For a student with a passing average, a zero lowers the grade the most, a 50 lowers it less, and a blank or excused mark leaves it where it was. A missing mark can act like any of these, because it counts as whatever number your gradebook or district puts behind it.
Below, one made-up student shows the math in a points class and in a weighted class. Then real district policies and a state law show what schools have written down.
One missing assignment, four ways to enter it
Made-up example. A student has five homework assignments worth 100 points each. She scored 90, 82, 88 and 80, and never turned in the fifth. Her four scores add up to 340 points.
Letters here use a 10-point scale: A is 90 and up, B is 80 to 89, C is 70 to 79, D is 60 to 69, and F is below 60. Nothing is rounded.
| Fifth assignment entered as | Math | Grade | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blank, not graded yet | 340 ÷ 400 | 85.00% | B |
| Excused | 340 ÷ 400 | 85.00% | B |
| 50, a minimum grade | 390 ÷ 500 | 78.00% | C |
| 0 | 340 ÷ 500 | 68.00% | D |
The zero costs 17 points against the blank, and the 50 costs 7. The gap between the 0 and the 50 is 10 points, because the fifth assignment is one of five equal items: 50 ÷ 5 = 10. On its own, a 50 is still an F on this scale.
Blank and excused match today. A blank is still waiting for a score, while excused work stays out for good.
What a missing mark counts as
Missing is a label, not a score. The number behind it comes from your gradebook or your district’s rules, and two real policies point in different directions.
- Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland has teachers enter a “Z” while missing work can still be turned in. If the work never comes in after support, the teacher enters a zero. Our student would end up in the 0 row.
- Cape Henlopen School District in Delaware marks a missing assignment NR, which counts as 50 until a real score replaces it. Our student would sit in the 50 row for now.
In our calculators, Missing always means 0. If your school’s missing mark stands for 50, type 50 instead.
The same student in a weighted class
Made-up example. Now her five homework scores sit in a Homework category worth 40%, and Tests are worth 60%. She has 76 and 84 on two tests, an average of 80.
| Fifth homework entered as | Homework average | Math | Course grade | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blank or excused | 85 | (0.40 × 85) + (0.60 × 80) | 82.00% | B |
| 50 | 78 | (0.40 × 78) + (0.60 × 80) | 79.20% | C |
| 0 | 68 | (0.40 × 68) + (0.60 × 80) | 75.20% | C |
The weight shrinks every gap. A category worth 40% passes on 40% of each change. The 10-point gap between a 0 and a 50 becomes 4 points, and the zero costs 6.8 points against the blank instead of 17. A zero on a test would move the grade more here, since Tests carry more weight and hold fewer scores.
The Weighted Grade Calculator does this math. Enter each category’s Weight % and Grade so far, then swap in each Homework average from the table.
What it takes to recover
Made-up example. Back in the points class, what does the student need on her next 100-point assignment to be at 80% or higher, a B? With six items counted, 80% of 600 points is 480. If the fifth was excused, five items count, and 80% of 500 is 400.
| Fifth assignment entered as | Points needed | Points she has | Next score needed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Excused | 400 | 340 | 60 |
| 50 | 480 | 390 | 90 |
| 0 | 480 | 340 | 140, more than the assignment is worth |
With the zero, she needs three perfect scores in a row: (340 + 300) ÷ 800 = 80.00%.
Read the table both ways. A zero can be hard to climb out of. A 50 adds 50 points for work that was never turned in.
What district policies say
Rules differ from district to district, so start with your own. Three examples:
- Montgomery County Public Schools, Maryland. Its grading regulation has a “50 percent rule.” Teachers may not give less than 50 percent when the work shows evidence of progress. The teacher gives a zero if the student does not seek support or does no work after support is offered, or if the teacher finds the student did not try to meet the basic requirements.
- Cape Henlopen School District, Delaware. Besides NR for missing work, it has a report card floor. In full-year courses, a marking period grade below 50 is reported as 50 at the end of periods 1 and 3, and as the actual grade at the end of periods 2 and 4. Courses that last one marking period get no floor.
- Cleburne ISD, Texas. Its secondary guidelines enter a score of 0 for work not received by the due date. In on-level courses, late work is taken for up to 5 school days and loses 20% of the grade it would have earned. After that, it stays a zero. Its elementary guidelines cite Texas Education Code 28.0216 and say grading “may not require a classroom teacher to assign a minimum grade” without regard to the quality of the work.
What state law says
State law can limit what a district may require.
South Carolina’s Act 204 of 2026 added Section 59-29-250 to the state code. No public school district or public school, charter schools included, may adopt a grading system that requires a teacher to give a minimum grade or score above the student’s actual performance on required assignments. If a district is found in violation, the State Department of Education withholds 10 percent of its State Aid to Classroom funding. The law took effect July 1, 2026.
In Texas, Cleburne ISD ties its no-minimum rule to Education Code 28.0216, as shown above. If you teach in another state, ask your district which state rules apply.
What to write in your syllabus
A parent can check a grade only if the syllabus says what each mark means. Start from your district’s policy, then fill in these lines:
- Blank: “A blank means not graded yet. It does not count until it has a score.”
- Missing: “Work not turned in by the due date is marked missing and counts as [0, 50 or nothing] until [deadline].”
- After the deadline: “Missing work still not turned in by [deadline] becomes a [0 or the district floor].”
- Lowest score: “Work that is turned in and attempted earns at least [floor].” Or: “There is no minimum score.”
- Excused: “Excused work is left out of the grade. [Who] can excuse work, and for what reasons.”
- Late work: “Late work loses [amount] and is accepted until [deadline].”
If your district or state sets a rule, quote it and give the policy number. Then run the made-up student above through your own rules, so you know the numbers before a parent asks.
Entering each choice in GradeCat
Each row’s ⋯ menu has a How this counts setting. There is no minimum-grade or late-penalty setting, so type any other score you want counted.
- Zero: type 0, or choose “Missing: counts as 0”, which counts even with Score blank.
- Minimum grade: type 50, or your district’s floor, in place of any lower score.
- Not graded yet: leave Score blank. A blank stays out of the grade.
- Excused: choose “Excused: does not count” to take the row out.
To see every blank as a 0, check “Count work not graded yet as zero”.
Use the Grade Calculator for points and the Weighted Grade Calculator for categories. The Grading Scale page shows the letter for any percent. For extra credit and drop rules, see How to Set Up a Gradebook Students Can Check.
Sources
- Montgomery County Public Schools, Regulation IKA-RA, Grading and Reporting
- Cape Henlopen School District grading policies
- Cleburne ISD: secondary grading guidelines, elementary grading guidelines
- South Carolina H.5073, Act 204 of 2026
Tools for this guide
- Grade Calculator: Find your current grade from your assignments.
- Weighted Grade Calculator: Get your grade when homework, quizzes and exams count differently.
- Grading Scale: See how percents turn into letter grades, and set your own scale.
More guides
- How to Curve Grades Fairly: Methods Compared
- How to Set Up a Gradebook Students Can Check
- Rubric Grading: Why 2 out of 4 Need Not Mean 50%
- Weighted Grades in Excel and Google Sheets
- Standards-Based Report Cards: What a 1 to 4 Means
This guide is general information. Your school's rules come first. Found a mistake? Tell us.