Target Grade Calculator
Enter the marks you have earned, the marks they were out of, the marks still available, and the overall percent you want. The calculator returns the score you need on the remaining work. A negative result means you already meet the target, even with zero on what is left.
How to find the score you need
The target percent applies to every mark in the course, including the marks you have not earned yet. Work out how many marks that target requires in total, then subtract what you already have.
marks needed = target% × (marks so far + marks left) - marks earned
- Add the marks possible so far and the marks left to get the course total. With 50 so far and 50 left, the total is 100.
- Multiply the total by the target. For 80%, 0.80 × 100 = 80 marks.
- Subtract your earned marks. 80 - 40 = 40, which is 80% of the remaining 50.
- Divide by the marks left to see the percent you need on that work.
If the marks needed exceed the marks still available, the target is out of reach. The best possible overall is (marks earned + marks left) / (marks so far + marks left).
Worked examples
Each row uses the same formula. The last column shows the highest overall percent you could still reach with a perfect score on the remaining work.
| Earned / possible | Marks left | Target | Marks needed | Percent of remaining | Best possible |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40 / 50 | 50 | 80% | 40 | 80% | 90% |
| 70 / 80 | 20 | 90% | 20 | 100% | 90% |
| 45 / 50 | 50 | 70% | 25 | 50% | 95% |
| 85 / 100 | 50 | 80% | 35 | 70% | 90% |
| 90 / 100 | 10 | 80% | -2 | -20% | 100% |
| 40 / 50 | 10 | 90% | 14 | 140% | 83.333% |
Read the result
Compare the marks needed with the marks left. Three outcomes are possible.
- Marks needed between 0 and the marks left: the target is reachable. The percent of remaining work tells you how hard it is.
- Marks needed above the marks left: the target is impossible. The last row above needs 14 marks from only 10 available.
- Marks needed below zero: you already meet the target. 90 of 100 with 10 marks left clears 80% even with a zero.
Use it for weighted courses
This calculator treats all marks as one pool. If your course weights categories, convert the weights into marks out of 100 first.
Say coursework is 60% of the grade and you hold 70% on it. That is 42 marks out of 60. The final exam is the other 40 marks, and you want 65% overall. Enter 42 earned, 60 possible so far, 40 left, and a target of 65. You need 23 of the 40 marks, which is 57.5% on the exam.
Pick a target you can reach
When the target is impossible, the best possible overall shows your ceiling. With 40 of 50 and 10 marks left, a perfect finish is 50 / 60, or 83.333%.
Enter a target at or below that ceiling to see what the remaining work must score. Try 83 and you need 9.8 of the 10 marks.
Not the same as
This page looks ahead at the score you still need. Other school tools report what you already have.
- Marks percentage 40 out of 50 is 80%. That tool stops there. This one uses that score plus the marks still left. Open marks percentage
- Average percentage That tool averages percentages you already earned. It does not ask what you still need. Open average percentage
- Percentile A percentile ranks you against other students. This page uses only your own marks. Read percentage vs percentile
Related tools
Target grade questions
40 marks out of the remaining 50, which is 80% on that work.
20 out of 20, a perfect score on the remaining work.
You have already passed the target. Even a zero on the remaining work leaves you at or above the percent you entered.
The target is impossible. The best possible overall appears beside the result. 40 of 50 with only 10 marks left cannot reach 90%, because a perfect finish is 50 / 60, about 83.333%.
Convert each weight into marks out of 100. If coursework is 60% of the grade and you hold 70%, you have 42 of 60 marks. Enter the exam as the 40 marks left.
It is the marks needed divided by the marks left. A value of 50% means you must score half of the remaining marks.
Enter the total marks of the work you have already finished, not just the work you passed. If you earned 40 on assignments worth 50, enter 40 and 50.
No. It uses your marks and the marks still available. A percentile needs everyone else's scores.