Test Score Calculator
Enter how many questions (or points) were on a test to see the percentage and letter grade instantly, or flip to the second tab to figure out how many you can afford to miss. Once you know where a single test landed, the GPA calculator and semester grade tracker can help you see how it fits into the bigger picture, and the extra credit calculator is handy if your teacher offers bonus points to make up for a rough score.
Percentage
90.0%
Letter Grade
A−
Max You Can Miss
10
Resulting Score
80.0%
Minimum Correct Needed
40
This is the smallest number of correct answers whose percentage still meets or exceeds your target. Missing even one more than the number shown will drop you below that target.
How Test Percentages Map to Letter Grades
There is no single, universal cutoff for what counts as an A, a B, or a passing grade. What you see on this calculator — a standard 90/80/70/60 scale, or a plus/minus scale with cutoffs like 93, 90, 87, and 83 — are common defaults used by many schools and teachers, but they are defaults, not rules. Some districts use a 7-point scale (93–100 for an A), some use a 10-point scale, and some teachers set their own thresholds entirely, especially at the college level. Always check the actual syllabus or grading rubric for the class in question if you need the exact cutoffs being used, rather than relying on any calculator's built-in assumption.
Standard Scale (No Plus/Minus)
| Letter | Percentage Range |
|---|---|
| A | 90–100 |
| B | 80–89 |
| C | 70–79 |
| D | 60–69 |
| F | 0–59 |
Standard +/- Scale
| Letter | Percentage Range |
|---|---|
| A+ | 97–100 |
| A | 93–96 |
| A− | 90–92 |
| B+ | 87–89 |
| B | 83–86 |
| B− | 80–82 |
| C+ | 77–79 |
| C | 73–76 |
| C− | 70–72 |
| D+ | 67–69 |
| D | 60–66 |
| F | 0–59 |
Why Might My Teacher's Grade Differ From This Calculator?
If the number on your paper doesn't quite match what this tool shows, it's almost never a math error — it's usually one of a few common reasons:
- A different grading scale. Your school or teacher may use cutoffs that don't match either built-in scale here. A 92% might be an A− on one scale and a straight A on another.
- Weighted categories. Many courses don't grade a single test in isolation — homework, quizzes, tests, and participation are often weighted into different percentages of the final grade. This calculator only scores the one test you enter, not a blended course average.
- Rounding policies. Some teachers round 89.5% up to a 90 (an A), while others truncate and leave it at an 89 (a B+). This calculator shows the exact percentage without any rounding of its own, so check your teacher's stated policy if you're right on a borderline.
- Curves or bonus adjustments. A teacher may adjust every score in the class up by a fixed amount after grading, which this tool has no way of knowing about ahead of time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does this work for tests scored in points instead of question counts?
Yes. "Questions" and "points" are interchangeable in this calculator — it only cares about the ratio of what you earned to what was possible. A test worth 85 points where you scored 76 works exactly the same as a 20-question test where you got 18 right; just enter the total points as the "Total Questions / Points" value and your earned points as "Number Correct."
What's the difference between the standard and +/- grading scales?
The standard scale only recognizes A, B, C, D, and F, each spanning a full 10-point range. The +/- scale splits most of those into three tiers (like B+, B, B−) using narrower ranges, which rewards being near the top of a grade band and penalizes being near the bottom. Both are common; which one applies to you depends entirely on your school or teacher's policy.
Can this account for a curve?
Not directly — this calculator scores your raw percentage against a fixed grading scale. If your teacher applies a linear curve (for example, adding a flat number of points to every student's score), use the linear grade curve calculator to see your adjusted score first, then bring that adjusted percentage back here if you want the corresponding letter grade.
How is the "how many can I miss" number rounded — do you round up or down?
The calculator finds the smallest whole number of correct answers whose resulting percentage still meets or exceeds your target, then reports how many questions that leaves you free to miss. In practice this means the number correct is rounded up (never down) to guarantee you clear the target, and the missed count shown is the maximum — missing one additional question beyond that number will drop your score below the target grade.
Is a 70% always a C?
No. On the standard scale used here, 70–79% is a C, but on the +/- scale a 70% is actually a C−, and some schools consider 70% a D or even a failing grade. Grading scale variation is real and common, so treat the built-in scales as a helpful default and confirm the exact cutoffs against your syllabus or teacher's rubric whenever the grade matters.
