Grade Chart
Generate a complete grading chart for any test length, with your own passing score and grading scale. Built to be printed and kept beside you.
Rows at or above this are marked as passing.
Most you can miss and still pass
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Each question is worth
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Questions
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| Wrong | Correct | Score | Grade | Pass? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Sign in or create a free account to save this calculation. Everything else works without one.
The chart shows every score a student can get on this test. Leave the passing score blank if you only want the percentages and letters.
Related calculators
Easy Grader
Enter the number of questions and the number wrong for an instant score, plus a full grading chart.
Test Grade Calculator
Turn correct or wrong answers out of a total into a percentage and letter grade.
Grade Calculator
Add up points earned and points possible across assignments to get your course percentage and letter grade.
How to use this calculator
- Enter how many questions are on the test.
- Enter your passing score if you want the pass boundary marked. Leave it blank for a plain chart.
- Pick your grading scale so the letters match your school's.
- Press Print for a clean copy with no site navigation on it.
How the chart is built
Each row is one more wrong answer. The score is the remaining correct answers as a share of the total.
A row passes when its score is at or above your passing mark. Exactly on the mark counts as a pass — a 70% against a 70% threshold is not a near miss.
A worked example
A 20-question test with a 70% pass mark:
| Wrong | Correct | Score | Pass? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 16 | 80% | Pass |
| 5 | 15 | 75% | Pass |
| 6 | 14 | 70% | Pass |
| 7 | 13 | 65% | Fail |
Six wrong is exactly 70% and passes. Seven drops to 65% and does not — so the answer a student wants is six.
Note that there is no score between 70% and 65% on this test. With 20 questions the grade moves in 5% steps, so a pass mark of 68% would behave identically to one of 70%. Chart lengths and pass marks interact in ways that are easy to miss until you see them laid out.
Choosing a test length
The number of questions decides how finely you can grade. If you want a pass mark of exactly 70% to be reachable, the test length has to allow it:
| Questions | Step size | Scores near 70% |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | 10% | 80%, 70%, 60% |
| 20 | 5% | 75%, 70%, 65% |
| 30 | 3.33% | 73.33%, 70%, 66.67% |
| 40 | 2.5% | 72.5%, 70%, 67.5% |
A test whose length does not divide evenly into your grade boundaries will always land students just above or just below them. Twenty, twenty-five and fifty questions are popular for exactly that reason.
Important notes and limitations
Grade cut-offs vary by school
The percentages in this chart are fixed arithmetic. The letters beside them are not — schools set their boundaries differently, and some do not use plus and minus grades at all. Switch the scale above to match yours before printing.
- Equal-weight questions only. For a test with differently weighted questions, use the Grade Calculator.
- Up to 200 questions. A longer chart is not readable on paper.
- Marking a stack of papers? The Easy Grader is quicker — type the number wrong and read the score.
Frequently asked questions
How many can I miss and still pass?
Set the number of questions and your passing score, and the answer appears above the chart. On a 20-question test passing at 70%, you can miss six — seven takes you to 65%.
Can I print this chart?
Yes. Press Print and the chart comes out on its own, without the site navigation. It is designed to be pinned beside you while marking.
Can I change the grade cut-offs?
Switch the grading scale above. The built-in options cover the common 4.0 scale with and without plus/minus grades. The percentages never change — only which letter sits beside them.
Why does my chart stop at 200 questions?
Because a chart has one row per question, and past 200 rows it stops being something you can usefully read or print. For longer tests, work in points with the Grade Calculator.
What if questions are worth different amounts?
Then a chart based on question counts will not fit. Use the Grade Calculator, which works from points earned out of points possible.