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Semester grade calculator
This semester grade calculator combines your quarters or grading periods and the final exam with your school’s weights, and finds the exam score you need for each letter.
A semester grade combines your quarter grades and the exam using your school’s weights.
Semester = Q1 × W1 + Q2 × W2 + Exam × WE
Quarters, periods or a full year
Score needed for each letter
Type 88, 18/20 or B+
Weight presets
Updated · Reviewed by Kyler Bennett
Your semester
Live estimate
Grades and weights
Type 88, 18/20 or a letter like B+. Leave a grade blank if it isn’t in yet.
Statistics & Educational Calculator Specialist · Stanford, California, USA
Kyler Bennett contributes to the development and review of educational and statistical calculators at Online Grade Calculators, with a focus on formula accuracy, quantitative reasoning and easy-to-understand results.
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Understand your result
01 / Calculator guide
What is my semester grade?
Enter each quarter or grading period and the exam with the weights your school uses, and leave anything not graded yet blank. You get your grade so far, the range you can still finish in, and the exam score needed for each letter.
02 / Calculator guide
How semester grades are calculated
Many high schools build the semester grade from two quarter (or nine-week) grades plus a semester exam. Each part is multiplied by its weight and the results are added. A common split is 40% for each quarter and 20% for the exam, but schools also use 45/45/10, 37.5/37.5/25 and other patterns. Other schools use three grading periods plus an exam, or average four quarters into a year grade. Pick your structure, type each grade, and leave anything not graded yet blank.
03 / Calculation method
Semester grade formula
Semester grade = Q1 × W1 + Q2 × W2 + Exam × WE
Exam needed = (Target − Q1 × W1 − Q2 × W2) ÷ WE
04 / Calculator guide
High school semesters and semester exams
Most people using a semester grade calculator are in high school, where two quarter grades and a semester exam make the semester grade. As a semester exam grade calculator it shows the exam score you need for an A, B, C or D before you sit it. It is also a calculator for semester final grades once the exam is marked: enter the exam score and read the result.
05 / Worked example
Example: 85% and 90% with a 20% exam
The quarters contribute 85 × 0.40 + 90 × 0.40 = 70 points. An 80% exam adds 80 × 0.20 = 16, for a semester grade of 86%. To finish with 90%, the exam must supply 20 points, so you need 20 ÷ 0.20 = 100% on the exam.
06 / Reference data
Exam score needed for a 90% semester grade (40/40/20 weights)
Exam score needed for a 90% semester grade (40/40/20 weights)
Quarter 1
Quarter 2
Exam needed
92%
90%
86%
90%
90%
90%
88%
90%
94%
85%
90%
100%
07 / Assumptions & limits
Use your school’s exact weights
Weights must add up to 100%. Some districts round each quarter before combining them, and some end-of-course (EOC) exams count for a fixed share set by the state. Check your student handbook for the exact rule; this calculator uses unrounded inputs.
08 / Calculator guide
Before the semester exam
Confirm the exam weight with your teacher.
Use the grades shown in your gradebook, not rounded letter grades.
Check whether a minimum exam score is required to pass the course.
Use the final grade calculator if your class uses one overall average instead of quarters.
09 / Worked example
Example: a 45/45/10 split
Quarter grades of 88% and 92% with a 75% exam give 88 × 0.45 + 92 × 0.45 + 75 × 0.10 = 39.6 + 41.4 + 7.5 = 88.5%. A 10% exam moves the semester grade far less than a 20% exam, so a weak exam costs fewer points.
Key terms explained
Quarter grade
Your percentage grade for one nine-week grading period.
Semester exam
A cumulative exam that counts as a fixed share of the semester grade.
Weight
The percentage of the semester grade that each part contributes.
ANSWERS TO COMMON QUESTIONS
Semester grade calculator FAQs
What if my school uses three terms or trimesters?+
Choose “3 grading periods + final exam” or “4 quarters (full year)” under Grading structure, or add your own parts with Add a part. Any weights work as long as they add up to 100%, and Scale to 100% fixes them for you.
How do I average 1st and 2nd semester?+
Choose “2 semesters (year grade)”. When both semesters count the same, the year grade is the plain average: 84% and 90% make 87%. If your school weights them differently, change the weights.
Can I enter a letter grade or a fraction?+
Yes. Type 18/20 for a fraction or a letter such as B+. A letter counts as the middle of its range on the plus and minus scale (B+ is 88.5%), because a letter alone does not say where in the range you are. An F has no fixed range, so enter it as a percentage.
How much is a semester exam usually worth?+
Often between 10% and 25% of the semester grade. Your syllabus or student handbook gives the exact value.
Is this the same as an EOC calculator?+
It works the same way when your end-of-course exam counts as a fixed percentage of the semester. Enter the EOC weight in the exam field.
What does 40/40/20 mean for a semester grade?+
Each quarter counts 40% and the semester exam 20%. Choose the 40/40/20 preset above, or open the 40/40/20 grade calculator for that split on its own page.
How do you calculate semester grades?+
Multiply each quarter grade and the semester exam by its weight and add the results. With 40/40/20 weights, quarters of 85% and 90% and an 80% exam give 85 × 0.40 + 90 × 0.40 + 80 × 0.20 = 34 + 36 + 16 = 86%. Your school’s weights may differ, so check the handbook first.
How do you calculate semester grades with finals?+
Treat the final exam as one more weighted part. If the final counts 20%, the two quarters share the other 80%. Quarters of 85% and 90% with an 80% final give 86% with 40/40/20 weights. Enter your quarters and the final above, or leave the final empty to see the score you need on it.
How do I calculate my semester grade without a final?+
If there is no exam, average the quarters by their weights. If the exam is still to come, the grade so far is the quarter points divided by the quarter weights: (85 × 0.40 + 90 × 0.40) ÷ 0.80 = 87.5%. Leave the exam blank above and the calculator shows this and the exam score needed for each letter.
