Test Average Calculator
Average a run of test scores, with the drop-lowest rule most syllabi have and most calculators ignore. Paste your scores straight from the gradebook, choose how many lowest scores your course drops, and see what it does to the average.
Works offline — your inputs never leave this device. How that works
Common plus/minus convention; many schools use straight letters or different cut points.
78.8% — C+
🔢 Show the math
- Add the counted scores: 88 + 72 + 95 + 60 = 315.
- Divide by 4: 78.75%.
Grading scales vary by institution — your school's own table and syllabus govern. Conversions shown here follow common published conventions.
🎓 Understand this tool
What it is
This averages a run of test or quiz scores and shows what your syllabus's drop-lowest rule does to the result, which is the part most averaging tools leave out.
How it works
Without weights it adds the counted scores and divides by how many there are. With weights it multiplies each score by its weight, adds those, and divides by the total weight. When scores are dropped, they are removed with their weights before either calculation.
Getting the most from it
- Paste your scores straight from the gradebook — commas, spaces, and new lines all work, so you rarely need to retype anything.
- Check the count the tool reports back against how many tests you have actually had; a stray character is the usual reason it disagrees.
- Set the drop-lowest number to what the syllabus says, not what you hope. Some courses drop a quiz but never an exam.
- Turn on weights only if your tests genuinely count differently — a midterm worth double gets a 2 where the others get a 1.
Reading your result
The headline is the average of the counted scores, with the band it falls in. When scores are dropped, the tool also shows what the average would have been without the drop, so you can see exactly what the rule is worth to you.
What it can't tell you
It averages the scores you give it. It cannot know whether your course replaces a low score with the final instead of dropping it, requires you to have sat every test to qualify for a drop, or curves the set afterwards.
Frequently asked questions
How do I average my test scores?
Add the scores together and divide by how many there are. The calculator accepts them separated by commas, spaces, or new lines so you can paste a row straight out of a gradebook, and it shows the addition and the division rather than just the answer.
How much does dropping the lowest score help?
More than most people expect on a short run of tests, and less than they hope on a long one. Dropping one score from four raises the average by a quarter of the gap between that score and the mean, and the calculator shows the before-and-after directly.
Can I weight some tests more heavily?
Yes — turn on the weights option and give each score a weight in the same order. A midterm worth double gets a 2 while the quizzes get a 1. When you also drop lowest scores, the dropped weights come out with their scores, which is the behaviour syllabi describe.
Does my course actually drop a lowest score?
Check the syllabus before relying on it, because the detail varies: some courses drop the lowest quiz but never an exam, some replace it with the final instead of dropping it, and some drop only if you sat every test. Assuming a drop that is not there is a costly mistake.
Related calculators
Weighted grade
Three ways to weight a grade, because courses do it three ways: pool every point earned, weight each assignment individually, or average categories first and then weight those. The modes give different answers on the same data, and the calculator shows why.
Semester grade
Add up where your semester actually stands: enter each graded component with the weight your syllabus gives it — exams, homework, projects, participation — and see the weighted percentage and the letter grade it falls in on your own grading system, along with every multiplication behind it.
Attendance
Can you still pass if you miss more classes? Enter your grade, the sessions you have attended, and how many more you plan to miss, and see what your syllabus's attendance policy actually costs you — as a graded component or as points off per absence.
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