrong in the second column and read the score across.
The formula
Percentage score = (number correct ÷ total questions) × 100. On a 20-question test each question is worth 5%, so 17 correct (3 wrong) is 17 ÷ 20 × 100 = 85%. On a 30-question test each question is worth 3.33%, and 26 correct is 86.67%, shown as 86.7%.
Percentages are shown to one decimal place at most. The letter grade is always decided from the exact percentage, never the rounded one, so 179 out of 200 (89.5%) is a B on the default scale, not an A. In the rare case where rounding to one decimal would show a score as reaching a cut-off it misses, an extra decimal place is shown instead (89.97% rather than 90.0%), so the number never contradicts the letter beside it.
Default grading scale
The calculator starts with the common US 10-point scale:
| Letter grade | Percentage |
|---|---|
| A | 90% and above |
| B | 80% to below 90% |
| C | 70% to below 80% |
| D | 60% to below 70% |
| F | below 60% |
Grading scales vary
There is no single standard grading scale. Some schools use a stricter 7-point scale (for example A from 93%, B from 85%, C from 77% and D from 70%), some departments set their own cut-offs, and an instructor’s syllabus may differ again. Some teachers round a final percentage before assigning a letter, so that 89.5% counts as an A: to grade that way, set the minimum for A to 89.5, B to 79.5 and so on. Each cut-off must be lower than the one above it, and Restore default scale puts the 90/80/70/60 scale back in one click.
Plus and minus grades (such as B+ or A−) aren’t included: the calculator assigns A, B, C, D or F. Always follow the scale your school or instructor publishes.
Examples
| Score | Wrong | Percentage | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17 out of 20 | 3 | 85% | B |
| 22 out of 25 | 3 | 88% | B |
| 26 out of 30 | 4 | 86.7% | B |
| 36 out of 40 | 4 | 90% | A |
| 41 out of 50 | 9 | 82% | B |
| 179 out of 200 | 21 | 89.5% | B |
Printing the grading chart
Print chart prints only the chart, its title, the maximum score and the grade scale in use, without the site’s menus or this explanation. Long charts are split into side-by-side columns, so a 100-question chart fits on a single page. In your browser’s print dialog you can also choose Save as PDF to keep a copy for each test.