The US Grading Scale, Explained
The full letter / percentage / GPA table
| Letter | Percentage | GPA value |
|---|---|---|
| A+ | 97–100 | 4.0 |
| A | 93–96 | 4.0 |
| A− | 90–92 | 3.7 |
| B+ | 87–89 | 3.3 |
| B | 83–86 | 3.0 |
| B− | 80–82 | 2.7 |
| C+ | 77–79 | 2.3 |
| C | 73–76 | 2.0 |
| C− | 70–72 | 1.7 |
| D+ | 67–69 | 1.3 |
| D | 63–66 | 1.0 |
| D− | 60–62 | 0.7 |
| F | Below 60 | 0.0 |
Two details worth noting. An A+ and an A both convert to 4.0 at most schools — the plus is cosmetic for GPA purposes (a handful of colleges award 4.3 for an A+, but that's the exception). And the D− at 0.7 is the lowest grade that still earns credit; the F is a hard zero no matter how close to 60 you landed.
Plus/minus vs. straight letters
Not every school splits the bands. Under straight-letter grading, 90–100 is simply an A worth 4.0, 80–89 a B worth 3.0, and so on — an 80 and an 89 earn identical grade points. Under plus/minus grading, that same 80 is a B− (2.7) and the 89 a B+ (3.3), a 0.6 GPA spread inside one letter. Plus/minus is the norm at most US colleges; straight letters remain common in high schools and at some universities that deliberately reject minus grades.
Which system helps you depends on where your grades cluster: students who sit at the top of each band (89s, 79s) gain from plus/minus, while students at the bottom of bands (80s, 90s) lose GPA points they'd keep under straight letters.
Where schools break from the standard chart
The table above is the most common scale, not a law. Frequent variations: some schools set the A at 94+ instead of 93+ (making a 93 an A−); many don't award A+ at all, so 93–100 (or 94–100) is just an A; some drop the D− or the entire D range, making anything below a C− fail; and a shrinking number of schools use a 7-point scale where 93–100 = A, 85–92 = B, 77–84 = C, and 70–76 = D. Nursing and other clinical programs commonly set the pass line at 76–80% regardless of the letter chart.
The practical rule: use the standard table as your default, but the grading section of your syllabus (or your district's published scale) is the only version that actually governs your transcript.
Try it yourself: Test Grade Calculator (EZ Grader)
Enter your score and total points — get the percentage and letter grade instantly.
Frequently asked questions
Is there an official national grading scale in the US?
No. There is no federal or national standard — each school, district, and often each instructor sets the scale. The 10-point plus/minus table shown here is simply the most widely used convention, which is why it's the default on most calculators.
Why do A+ and A both equal 4.0?
Most GPA systems cap at 4.0, so the plus can't add anything. A minority of colleges award 4.3 for an A+, and some high schools use it in weighted GPAs — but on the common unweighted scale, 97 and 93 produce the same grade points.
What percentage is failing on the standard scale?
Below 60% is an F at most US schools. But watch for local exceptions: some districts set passing at 65, and many college programs require a C (70–73%) for a course to count toward a major or prerequisite.