Question

The distribution of Jamal’s high school grades by percentage of course credits is given in the circle graph below. What is Jamal’s grade point average if each a is worth 4 points, each b is worth 3 points, and every c is worth 2 points?
A is 70%
B is 20%
C is 10%

Answer 1

Jamal’s GPA, or grade point average, is a 3.6. To calculate this, all you need is a simple calculator. The first thing you do is multiply four (the number of points for each “A”) by 0.7 (the percentage of “A”s that Jamal has, but in decimal form). This gives you 2.8. Next, you repeat with the “B”s and “C”s that Jamal has. These give you 0.6 and 0.2, respectively. Finally, you add it all up to get 3.6.

This method can be adapted to fit any other weighted grading system that you come across. All you need to know is how much each of the letter grades is worth, and what percentage of a student’s grades fall into each of those letter grades.