A semester grade can be a simple average of two quarters, but many schools also assign a separate final exam weight. Use the exact formula from the course or district policy.
Example formula
Worked example
| Component | Score | Weight | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarter 1 | 88 | 42.5% | 37.40 |
| Quarter 2 | 92 | 42.5% | 39.10 |
| Semester exam | 84 | 15% | 12.60 |
| Total | 100% | 89.10 |
Common variations
- Two quarters count 50 percent each and there is no separate exam.
- The exam replaces a low test grade inside quarter 2.
- Four quarters create a full-year grade.
- Letter grades are converted through a district table rather than averaged as percentages.
When the grade enters GPA
A semester course grade can later be converted to grade points for GPA. Do not average the quarter percentages again after an official final course grade has already been issued.
Check the result against the gradebook
Rebuild the estimate with one contribution per component. If the displayed semester grade differs, check whether the gradebook has already rounded quarter grades, whether an assignment remains ungraded, or whether the exam weight is applied inside a category. A difference of several points usually signals a weight or denominator problem, not ordinary rounding.
For planning, test a low, expected, and high exam score. Three scenarios are more useful than one optimistic forecast because they show the range that the remaining weight can still produce.
Do not assume 40 / 40 / 20
That pattern is common enough to appear in calculators, but it is not universal. Label every result with the weights used.