How to Calculate the Grade Point Average on a 4.0 Scale

Most American schools use a grading scale where a 100 percent is equal to 4.0. Normally a letter grade system is followed as well. In this system, 4.0 is equal to an "A", 3.0 is equal to a "B", 2.0 for "C", 1.0 for "D", and an "F" is 0. There is no E in this system, and some systems add in pluses and minuses that fall somewhere between the whole numbers. A student's grade point average is determined by adding those numbers up and dividing by the number of credits or classes that were taken.

Things You'll Need

• Paper
• Pencil

Instructions

Grade Point Average Based on Classes

1. List all of the grades for the time period that the grade point average covers. If the grades are given as letters, convert them to numbers. For example, A, B, B, A changes to 4, 3, 3, 4.

2. Add up the numbers. 4 + 3 + 3 + 4 = 14.

3. Divide the total by the number of classes the grades cover. A, B, B, A are four total grades. 14 / 4 = 3.5.

Grade Point Average Based on Credits

1. List all of the grades for the time period that the grade point average covers. If the grades are given as letters, convert them to numbers. For example, A, B, B, A changes to 4, 3, 3, 4.

2. Multiply each grade by the number of credit hours it covers. If a course is worth 3 credits, its associated grade should be multiplied by 3. If the first two courses are worth 4 credits, and the second two are worth 3, the balance would be 16, 12, 9, 12.

3. Add up the numbers. For example, 16 + 12 + 12 + 9 = 49.

4. Divide the total by the total number of credits. 49 / 14 = 3.5.

References

• Hunter College High School: How to Calculate Your Grade Point Average
• MIT: GPA Calculation and Unit Conversion