What this calculator does
A letter grade calculator for averaging several letter grades together works differently from averaging raw percentage scores, because letters such as A, B+ or C- are not numbers on their own. The standard approach converts each letter to its grade-point value on a 4.0 scale, averages those numeric values, and then maps the result back onto the nearest letter.
This grade average calculator takes a list of letter grades, such as A, B+, A-, C, converts each using the common A+ to F, 0.3-step convention, and reports both the resulting average GPA and the letter grade closest to it. It is built for combining several already-assigned letter grades, distinct from calculating a single grade from raw percentage scores.
The formula
Each letter grade is looked up against a standard grade-point table: A and A+ are both worth 4.0, A- is 3.7, B+ is 3.3, and so on down to F at 0.0, each full letter separated by 1.0 and each +/- step by 0.3. The grade-point values are averaged like ordinary numbers, and the resulting average is then matched to whichever letter's grade-point value it sits closest to.
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| GPA | Grade point average: the numeric average of the grade-point values behind each letter grade. |
| Grade point | The 4.0-scale numeric value assigned to a specific letter grade, such as 3.3 for a B+. |
| Nearest letter grade | The letter whose own grade-point value is closest to the computed average GPA. |
The inputs explained
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Letter grades (comma separated, e.g. A, B+, A-, C) | The letter grades to average, separated by commas, such as A, B+, A-, C. Plus and minus suffixes are optional. |
When to use it
Averaging grades across several courses or terms
A transcript listing separate letter grades for each course, with no weighting information, averages naturally by converting each to a grade point first.
Checking an overall letter grade calculator result by hand
Converting a small number of letters to grade points and back is quick to do by hand as a sanity check on a school or university's own reported average.
Seeing how much a single low grade pulls down the average
Because each letter maps to a fixed numeric step, swapping one grade for a lower one shows exactly how many grade points that change is worth, rather than a vague sense that the average "dropped".
Worked examples
Every figure in the tables below is produced by this page’s own calculator at build time, so the numbers and the tool always agree. Select any row to load that scenario.
Average grade point across different mixes of letter grades
Several different sets of four letter grades, each converted to an average GPA and back to a letter.
| Grades entered | Average GPA | Nearest letter grade |
|---|---|---|
| A, B+, A-, C | 3.25 | B+ |
| A, A, A, A | 4.00 | A+ |
| C, C, C, C | 2.00 | C |
| A, F, A, F | 2.00 | C |
| B, B-, B+, A- | 3.18 | B+ |
| D, D+, C-, C | 1.50 | C- |
Questions
How do you average letter grades?
Convert each letter grade to its numeric grade-point value on a standard 4.0 scale, average those numbers, then map the resulting average back to the nearest letter grade.
What is the grade point value of a B+?
On the common A+ to F, 0.3-step scale used here, a B+ is worth 3.3 grade points, one step above a plain B (3.0) and one step below an A- (3.7).
Does every school use the same +/- grade point scale?
No. The 0.3-step scale used here (A- = 3.7, B+ = 3.3 and so on) is a common convention, but some institutions round differently, use a coarser scale without +/- at all, or cap A+ above 4.0. Check a specific institution's own scale if the result needs to match a transcript exactly.
How is this different from the main grade calculator?
The grade calculator combines percentage scores with different weights into one overall percentage and letter grade. This calculator instead starts from letter grades that have already been assigned, with no weighting, and averages those directly.
For an overall grade from weighted percentage scores instead of letter grades, see the grade calculator. For a single test scored as correct answers out of a total, see the test grade calculator.