Grading scale

The standard U.S. grading scale

The standard U.S. grading scale is the 10-point scale: 90–100 is an A, 80–89 a B, 70–79 a C, 60–69 a D and anything lower an F. Florida’s statute for middle and high schools spells it out, with a meaning for each grade.^[1]

North Carolina’s State Board uses the same bands and quality points for high schools,^[2] and South Carolina has used them statewide since 2016.^[3] Because the boundaries are shared so widely, “a 90 is an A” is a safe default when a syllabus says nothing else.

Plus/minus grading scales

A plus/minus scale splits each letter band into three, usually at 3-point intervals: 90–92 is an A−, 87–89 a B+, 83–86 a B and 80–82 a B−. The grade points step down by about a third each time, so an A− is 3.7 and a B+ is 3.3.^[4]

College Board’s current page shows only whole letters and adds that the 4.0 scale is “just one common example”.^[5] To convert any percent on either version, use the percentage to letter grade converter.

Older and stricter scales

Not every school uses 10-point bands. Before 2016, South Carolina’s statewide scale was A = 93–100, B = 85–92, C = 77–84, D = 70–76 and F = 0–69.^[3] Under that scale an 84% was a C, the same score that earns a B on today’s 10-point scale. Individual schools and teachers can still set narrower bands, so check the syllabus before converting.

College grading scales

Colleges use the same letters but set their own rules on the edges. Berkeley counts an A+ as 4.0, the same as an A; Stanford uses a 4.3 scale where the A+ is worth more.^[7][6] Pass/fail grades usually carry no points. The college GPA calculator handles both versions, and the GPA scale guide explains 4.0, 4.3 and weighted 5.0 systems.

Grading scales outside the U.S.

Other countries do not use A–F the American way, and their percentages are not interchangeable with U.S. ones.

• United Kingdom (university degrees): first class from 70, upper second (2:1) 60–69, lower second (2:2) 50–59, third 40–49 and a fail below 40. The University of Bristol describes these bands as standard across UK higher education.^[8]
• Australia (University of Queensland): a 7-point scale where 7 is a High Distinction, 6 a Distinction, 5 a Credit and 4 a Pass; GPA is the unit-weighted average of those grades.^[9]
• Canada (Ontario applications): OUAC converts each university’s grades to a 4.0 scale. On the percentage scale it applies to Toronto, Queen’s, Waterloo, Western and Guelph, 90–100 converts to 4.0, 85–89 to 3.9 and 80–84 to 3.7, so an 80% there is about an A− in U.S. terms.^[10]

From a grading scale to a GPA

Once each course has a letter, multiply its points by its credits and divide by total credits to get a GPA. Step-by-step instructions are in how to calculate GPA, and the GPA calculator does the arithmetic for you.