Weighted Grade Calculator

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Weighted Grade Calculator & Gradebook Sanity-Checker

Enter your categories, weights and scores — or paste them from a spreadsheet — and see your true weighted total computed both ways missing work can be counted: as zeros, and left out. The tool flags exactly where gradebook math surprises people (weights that don't sum to 100%, drop-lowest colliding with missing work, empty categories) and tells you the average you need on the missing work to hit a target grade. Everything is computed locally.

Load your gradebook

One row per item under a header row: Category, Weight, Item, Earned, Possible, Drop lowest (optional). Blank Category = same category as the row above; blank Earned = missing.

The grade is computed locally — open your browser's network tab to verify no scores are uploaded.

Edit categories and scores

No items yet — this category has weight but nothing to average.

Weights total: 100%

Results — both policies, side by side

Add at least one category with a scored item — or load the sample — to see the comparison.

Export the breakdown

The full report is free too — leave an email and it unlocks. Only your email and the tool's name are sent, never a single score.

  • CSV of the computed breakdown — every category under both policies (opens in Excel)
  • Print-ready report of the comparison, flags and what-if answer
  • The exact dropped items and policy gap, ready to show a student or a teacher

Grades you can't reproduce erode trust fast. StudyDrome's gradebook shows why — every total traceable to its items and policy, so “why is my grade an 87?” has a one-click answer instead of an argument.

See StudyDrome's gradebook

Exactly how the grade is computed

No gradebook named here is wrong — LMS gradebooks are configurable, and different configurations legitimately produce different totals from the same scores. This tool computes ONE documented configuration (below, with worked examples) so you have a hand-checkable number to compare against, and it names the settings that usually explain a mismatch.

Every rule the engine applies, each with a worked example — the examples on this page are recomputed by the test suite against the real engine, so the documentation cannot drift from the code:

Category averages are points-weighted

Within a category, the average is total points earned ÷ total points possible — a 100-point exam moves it more than a 5-point quiz. This is the only mode the tool computes.

The other common convention averages each item's percentage instead, which silently gives a 5-point quiz the same pull as a 100-point exam. Some gradebooks can be configured either way — if your LMS number differs from this tool's, this setting is the first place to look.

Worked example

One category: 5/10 on a quiz and 90/100 on an exam.

Points-weighted average (this tool):
86.4%
Mean of item percentages (not used):
70%

The two missing-work policies

Missing-as-zero counts every missing item as 0 of its possible points. Missing-excluded leaves missing items out of both the numerator and the denominator. The tool always shows both — the gap between them is how much your grade currently depends on the policy.

Worked example

One category: 8/10 graded, one 10-point item missing.

Missing-as-zero:
40%
Missing-excluded:
80%

Drop-lowest drops by percentage

Drop-lowest N removes the N items with the lowest percentage (earned ÷ possible); ties go to the earliest-entered item, and at least one item always survives. You can verify the choice by hand.

Some gradebooks instead drop whichever scores maximize the final grade, which can pick a different item when point values vary. Both are legitimate configurations — this tool uses the hand-checkable rule and names which items it dropped.

Worked example

One category, drop 1: item A 5/10 (50%) and item B 40/100 (40%).

Dropped item:
B (40%)
Average after the drop:
50%

Drops interact with the missing policy

Under missing-as-zero, a missing item sits in the pool at 0% and is usually the first thing dropped. Under missing-excluded, missing items are not in the pool at all — the drop lands on a real score instead. The breakdown names the dropped items under each policy.

Worked example

One category, drop 1: one 20-point item missing, plus 15/20 and 19/20.

Missing-as-zero (drops the missing item):
85%
Missing-excluded (drops HW 2 instead):
95%

Weights that don't sum to 100%

The headline total is Σ(weight × category average) ÷ the summed weight of the categories that have an average. When weights don't sum to 100%, that renormalizes them; the flag also shows what the total would be if the weights were taken at face value (÷ 100).

Worked example

Two categories at weight 40 each (sum 80): averages 80% and 90%.

Headline (renormalized over 80):
85%
Taken at face value (÷ 100):
68%

Categories with weight but nothing to average

A category with no scored items has no average, so the headline renormalizes its weight away — work that doesn't exist yet doesn't count against you. The flag shows the alternative where the empty category counts as zero over its full weight, because some configurations do exactly that.

Worked example

Two 50%-weight categories; one has 9/10, the other is empty.

Headline (empty category renormalized away):
90%
Empty category counted as zero:
45%

The what-if row

Given a target, the tool finds the smallest average score on ALL currently-missing work that reaches it, checking every drop-rule switchover exactly rather than assuming the relationship is smooth. If even 100% doesn't reach the target, it says so plainly — and shows the impossible average you'd have needed.

The required average is one number, not one per policy: once the missing work is scored, nothing is missing anymore, so both policies describe the same gradebook. The two policies only disagree about the present, never about that future.

Worked example

One category: 8/10 graded, one 10-point item missing, target 85%.

Required on the missing item:
90%

Extra credit is counted, never clipped

An item scored above its possible points is counted exactly as entered and flagged for information — category averages and totals can legitimately exceed 100%.

Worked example

One category with a single 11/10 item.

Category average:
110%
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Frequently asked questions

Are my scores uploaded anywhere?

No. The grade is computed entirely in your browser. The only network calls this page makes are anonymous aggregate counters (which tool, which action) and — only if you use it — the export form, which sends your email address and nothing else. Verify it in your browser's network tab.

Why do I get two different grades?

Because your gradebook has missing work, and there are two legitimate ways to handle it: count each missing item as 0 (missing-as-zero) or leave it out of the average until it's scored (missing-excluded). Real gradebooks are configured one way or the other — often without anyone noticing. The gap between the two numbers is exactly how much your current grade depends on that setting.

Why doesn't this match my LMS gradebook?

Three settings explain almost every mismatch: (1) the missing-work policy — compare both of this tool's totals against your LMS number; (2) drop-lowest — some gradebooks drop whichever scores maximize the final grade rather than the lowest percentage, which can pick a different item when point values vary; (3) the averaging mode — this tool computes total points earned ÷ total points possible within a category, while some gradebooks can be set to average item percentages instead. The methodology below shows each rule with a worked example.

How does drop-lowest interact with missing work?

Under missing-as-zero, a missing item sits in the category at 0% and is usually the first thing dropped — so a single missing assignment in a drop-1 category may cost you nothing. Under missing-excluded, missing items aren't in the pool at all, so the drop removes a real score instead. The breakdown names exactly which item was dropped under each policy.

Is this really free?

Yes. The comparison, flags and what-if answer need nothing at all; the CSV/print export asks only for an email address. The tool exists so you can see the kind of grade transparency StudyDrome builds in — every total traceable to its items and its policy.