Academic grading in the United States
Updated: 5/20/2026, 7:02:27 PM Wikipedia source
In the United States, academic grading commonly takes on the form of five, six or seven letter grades. Traditionally, the grades are A+, A, A−, B+, B, B−, C+, C, C−, D+, D, D− and F, with A+ being the highest and F being lowest. In some cases, grades can also be numerical. Numeric-to-letter-grade conversions generally vary from system to system and between disciplines and status.
Tables
· Grades A–F in the United States › Grade conversion
A
A
Letter
Grade
A
Percentage
90–100%
GPA
4
B
B
Letter
Grade
B
Percentage
80–89%
GPA
3
C
C
Letter
Grade
C
Percentage
70–79%
GPA
2
D
D
Letter
Grade
D
Percentage
60–69%
GPA
1
F
F
Letter
Grade
F
Percentage
0–59%
GPA
0
| Letter Grade | Percentage | GPA |
| A | 90–100% | 4 |
| B | 80–89% | 3 |
| C | 70–79% | 2 |
| D | 60–69% | 1 |
| F | 0–59% | 0 |
· Grades A–F in the United States › Grade conversion
A+
A+
Letter
Grade
A+
Percentage
97–100%
GPA
4
A
A
Letter
Grade
A
Percentage
93–96%
GPA
3
A−
A−
Letter
Grade
A−
Percentage
90–92%
GPA
3
B+
B+
Letter
Grade
B+
Percentage
87–89%
GPA
3
B
B
Letter
Grade
B
Percentage
83–86%
GPA
3
B−
B−
Letter
Grade
B−
Percentage
80–82%
GPA
2
C+
C+
Letter
Grade
C+
Percentage
77–79%
GPA
2
C
C
Letter
Grade
C
Percentage
73–76%
GPA
2
C−
C−
Letter
Grade
C−
Percentage
70–72%
GPA
1
D+
D+
Letter
Grade
D+
Percentage
67–69%
GPA
1
D
D
Letter
Grade
D
Percentage
63–66%
GPA
1
D−
D−
Letter
Grade
D−
Percentage
60–62%
GPA
0
F
F
Letter
Grade
F
Percentage
0–59%
GPA
0
| Letter Grade | Percentage | GPA |
| A+ | 97–100% | 4 |
| A | 93–96% | 3 |
| A− | 90–92% | 3 |
| B+ | 87–89% | 3 |
| B | 83–86% | 3 |
| B− | 80–82% | 2 |
| C+ | 77–79% | 2 |
| C | 73–76% | 2 |
| C− | 70–72% | 1 |
| D+ | 67–69% | 1 |
| D | 63–66% | 1 |
| D− | 60–62% | 0 |
| F | 0–59% | 0 |
· Assessment › Rank-based grading
A
A
Grade
A
percentage of students
receiving grade
fourth quintile (top 20%)
B
B
Grade
B
percentage of students
receiving grade
third quintile (20% - 40%)
C
C
Grade
C
percentage of students
receiving grade
second quintile (middle 20%)
D
D
Grade
D
percentage of students
receiving grade
first quintile (60% - 80%)
F
F
Grade
F
percentage of students
receiving grade
bottom 20%
| Grade | percentage of students receiving grade |
| A | fourth quintile (top 20%) |
| B | third quintile (20% - 40%) |
| C | second quintile (middle 20%) |
| D | first quintile (60% - 80%) |
| F | bottom 20% |
· Other systems › The 1-2-3-4 system
90–100
90–100
Percentage
90–100
Grade/mark
AL1
Assigned meaning
Exemplary
Numeric grade
4
80–89
80–89
Percentage
80–89
Grade/mark
AL3 or AL2
Assigned meaning
Accomplished
Numeric grade
3
70–79
70–79
Percentage
70–79
Grade/mark
AL5 or AL4
Assigned meaning
Developing
Numeric grade
2
60–69
60–69
Percentage
60–69
Grade/mark
AL6 or AL5
Assigned meaning
Beginning
Numeric grade
1
0–59
0–59
Percentage
0–59
Grade/mark
AL6 to AL8
Assigned meaning
Bad
Numeric grade
0
| Percentage | Grade/mark | Assigned meaning | Numeric grade |
| 90–100 | AL1 | Exemplary | 4 |
| 80–89 | AL3 or AL2 | Accomplished | 3 |
| 70–79 | AL5 or AL4 | Developing | 2 |
