How do I turn a B into an A on the final?
The rule is short: the exam must beat your current average by the gap divided by the weight. At 87% chasing 90% with a final worth 40%, that is three points divided by 0.4, so the exam needs 94.5. The same three-point gap with a 20% final would demand 102 and stop being a target.
Common plus/minus convention; many schools use straight letters or different cut points.
You need 94.5% on the final.
That is within reach — the final is worth 40% of your grade.
🔢 Show the math
- Work graded so far covers 60% of the course; 40% is still to come.
- Points already banked: 87% × 60% = 52.2 points of the 100 available.
- To finish at 90% you still need 37.8 points from the remaining 40%.
- 37.8 ÷ 40 × 100 = 94.5% on what is left.
What you need, at every current grade
With a final worth 40% of your course grade and an A (90%) as the goal, this is the score you need on the final from each starting point:
| Current grade | You need on the final | Reachable? |
|---|---|---|
| 93% | 85.5% | Yes |
| 90% | 90.0% | Yes |
| 88% | 93.0% | Yes |
| 87% | 94.5% | Yes |
| 85% | 97.5% | Yes |
| 82% | 102.0% | Not with this final alone |
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 being close to an A not make it easy?
Because closeness is measured on the course average while the work happens in the exam alone. Three points of course grade have to come out of a 40% slice, which magnifies them to seven and a half. Students sitting at 87 routinely find the requirement is higher than anything they have scored all term.
What score just maintains my current grade?
Exactly your current average — 87. That is a useful anchor: any result above 87 pulls the course up, anything below pulls it down, and the size of the movement is the difference multiplied by 0.4. Scoring 80 would finish at 84.2 and cost the B-plus you already hold.
Is an A-minus worth targeting instead?
It needs 87 here, precisely your current average, which is a materially different proposition from 94.5. On the standard four-point scale an A-minus is 3.7 against 4.0, so the entire cost of choosing the safer target is three tenths of a grade point in a single course.
Does rounding get me there?
Only where a policy exists. An exam scoring 93 finishes the course at 89.4, which rounds to 89 and not to 90, so rounding rescues almost nothing at this distance. Where it does matter is inside the last half point, and whether it applies at all is stated in the syllabus rather than assumed.
Other targets
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