What next?
Once you know the score you need, these tell you whether it is realistic.
What your result means
The score you need is the mark on the final exam that lifts your weighted overall to your target. If it comes out above 100 the target is arithmetically out of reach; if it comes out at or below zero you have already secured it regardless of how the exam goes.
Why this one is different
This one runs backwards: you give it the mark you want and it returns the score the last assessment has to reach. Four what-if lines sit beneath — where you land at 100%, at 50%, if you skip it entirely, and the highest overall still mathematically available — so an impossible target is named as impossible rather than shown as a number above 100.
Know the number before you open a textbook
Revision time is finite, and it should go where it changes an outcome. A subject where you need 42% on the final to hold your grade needs far less attention than one where you need 88% — even if the second one feels more comfortable.
Run this for every module in the same sitting. The picture that emerges usually reallocates a week of revision more effectively than any study timetable.
How it works
Your current grade covers everything completed so far, which accounts for the remaining share of the module. The final exam contributes its weight multiplied by whatever you score. Setting that total equal to your target and rearranging gives the required score directly.
How to use this calculator
- Enter your current grade across all work completed so far.
- Enter the grade you want overall.
- Set how much the final exam is worth as a percentage of the module.
- Read the score you need, and the scenario rows for a sense of the range.
Formula
w = the final exam’s weight as a decimal. Your current grade is assumed to cover the remaining (1 − w) of the module.
Example calculation
Currently at 68%, targeting 75%, with the final worth 40%:
Needed from the exam = 75 − 40.8 = 34.2
34.2 ÷ 0.4 = 85.5%
When a target has become impossible
The most useful output here is often the one you did not want: a required final-exam score above 100%. If your coursework is worth 60% and stands at 55%, it has banked 33 points, so a 70% target needs 37 points from a 40% exam — 92.5%, which is possible but demanding. Push the coursework down to 45% and the same target needs 115%, which is not. Knowing this in week eight rather than at the exam changes what you do: it redirects effort towards the grade that is still reachable, or towards the mitigating-circumstances process if there is a reason for the gap.
Resits, capped marks and what actually replaces what
Most institutions cap a resit at the bare pass mark, so a resat module usually cannot pull an average up beyond that cap however well it goes. Rules also differ on whether a resit replaces the original mark or is averaged with it, and on whether the capped mark or the uncapped one feeds the final classification. Enter whichever figure your regulations say will count — using the raw resit score when the regulations cap it produces a projection that is too optimistic by exactly the margin that matters.
Frequently asked questions
What counts as my current grade?＋
The weighted average of everything already marked, expressed as a percentage. If your coursework components have different weights among themselves, calculate that average with the weighted grade calculator first.
What if the required score is over 100%?＋
The target is no longer mathematically reachable. Set a realistic target using the "best possible overall" row, and check whether your institution offers resits or capped resubmissions.
Does this handle multiple remaining assessments?＋
Only as a single block. Add the weights of everything still outstanding together and treat the required score as an average across all of them.
What if I cannot reach the grade I want?＋
The calculator will tell you the required score exceeds 100 percent. At that point, talk to your tutor about resit or extenuating-circumstances routes rather than the arithmetic.
Does a pass mark work the same way?＋
Yes. Enter the pass threshold as your target and the tool returns the minimum final score you need, which is often reassuringly low if coursework has gone well.
What if my final exam is worth more than the rest combined?＋
Then the required score is very sensitive to your target. Recalculate for two or three targets so you know both the safe and stretch figures before the exam.
Should I use raw marks or percentages?＋
Percentages, unless every component is marked out of the same maximum. Mixing raw marks with different maxima silently reweights the components.
Related calculators
Assumptions & limitations
Every figure here comes from a simplified model. Keep these limits in mind when reading your result:
- Assumes your current grade covers exactly the portion of the module not taken by the final.
- Assumes no rounding, scaling or moderation is applied to the final mark.
- Ignores minimum-mark rules where an exam must be passed independently of the overall grade.