I am at 60% and need to pass — what do I need on the final?
Sitting exactly on the pass mark produces the tidiest and least comfortable answer on this calculator: you need precisely 60 on the final, and the weight makes no difference to that. Match your average and you keep it; miss it by a point and the course grade follows you down. The margin is zero.
Common plus/minus convention; many schools use straight letters or different cut points.
You need 60% on the final.
That is within reach — the final is worth 30% of your grade.
🔢 Show the math
- Work graded so far covers 70% of the course; 30% is still to come.
- Points already banked: 60% × 70% = 42 points of the 100 available.
- To finish at 60% you still need 18 points from the remaining 30%.
- 18 ÷ 30 × 100 = 60% on what is left.
What you need, at every current grade
With a final worth 30% of your course grade and a pass (60%) as the goal, this is the score you need on the final from each starting point:
| Current grade | You need on the final | Reachable? |
|---|---|---|
| 70% | 36.7% | Yes |
| 66% | 46.0% | Yes |
| 63% | 53.0% | Yes |
| 60% | 60.0% | Yes |
| 55% | 71.7% | Yes |
| 48% | 88.0% | Yes |
Grading scales vary by institution — your school's own table and syllabus govern. Conversions shown here follow common published conventions.
Frequently asked questions
Why does the weight of the final not change my answer?
Because averaging a number into itself returns the same number. When your current grade already equals your target, the exam has to reproduce it exactly whatever share of the course it carries. Weight only matters when you are trying to move, and right now you are trying to stand still.
How much room do I actually have?
None above the line, and eighteen points of course grade at risk below it. A 50 on this final drops the course to 57, a 40 drops it to 54, and a blank paper leaves 42. The symmetry is the point: every mark you score above 60 buys the same cushion that every mark below costs.
What score should I actually aim for?
Higher than 60, because the calculation assumes your current figure is exact and it rarely is. Ungraded work, a pending regrade, a participation component, or a rounding rule can each move you by a point. Aiming for the high sixties absorbs those without requiring anything heroic on the day.
Does 59.6 pass?
Only where the course rounds, and rounding at a pass boundary is the least reliable place to depend on it. Some instructors round, some truncate, and some publish neither and decide consistently anyway. The syllabus answers it in one line, and reading that line is worth more than any revision hour this week.
Other targets
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