Exam Grade Curve Calculator
Apply a flat-point or square-root curve to your exam score. See your curved grade and letter grade.
How to use this tool
- Enter raw score and curve points added in the fields above.
- Results update instantly as you type — or click Calculate.
- Read your curved score and the full breakdown beneath it.
When a professor curves an exam, they add points to every student's raw score. Enter your raw score and the curve to see your adjusted grade instantly.
Formula
Curved Score = min(Raw Score + Curve Points, 100)
Letter grade thresholds: A ≥ 90, B ≥ 80, C ≥ 70, D ≥ 60, F < 60
How it works
This calculator applies a flat additive curve: it adds the specified number of curve points directly to the raw score, then caps the result at 100% to prevent scores above the maximum. The resulting curved score is assigned a letter grade using the standard A/B/C/D/F scale. This models a simple instructor-added point adjustment and does not implement square-root or bell-curve methods.
Worked example
Worked example
- Raw score = 72%, Curve points added = 8.
- Curved Score = 72 + 8 = 80.
- 80 does not exceed 100, so no capping is needed.
- 80% falls exactly on the B threshold (≥ 80%), so the letter grade is B.
Curved Score: 80% — Letter Grade: B
Key terms
- Flat additive curve
- A grading adjustment that adds a fixed number of points to every student's raw score equally.
- Score cap
- The maximum allowable score (typically 100%) that prevents a curved result from exceeding full marks.
- Raw score
- The original exam score before any curve or adjustment is applied.
- Curved score
- The adjusted exam score after the curve has been added, bounded by the score cap.
Frequently asked questions
- What does it mean to curve a grade?
- A curve adds a fixed number of points to every student's score, or scales scores so the highest becomes 100%. This calculator uses the flat-addition method.
- Can my curved score exceed 100%?
- This calculator caps the curved score at 100% since most gradebooks do not allow scores above 100.