Midterm Grade Calculator

A midterm is just a heavily weighted component, and the question is the same as for a final: given your grade so far and the midterm's weight, what score lands you on your target? The formula — needed = (target − current × (1 − weight)) ÷ weight — does not care what the exam is called.

You need to score on the midterm

89%

That is a real, reachable score. Score at least 89% on the midterm and you finish at 85% or better.

If you score 0 — your course grade is still67.2% (D+)
If you score 100 — your course grade becomes87.2% (B+)
The midterm can move your grade byup to 20 points

Every letter grade at once

With a current grade of 84% and a midterm worth 20%, here is the midterm score each letter grade requires:

Letter grade	Course grade needed	Midterm score needed	Status
A+	97%	149%	Out of reach
A	93%	129%	Out of reach
A−	90%	114%	Out of reach
B+	87%	99%	Reachable
B	83%	79%	Reachable
B−	80%	64%	Reachable
C+	77%	49%	Reachable
C	73%	29%	Reachable
C−	70%	14%	Reachable
D+	67%	-1%	Already locked in
D	63%	-21%	Already locked in
D−	60%	-36%	Already locked in

Letter cut-offs use the standard US scale with +/− bands (A = 93, A− = 90, B = 83 …). Your school's cut-offs may differ — check the syllabus. "Out of reach" means the required score is above 100%, so the target cannot be reached at this exam weight no matter what you score.

How a midterm differs from a final

The arithmetic is identical, but the situation is not. A final is usually the last component, so "current grade" means everything else. A midterm sits in the middle of the course: work after it — homework, quizzes, the final itself — still has weight. For the cleanest estimate, enter your current grade on the work graded so far and treat the midterm's weight as its share of the whole course. The answer is then the midterm score that keeps you on pace for your target, assuming the remaining work comes in at the same level as your current grade.

If your course drops the lowest test score or lets the final replace the midterm, the picture changes: a weak midterm may cost less than the raw maths suggests. Check your syllabus for the policy, and use this calculator as the no-policy baseline.

Frequently asked questions

My midterm already happened. Can I work out what it did to my grade?

Yes — that is a forward calculation rather than a backwards one. The grade-after-the-exam calculator takes your grade before, the exam's weight and the score you got, and returns your new course grade.

The midterm is worth 20% but half the course is still ungraded. Is the answer exact?

It is exact for the question "what midterm score keeps my weighted average on target if everything else stays at my current level". It is an estimate of the future, not a promise — later work can move you either way.

What if my teacher weights the midterm as part of a test category?

Use the category's numbers instead: your average within the test category as the "current grade", the score you need within that category as the target, and the midterm's share of the category as the weight. The formula works at any level of the grade book.