Grading scale: letter grades, percentages and GPA
A grading scale sets the minimum percentage for each letter grade. Below are the two most widely used US versions: a simple 10-point A to F scale and a plus/minus scale with typical 4.0 GPA values. They are common examples, not an official standard. Your school, district or country may use different cutoffs.
Type a percent and the letter grade and GPA points show up here.
On this page: what each letter means, passing grades, college grading scales.
Standard 10-point grading scale
| Letter grade | Percentage | GPA |
|---|---|---|
| A | 90 to 100% | 4.0 |
| B | 80 to 89% | 3.0 |
| C | 70 to 79% | 2.0 |
| D | 60 to 69% | 1.0 |
| F | Below 60% | 0.0 |
Plus/minus grading scale and GPA
| Letter grade | Percentage | GPA |
|---|---|---|
| A+ | 97 to 100% | 4.0 |
| A | 93 to 96% | 4.0 |
| A− | 90 to 92% | 3.7 |
| B+ | 87 to 89% | 3.3 |
| B | 83 to 86% | 3.0 |
| B− | 80 to 82% | 2.7 |
| C+ | 77 to 79% | 2.3 |
| C | 73 to 76% | 2.0 |
| C− | 70 to 72% | 1.7 |
| D+ | 67 to 69% | 1.3 |
| D | 63 to 66% | 1.0 |
| D− | 60 to 62% | 0.7 |
| F | Below 60% | 0.0 |
What each letter grade means
Every letter covers a band of percentages. The bands here are the same ones as in the two scales above. For the meaning of each letter we didn't make up our own words. We took the one-word labels that six universities print beside each letter in their grade tables.
| Letter | What universities call it |
|---|---|
| A | Excellent at Arizona State, UC Berkeley, Ohio State, Texas A&M and Wisconsin. Outstanding at Rutgers. |
| B | Good at Arizona State, UC Berkeley, Rutgers, Texas A&M and Wisconsin. Above average at Ohio State. |
| C | Average at Arizona State and Ohio State. Fair at UC Berkeley and Wisconsin. Satisfactory at Rutgers and Texas A&M. |
| D | Poor at Ohio State, Rutgers and Wisconsin. Passing at Arizona State and Texas A&M. Barely passed at UC Berkeley. |
| F or E | Failure at Arizona State (as E), Ohio State (as E), Rutgers and Wisconsin. Failed at UC Berkeley. Failing at Texas A&M. |
A grades: 90 to 100 percent
An A is 90 to 100 percent on the 10-point scale. Add plus and minus grades and the band splits in three. The top four points, 97 and up, are an A+. The bottom three, 90 to 92, are an A−. Anything in between is a plain A. On the GPA side the plus doesn't help: A+ and A both count as 4.0. The minus costs you, and an A− counts as 3.7.
Don't expect an A+ to lift a college GPA. Only 3 of the 13 universities in our table below even record one. UC Berkeley and Michigan (LSA) count it as 4.0, same as an A. Arizona State counts it as 4.33, then caps the overall GPA at 4.00.
And a plain A doesn't start at 90 everywhere. In our school district table it starts at 93 in Fairfax County, Philadelphia and Virginia Beach, and at 92 in Prince William County. A 90 there is an A minus.
B grades: 80 to 89 percent
A B covers 80 to 89 percent. Here the top three points, 87 to 89, earn the plus and the bottom three, 80 to 82, get the minus. A plain B is 83 to 86. In GPA terms that's 3.3 for the plus, 3.0 for the plain B and 2.7 for the minus.
The B+ is a good example of why the fine print matters. It's worth 3.3 at UC Berkeley, Michigan (LSA) and Ohio State. At Arizona State, Florida and UT Austin it's 3.33, and Minnesota prints 3.333. UCF gives 3.25. Rutgers gives 3.5. That's one letter with four different values. Texas A&M and Wisconsin don't use a B+ at all.
C grades: 70 to 79 percent
The C band runs from 70 to 79 percent and splits the same way: 77 and up is a C+, 70 to 72 is a C−, and 73 to 76 is a plain C. A C+ is worth 2.3 GPA points, a plain C 2.0 and a C− 1.7.
Universities can't agree on a word for it. Depending on the campus, a C is average, fair or satisfactory.
It's also the grade that decides the most. A 2.0 average, which is a straight C, is the minimum to graduate at Michigan State and at Michigan's College of LSA. Take a class pass/fail and you'll usually need a C or a C minus to pass. The 7-point scale further down this page is harsher: there a 70 to 76 is already a D.
