Grade Point Average

GPA

This page describes how to calculate grade point average and included are charts, an example, and an XLS GPS Calculator file (requires a spreadsheet program.)

On This Page

• Grade Scale Example 90/80/70/60
• Grade Scale Example 94/86/78/70
• Transcript Example
• XLS GPA Calculator

XLS GPA Calculator

The GPA Calculator requires a spreadsheet program.

The file has place for two different grade scales and both may be edited to match your grade scale.

To use the calculator

1. download the file
2. open the file
3. edit the grade scale to match your grade scale
4. in the while cells, enter subjects, credits, and scores (grades)
5. The calculator will return the GPA, QP, letter grades, and total credits.

How to Calculate GPA

Worksheet that may be used to calculate GPA using the 4.0 Scale. Each file is the same, only the format is different - PDF, DOC, and DOCX.

PDF- Calculate GPA | DOC- Calculate GPA | DOCX- Calculate GPA

The GPA depends on three things-

1. Your grade scale (this, plus the class scores will determine the letter grades)
2. The letter grade earned for each class
3. The credit earned for each class

Below are two quality point tables. The tables are set up for two particular grade scales and shown for an example only. With the tables you can determine the quality points to enter for each class. Both tables are based on the standard 4.0 GPA scale.

Two Quality Point Tables

Below are two tables each one shows the quality points earned for each credit value and grade.

Grade Scale 90/80/70/60

without +/- letter grades

QP Table - Standard 4.0 Scale
Grade Scale	Letter Grade	1 Credit Quality Points	0.75 Credit Quality Points	0.5 Credit Quality Points	0.25 Credit Quality Points
90-100 80-89.9 70-79.9 60-69.9 Below 60	A B C D F	4.00 3.00 2.00 1.00 0.00	3.00 2.25 1.50 0.75 0.00	2.00 1.50 1.00 0.50 0.00	1.00 0.75 0.50 0.25 0.00

Grade Scale 94/86/78/70

The next table is detailed in that it includes the +/- grades.

A detailed QP table that includes +/- letter grades

QP Table - Standard 4.0 Scale
Grade Scale	Ltr Gr	1 Credit Quality Points	0.75 Credit Quality Points	0.5 Credit Quality Points	0.25 Credit Quality Points
94-100 91.3-93.9 88.7-91.2 86-88.6 83.3-85.9 80.7-83.2 78-80.6 75.3-77.9 72.7-75.2 70-72.6 67.3-69.9 Below 67.3	A A- B+ B B- C+ C C- D+ D D- F	4.00 3.67 3.33 3.00 2.67 2.33 2.00 1.67 1.33 1.00 0.67 0.00	3.00 2.75 2.50 2.25 2.00 1.75 1.50 1.25 1.00 0.75 0.50 0.00	2.00 1.84 1.67 1.50 1.34 1.17 1.00 0.84 0.67 0.50 0.34 0.00	1.00 0.92 0.83 0.75 0.67 0.58 0.50 0.42 0.33 0.25 0.17 0.00

Sample Transcript Entry

Below is a sample transcript entry. The green part is the part of interest; it is the part that contains the information that allows one to compute GPA.

The Steps:

1. Add the credits
2. Add the QP (quality points)
3. Divide the QP total by the credits total
4. The answer will be the GPA.

Edited by Donna Young, April 18, 2013

Course Title	1st Semester		2nd Semester		Final			Cumulative
	Grade	Credit	Grade	Credit	Grade	Credit	QP	GPA	Credits
Geography Algebra English Science Art PE Health	B C A B A A B	0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.25 0.25	A B A B A A B	0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.25 0.25	B+ B A B A A B	1 1 1 1 1 0.5 0.5	3.33 3.00 4.00 3.00 4.00 2.00 2.00	(21.33 total QP points divided by 6 credits) 3.5	6

The Grade and Credit Determine the GPA

For example, Geography will earn 1 credit. The student's final letter grade is B+. Using the grading scale above, the quality points (QP) for a 1 credit course that earned a grade of B+ is 3.33. PE is a 0.5 credit course. The letter grade of A earned for a 0.5 credit course gives a GPA of 2.00.

At the end of the year add the credits earned. Find the quality points (QP) for each grade/credit. Add the QP and divide the sum with the number of credits earned.

In the example above, the green column shows the QP's that were earned for each course. The QP's are added and they total 21.33. To get the cumulative GPA, divide the total (21.33 in the example) by the number of credits that were earned (6 in the example). This yields a GPA (grade point average) of 3.5.

Some Grade Scales

Grade scales vary and below are three examples. Notice the score range of the letter grade D; it is in the 60's in two of the grades scales and in the 70's in one of the grade scales.

A: 94-100 B: 86-93 C: 78-85 D: 70-77 F: 0-69
A: 90-100 B: 80-89 C: 70-79 D: 60-69 F: 0-59
A: 93-100 B: 82-92 C: 71-81 D: 60-70 F: 0-59