Three free grading tools for teachers: score tests, set a scale and share your class setup. You do not need an account.
Tools
Which tool to use when
Scoring a test: use the Test Grade Calculator. Enter the number of questions or points, and it builds a chart from 0 wrong to all wrong, with the percent and letter on each row. It also shows how many a student can miss for each letter. If you give partial credit, set Step to Half or Quarter. Print chart gives you a paper copy.
Setting your cutoffs: use the Grading Scale. It shows how percents, letters and grade points line up. If your school draws the lines elsewhere, choose Make my own scale. Print poster makes a copy for your classroom.
Letting students check their own grades: use the Weighted Grade Calculator. Enter your categories, weights and drop rules, then choose Copy class link. The link holds your setup and no scores. It does not carry your grading scale. Students open it, choose Load shared data and type in their own scores.
None of these tools connects to a gradebook or keeps a roster.
Share with your class
Two links let students work out their grade your way, with no account:
- Your categories and weights: on the Weighted Grade Calculator, choose Copy class link.
- Your grading scale: on the Grading Scale, choose Make my own scale, save it, then Copy link. Students open it and press Save scale, and the calculators then offer your scale under Match your class.
A note you can paste next to the links on your class page:
Check your grade any time. Open the link, press Load shared data, then type your own scores. Your scores stay on your device and are not sent to me or to anyone else.
How to Set Up a Gradebook Students Can Check covers the rules to settle before you share.
Guides
- How to Curve Grades Fairly: Methods Compared: Flat points, scaling, square root and moved cutoffs, run on one made-up class of 10 scores. See who gains most and when a curve is the wrong fix.
- How to Set Up a Gradebook Students Can Check: Set up a gradebook students can check: choose categories, weights, a late-work rule and a grading scale before term starts, then share them.
- Rubric Grading: Why 2 out of 4 Need Not Mean 50%: A 2 on a four-level rubric can turn into a failing 50% with simple math. Learn how to convert levels into grades you can explain to students.
- Zero, 50% or Missing: How Each Changes a Grade: Is a 50 better than a zero? In our made-up class, a zero costs 17 points and a 50 costs 7 next to a blank. See the math and what district policies say.
- Weighted Grades in Excel and Google Sheets: Build a weighted grade in Excel or Google Sheets with SUMPRODUCT or AVERAGE.WEIGHTED, then handle blanks, empty categories, drops, letters and rounding.
- Standards-Based Report Cards: What a 1 to 4 Means: A 1 to 4 on a standards-based report card shows progress toward a learning goal, not a percent. See how real districts define each level.