| 60–69 | AL6 or AL5 | Beginning | 1 |
| 0–59 | AL6 to AL8 | Bad | 0 |
· Other systems › Seven point scale
98 –100
98 –100
Percentage
98 –100
Grade/mark
A+
95 –98
95 –98
Percentage
95 –98
Grade/mark
A
92 –95
92 –95
Percentage
92 –95
Grade/mark
A–
89 –92
89 –92
Percentage
89 –92
Grade/mark
B+
86 –89
86 –89
Percentage
86 –89
Grade/mark
B
84 –86
84 –86
Percentage
84 –86
Grade/mark
B–
82 –84
82 –84
Percentage
82 –84
Grade/mark
C+
79 –82
79 –82
Percentage
79 –82
Grade/mark
C
76 –79
76 –79
Percentage
76 –79
Grade/mark
C–
74 –76
74 –76
Percentage
74 –76
Grade/mark
D+
72 –74
72 –74
Percentage
72 –74
Grade/mark
D
69 –72
69 –72
Percentage
69 –72
Grade/mark
D–
0 –69
0 –69
Percentage
0 –69
Grade/mark
F
0
0
Percentage
0
Grade/mark
I
| Percentage | Grade/mark |
| 98 –100 | A+ |
| 95 –98 | A |
| 92 –95 | A– |
| 89 –92 | B+ |
| 86 –89 | B |
| 84 –86 | B– |
| 82 –84 | C+ |
| 79 –82 | C |
| 76 –79 | C– |
| 74 –76 | D+ |
| 72 –74 | D |
| 69 –72 | D– |
| 0 –69 | F |
| 0 | I |
References
- National Center for Educational Statisticshttps://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/hsts/howgpa.aspx
- Dutchess Community Collegehttps://www.sunydutchess.edu/academics/academic_policies/grading_system.html
- wwwhttps://www.kzoo.edu/catalog/?id=1385
- Carleton Collegehttp://apps.carleton.edu/handbook/academics/?policy_id=21464
- Wellesley Collegehttp://www.wellesley.edu/registrar/grading/grading_policy
- instructorlinkhttps://web.archive.org/web/20171023125511/http://instructorlink.berkeley.edu/centers/grading/chart.html
- Calculating GPAhttps://registrar.mit.edu/classes-grades-evaluations/grades/calculating-gpa
- "UWRF"https://web.archive.org/web/20070221074510/http://www.uwrf.edu/esis/NonAttendanceGradeReporting.htm
- "UPitt"https://web.archive.org/web/20080517032053/http://www.pitt.edu/%7eregistrar/grdPgGrades.htm
- "TESU: Understanding Your Transcript (internal link)"https://web.archive.org/web/20170304044416/https://walkingstick.tesu.edu/WebAdvisor/WebAdvisor?TOKENIDX=5595040900&TYPE=M&PID=CORE-WBMAIN
- University of Wisconsin - River Falls - NonAttendance Grade (XF) Reporting Archived 2007-02-21 at the Wayback Machinehttp://www.uwrf.edu/esis/NonAttendanceGradeReporting.htm
- The New York Timeshttps://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/28/weekinreview/28tyre.html
- "The Problem with Standards-Based Grading"https://web.archive.org/web/20170415200413/https://www.edutopia.org/discussion/problem-standards-based-grading
- The New York Timeshttps://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/13/upshot/test-scores-school-districts-us.html
- Handbook of Test Development
- Teaching Psychology
- Robert E. Slavin, Educational Psychology: Theory into Practice (Englewood Cliffs, N ., Prentice-Hall, 1986), p. 556–57.
- "Academic Curriculum"https://www.andover.edu/Academics/CollegeCounseling/Documents/PhillipsAcademySchoolProfile2013-2014.pdf
- Los Angeles Timeshttps://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-oct-06-me-19434-story.html
- San Diego Unified School Districthttps://www.sandiegounified.org/cms/one.aspx?portalId=27732478&pageId=31765231