D grades: 60 to 69 percent
A D means 60 to 69 percent, and on the common scale nothing lower passes. The plus starts at 67, the minus ends at 62, and the plain D is 63 to 66. On the GPA scale the plus is worth 1.3, the plain D 1.0 and the minus 0.7.
It passes less often than people think. Gwinnett County and Fulton County in Georgia have no D at all, so anything under 70 fails. Houston, Northside and Cobb County start their D at 70. In college a D usually still earns credit. But Minnesota's policy says it may not count toward a major, and Arizona State gives no graduate credit for it.
F, and the schools that write E instead
An F is anything under 60 percent on the common scale, and it's worth 0 GPA points. At UC Berkeley, Minnesota and Texas A&M, for example, you get no credit for it but the class still counts in your GPA.
Not every school calls it F. Four of the 13 universities in our table record failure as E: Arizona State, Florida, Michigan (LSA) and Ohio State. Three school districts in our data do the same. Two are in Maryland, Prince George's County and Montgomery County, and the third is Virginia Beach. Milwaukee writes U.
Why do most schools skip E and go straight from D to F? We couldn't find an official source that explains it, so we won't guess.
Some districts also set a minimum grade of 50 in certain cases. Our grade floor tracker lists them, with the conditions.
Percentage to letter grade chart
Every whole percentage from 100% down to 60%, with the letter grade on the plain A to F scale, the plus/minus grade and unweighted 4.0 GPA points. Anything below 60% is an F.
| Percentage | Letter grade | Plus/minus | GPA |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100% | A | A+ | 4.0 |
| 99% | A | A+ | 4.0 |
| 98% | A | A+ | 4.0 |
| 97% | A | A+ | 4.0 |
| 96% | A | A | 4.0 |
| 95% | A | A | 4.0 |
| 94% | A | A | 4.0 |
| 93% | A | A | 4.0 |
| 92% | A | A− | 3.7 |
| 91% | A | A− | 3.7 |
| 90% | A | A− | 3.7 |
| 89% | B | B+ | 3.3 |
| 88% | B | B+ | 3.3 |
| 87% | B | B+ | 3.3 |
| 86% | B | B | 3.0 |
| 85% | B | B | 3.0 |
| 84% | B | B | 3.0 |
| 83% | B | B | 3.0 |
| 82% | B | B− | 2.7 |
| 81% | B | B− | 2.7 |
| 80% | B | B− | 2.7 |
| 79% | C | C+ | 2.3 |
| 78% | C | C+ | 2.3 |
| 77% | C | C+ | 2.3 |
| 76% | C | C | 2.0 |
| 75% | C | C | 2.0 |
| 74% | C | C | 2.0 |
| 73% | C | C | 2.0 |
| 72% | C | C− | 1.7 |
| 71% | C | C− | 1.7 |
| 70% | C | C− | 1.7 |
| 69% | D | D+ | 1.3 |
| 68% | D | D+ | 1.3 |
| 67% | D | D+ | 1.3 |
| 66% | D | D | 1.0 |
| 65% | D | D | 1.0 |
| 64% | D | D | 1.0 |
| 63% | D | D | 1.0 |
| 62% | D | D− | 0.7 |
| 61% | D | D− | 0.7 |
| 60% | D | D− | 0.7 |
| 59% | F | F | 0.0 |
| 58% | F | F | 0.0 |
| 57% | F | F | 0.0 |
| 56% | F | F | 0.0 |
| 55% | F | F | 0.0 |
| 54% | F | F | 0.0 |
| 53% | F | F | 0.0 |
| 52% | F | F | 0.0 |
| 51% | F | F | 0.0 |
| 50% | F | F | 0.0 |
| Below 50% | F | F | 0.0 |
How to convert a percentage to a letter grade
- Work out the percentage: points earned ÷ points possible × 100. So 43 out of 50 comes to 86%.
- Find the highest letter whose minimum the exact percentage meets. 86% meets B (80%) but not A (90%), so it's a B on both scales.
- Apply your rounding policy last, if you have one. GradeKind compares the unrounded percentage, so 89.99% stays a B.
You don't have to do this by hand. The Easy Grader lets you enter your own A/B/C/D thresholds and save them on your device, and the printable grading charts show every score for totals from 5 to 100.
What is a passing grade?
A passing grade is a D or higher on the common scale, which means 60 percent or more. That's the short answer. The real line depends on where you study and what the class is for.
High school: 60 in most districts, 70 in some
We read the official grading rules of 23 of the largest US school districts. In 17 of them the lowest passing grade is 60. In 5 it's 70: Houston, Northside, Cobb County, Gwinnett County and Fulton County. Virginia Beach sits in between at 64. You'll find the full list, with a link to each district's own document, in grading scales by school district.
