What Do I Need on My Final to Pass?
The formula for the score you need on the final, why a number above 100% means the target is already gone, and what to aim for instead.
There is one formula behind this question, and it takes about thirty seconds once you know which three numbers to feed it. The harder part is what the answer means — because a surprising share of the people typing this into Google are asking about a target that the arithmetic has already closed off, and no amount of studying reopens it.
The formula
Your course grade is a weighted average. Each category contributes its score multiplied by its weight, and the final exam is just one more category. So to find the score you need:
Needed on final = (target × 100 − points already banked) ÷ final's weight
“Points already banked” means each graded category's score times its weight, added up. If homework is 20% of the grade and you have 92, that category banked 1,840. Do that for every graded category and add them.
A worked example
Take a course weighted like this, with the final still ahead of you:
- Homework — 20% of the grade, scored 92
- Quizzes — 25% of the grade, scored 85
- Midterm — 25% of the grade, scored 78
- Final exam — 30% of the grade, not taken yet
The graded 70% averages out to 84.5. Here is what the final would have to be for each target:
- For an overall 90: you would need 102.83% — not available.
- For an overall 80: you need 69.5%.
- For an overall 70: you need 36.17%.
- For an overall 60: you need 2.83%.
Notice how fast the required score collapses as the target drops. That gap between 102.83 and 69.5 is the whole reason this question is worth asking before you start revising: the A is gone, and the B is comfortable.
When the answer is over 100%
A result above 100 is not a near miss. It is the arithmetic telling you the target became unreachable some time ago — at the moment your banked points fell too far behind for the final's weight to recover them.
Take coursework averaging 55 and 48 across two categories worth 30% each, with a 40% final. To finish at 70 you would need 97.75%. Technically possible, practically not. For 60 you need 72.75%, and for 50, 47.75%. The useful move is to find the highest target whose required score you can actually hit, then aim there deliberately rather than at a number that is already gone.
The things that genuinely change this answer all change the inputs: extra credit, a dropped lowest score, a retake, or a final that replaces a test grade. Those are worth an email to your instructor. Studying harder does not change a 102.83.
When you have already clinched it
The formula runs the other way too. With coursework worth 75% averaging 94 and a 25% final, passing at 70 needs −2% on the final. A negative number means you have mathematically already passed — even a zero leaves you at 70.5. An 80 overall needs 38%, and a 90 needs 78%.
This is worth checking before a finals week you have written off. Knowing the floor is secure changes how you spend the week, and which exam deserves the hours.
Why your final's weight decides everything
Two students with identical grades can get very different answers here, purely from how much the final counts. A 40% final can swing a course grade enormously. A 10% final mostly cannot — going from 70 to 100 on it moves the overall grade three points.
So check the weight in your syllabus before you plan around the exam. If it is small, the realistic lever is any outstanding coursework, not the final. Our weighted grade calculator shows how much each category is actually contributing.
Getting the right numbers out of Canvas
Canvas typically computes your current grade from graded work only, which means the percentage on your dashboard is not your projected final grade — it is your average so far. Students read the two as the same thing and plan around a number that quietly excludes the biggest assessment left.
Open your grades page, switch on the total column if your instructor allows it, and note each assignment group's weight. Those weights are the ones to enter. If you want to test hypothetical scores inside Canvas itself, that is what what-if grades are for, and if your course is scored purely out of raw points rather than weighted percentages, use points to grade instead.
Common questions
Take the target grade you need (often 60% or 70%), multiply it by 100, subtract the weighted points you have already banked, then divide by your final's weight as a percentage. If your coursework is worth 70% and averages 84.5, and the final is worth 30%, you need 36.17% on the final for an overall 70 — and only 2.83% to clear a 60.
It means that target is no longer reachable through the final alone, no matter how well you do. It is not a rounding problem. Recalculate against a lower target to find the best grade still available to you, then ask your instructor about extra credit, a retake, or a dropped lowest score — those change the inputs, which is the only thing that can change the answer.
Only if the final carries enough weight. A final worth 30% can move an overall grade by up to about 30 points if you go from a zero to a perfect score, but realistically it shifts things 5-10 points. A final worth 10% can barely move a letter grade at all — the arithmetic caps what is possible before effort enters the picture.
That rule changes which scores go into the weighted average, so enter the grade you would have after the replacement rather than your current one. Drop the lowest test out of your test category, recompute that category's average, and use that number as your current score.
Canvas usually hides ungraded work, so its current grade reflects only what has been marked so far — not your course average with the final included. That is why a Canvas percentage can look higher than the grade you will actually finish with. Enter your category weights explicitly to see the real picture.
More grade & GPA tools
Built on the same engine. More launching soon.
Canvas Grade Calculator
Your current grade, what-if, and what you need on the final.
Weighted Grade Calculator
Combine categories by weight into one course grade.
Semester Grade Calculator
Roll quarters and exams into a semester grade.
What-If Grade Calculator
Test hypothetical scores before they're graded.
Grade Curve Calculator
Apply a curve and see adjusted grades.
Points to Grade Calculator
Turn points out of a total into a percentage and letter.
Final Exam Calculator
Find the score you need on the final exam.
Overall GPA Calculator
Average every course across all terms into one GPA.
Cumulative GPA Calculator
Combine every term into a cumulative GPA.
High School GPA Calculator
Weighted and unweighted high-school GPA.