College: a D earns credit, a C keeps you on track
At the universities where we could read the rule, a D is enough to earn credit for the course. UT Austin asks undergraduates for at least a D−. On Washington's transcript legend the lowest passing grade is 0.7, which is its D−. Michigan State gives credit from 1.0.
Credit isn't the whole story, though. Florida's catalog lets each college name its own minimum grade for particular courses, and UT Austin says departments may ask for more before a course counts toward the degree. A D average won't get you a degree either: Michigan State and Michigan's College of LSA both require a 2.0.
Pass/fail classes: a D doesn't pass
Choose pass/fail and the bar goes up. Seven of the university pages we read spell out the pass line, and on every one it's a C or a C minus. It's C minus at UC Berkeley, Michigan (LSA) and Minnesota. It's C at Florida, Texas A&M, Washington (2.0) and Wisconsin.
Graduate school: the line moves up again
At UC Berkeley the graduate version of pass/fail, called satisfactory, needs a B minus or better. Washington wants at least 2.7 in every course that counts toward a graduate degree. Michigan State gives graduate credit from 2.0 and requires a 3.0 average to graduate. UT Austin counts a graduate course toward the program only at C or better, and at Arizona State a D earns no graduate credit.
College grading scales at 13 large universities
There's no single college grading scale. Each registrar publishes how many grade points a letter is worth, and the numbers change from campus to campus. What registrars don't publish is the percent you need for each letter. None of the 13 pages below sets percent cutoffs for undergraduate classes.
That part lives in your syllabus. UCF's grading policy says so directly. The university has no official rule tying letter grades to percentages, and each instructor decides. Minnesota's policy also gives the instructor the job of turning scores into letters.
| University | Grades it records | A+ | A− | B+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona State | A+ to E. No C−, D+ or D−. | 4.33 (overall GPA capped at 4.00) | 3.67 | 3.33 |
| UC Berkeley | A+ to F, with plus and minus on A, B, C and D. | 4.0 | 3.7 | 3.3 |
| UCF | A to F. No A+. Each instructor chooses whether to use plus and minus. | Not used | 3.75 | 3.25 |
| Florida | A to E. No A+. | Not used | 3.67 | 3.33 |
| Michigan (College of LSA) | A+ to E, with plus and minus on A, B, C and D. | 4.0 | 3.7 | 3.3 |
| Michigan State | Numbers, not letters: 4.0, 3.5, 3.0, 2.5, 2.0, 1.5, 1.0 and 0.0. | No letters | No letters | No letters |
| Minnesota | A to F. No A+ or D−. Each instructor chooses whether to use plus and minus. | Not used | 3.667 | 3.333 |
| Ohio State | A to E. No A+ or D−. | Not used | 3.7 | 3.3 |
| Rutgers (New Brunswick) | A, B+, B, C+, C, D and F. No minus grades. | Not used | Not used | 3.5 |
| Texas A&M | A, B, C, D and F. No plus or minus. | Not used | Not used | Not used |
| UT Austin | A to F. No A+. | Not used | 3.67 | 3.33 |
| Washington | Numbers from 4.0 down to 0.7 in steps of 0.1, then 0.0. | No letters | 3.5 to 3.8 on its letter key | 3.2 to 3.4 on its letter key |
| Wisconsin (Madison) | A, AB, B, BC, C, D and F. AB is worth 3.5 and BC 2.5. No plus or minus. | Not used | Not used | Not used |
- Only 3 of the 13 record an A+, and only Arizona State gives it more than 4.0.
- An A− is worth 3.7 at UC Berkeley, Michigan (LSA) and Ohio State. It's 3.67 at Arizona State, Florida and UT Austin, 3.667 at Minnesota and 3.75 at UCF. Rutgers, Texas A&M and Wisconsin have no minus grades.
- Michigan State and Washington put numbers on the transcript instead of letters.
- Four of the 13 record a failed class as E.
How we checked: each university name links to the page we read in November 2026. The Michigan row comes from the College of LSA page. Other schools at Michigan publish their own tables. Seen a number that has changed? Tell us on the feedback page.
Other common grading scales
Not every school uses 90/80/70/60. We checked the official policies of the largest US districts, and 17 of the 23 we could confirm do use it. Houston starts a C at 75, Cobb County at 74, and Gwinnett has no D at all. See the full list in grading scales by school district.
Two other scales people search for often:
7-point scale
Used by some US school districts: A 93 to 100%, B 85 to 92%, C 77 to 84%, D 70 to 76%, F below 70%. On this scale an 84% is a C, not a B.
A to F scale with 70/60/50/45/40 cutoffs
Common in Nigerian universities and some other systems on a 5-point scale: A 70 to 100% (5 points), B 60 to 69% (4), C 50 to 59% (3), D 45 to 49% (2), E 40 to 44% (1), F below 40% (0).
If your school uses one of these, enter its cutoffs in the Easy Grader and every chart it builds will follow your scale.
Weighted vs. unweighted GPA
To work out your own GPA from letter grades and credits, use the GPA calculator. The GPA values above are unweighted: every class counts on the same 4.0 scale. Many high schools add extra points for honors, AP or IB classes (for example, an A counts as 5.0), which produces a weighted GPA. Weighting rules differ a lot between schools, so use your school's published policy.
Frequently asked questions
Is an 81 a B?
Yes. 81% is a B on the standard 10-point scale (80 to 89%). With plus and minus grades it is a B− (80 to 82%), which is 2.7 GPA points.
What letter grade is a 78?
78% is a C on the standard scale (70 to 79%) and a C+ on a plus/minus scale (77 to 79%), worth 2.3 GPA points.
What letter grade is a 66?
66% is a D on the standard scale (60 to 69%) and also a D on a plus/minus scale (63 to 66%), worth 1.0 GPA point. It passes on most scales, but many courses need at least a C.
What percentage is an A+?
An A+ is usually 97 to 100%. An A is 93 to 96% and an A− is 90 to 92%. On a plain A to F scale any score from 90% to 100% is an A.
What percent counts as a C+?
Most schools put a C+ at 77 to 79%, a C at 73 to 76% and a C− at 70 to 72%.
Which grading scale do most schools use?
In most US schools an A starts at 90%, a B at 80%, a C at 70% and a D at 60%. Anything under 60% is an F. A lot of them also split each band into plus and minus grades. Scales vary by school, district and country, so always check your own policy.
How do I turn a percent into a letter grade?
Compare the exact percentage with your scale's minimum for each letter, starting from A. For example, 86% is a B on a 10-point scale and a B on the plus/minus scale above. Compare before rounding: 89.6% is a B unless your policy rounds up.
How many GPA points is a B+?
Most schools give 3.3 points for a B+, 3.0 for a B and 2.7 for a B−. Some schools use slightly different values, and A+ is often capped at 4.0.
Is 70% a passing grade?
On the common scale, 70% is a C, and 60% is the lowest passing grade (D). Some schools and courses require a C (70%) or higher to pass, so check your policy.
What letter grade is a 70?
On a 10-point scale 70% is a C. With plus and minus grades it is a C−, which is 1.7 GPA points. On a 7-point scale (A starts at 93%) it is only a D.
What is a 73 percent grade?
73% is a C on both the standard scale and the plus/minus scale (73 to 76%), worth 2.0 GPA points. On a 7-point scale it is a D.
What grade is a 75?
75% is a C on the standard and plus/minus scales, worth 2.0 GPA points. On a 7-point scale it is a D.
What is a 76 as a grade?
76% is a C, the top of the plain C band on a plus/minus scale (73 to 76%). One more point, 77%, makes it a C+. On a 7-point scale 76% is a D.
What is a 65 percent grade?
65% is a D on both the standard and plus/minus scales, worth 1.0 GPA point. On a 7-point scale, where 70% is the lowest passing grade, it is an F.
What is a 60 percent grade?
60% is a D on the standard scale and a D− on a plus/minus scale, worth 0.7 GPA points. It is the lowest passing grade on the common scale and a fail on the 7-point scale.
Is a D a passing grade?
Usually. A D, which is 60 to 69 percent on the common scale, is the lowest grade that still passes. In 5 of the 23 large school districts we checked you need a 70 to pass, and in a pass/fail college class a D doesn't pass.
Is a 60 or a 70 passing in college?
On the common scale a 60 is a D, and a D earns course credit at the universities where we could read the rule. Your syllabus decides which percent gets which letter, because universities publish grade points and not percent cutoffs. A college or department can also set a higher minimum grade for the courses in a major.
What percent is an A in college?
There's no national rule. Universities publish the grade points for each letter, but none of the 13 we checked sets percent cutoffs for undergraduate classes. The number comes from your syllabus, so treat the 90 percent line on this page as a starting point and not a promise.
Why is there no E in the grading scale?
Some schools do use it. Arizona State, Florida, Michigan (LSA) and Ohio State record a failing grade as E, and so do three of the school districts in our table. Most others go from D straight to F. We couldn't find an official record that explains why.