On the common 10-point letter grade scale, an A is 90–100%, a B 80–89%, a C 70–79%, a D 60–69% and an F below 60%. Florida law sets exactly this scale for grades 6 to 12, and South Carolina moved all its high school courses to it in 2016. With plus and minus grades, each band splits into three, such as B− 80–82, B 83–86 and B+ 87–89.
The 10-point letter grade scale
Florida’s law spells out the scale for public school grades 6 to 12, with a grade point value and a meaning for each letter (Florida Statutes §1003.437):
| Letter | Percent | Grade points | What it means in Florida |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 90–100% | 4 | Outstanding progress |
| B | 80–89% | 3 | Above average progress |
| C | 70–79% | 2 | Average progress |
| D | 60–69% | 1 | Lowest acceptable progress |
| F | 0–59% | 0 | Failure |
| I | 0% | 0 | Incomplete |
Scales still differ from place to place, even between official sources. The College Board’s GPA chart, for example, puts a D at 66–69% and an F below 65% (BigFuture). Your school’s grading policy decides, so check it first.
Letter grade scale with plus and minus
Schools that give plus and minus grades split each band their own way. This table puts two different things side by side. The percentages are TeacherTray’s illustrative cutoffs: each 10-point band split into thirds, the same split our teacher grade calculator uses for plus and minus grades. The grade points are one school’s example, the University of Illinois’ plus and minus scale, where an A+ and an A both count 4.00 (Illinois registrar). Illinois lists grade points, not percentage cutoffs, so the table isn’t any one school’s complete policy.
| Letter | Percent (illustrative split) | Grade points (Illinois example) |
|---|---|---|
| A | 93–100% | 4.00 |
| A− | 90–92% | 3.67 |
| B+ | 87–89% | 3.33 |
| B | 83–86% | 3.00 |
| B− | 80–82% | 2.67 |
| C+ | 77–79% | 2.33 |
| C | 73–76% | 2.00 |
| C− | 70–72% | 1.67 |
| D+ | 67–69% | 1.33 |
| D | 63–66% | 1.00 |
| D− | 60–62% | 0.67 |
| F | 0–59% | 0.00 |
Some schools also give an A+ for the top scores. At Illinois it counts the same 4.00 as an A.
Percent to letter grade chart
Every whole percentage from 60 to 100, on the 10-point scale and with plus and minus grades (the illustrative thirds split above). The shaded rows are the lowest score for each letter.
| Percent | Letter grade | With plus and minus |
|---|---|---|
| 100% | A | A |
| 99% | A | A |
| 98% | A | A |
| 97% | A | A |
| 96% | A | A |
| 95% | A | A |
| 94% | A | A |
| 93% | A | A |
| 92% | A | A− |
| 91% | A | A− |
| 90% | A | A− |
| 89% | B | B+ |
| 88% | B | B+ |
| 87% | B | B+ |
| 86% | B | B |
| 85% | B | B |
| 84% | B | B |
| 83% | B | B |
| 82% | B | B− |
| 81% | B | B− |
| 80% | B | B− |
| 79% | C | C+ |
| 78% | C | C+ |
| 77% | C | C+ |
| 76% | C | C |
| 75% | C | C |
| 74% | C | C |
| 73% | C | C |
| 72% | C | C− |
| 71% | C | C− |
| 70% | C | C− |
| 69% | D | D+ |
| 68% | D | D+ |
| 67% | D | D+ |
| 66% | D | D |
| 65% | D | D |
| 64% | D | D |
| 63% | D | D |
| 62% | D | D− |
| 61% | D | D− |
| 60% | D | D− |
| 59% and below | F | F |
If your gradebook rounds, 89.5% becomes 90% and an A; if it doesn’t, 89.5% stays a B. The teacher grade calculator rounds to a whole number unless you choose One decimal or No rounding. Turn any score into a percentage with it, or print the chart for your test length: 15, 20, 25, 30 or 50 questions.
GPA to letter grade
A GPA (grade point average) averages the grade points for final course grades, under your school’s rules: how many credits each class carries, which grades count and whether harder courses are weighted. The College Board’s example is the simplest case, five classes with equal credit and no weighting: three A’s (4.0 each), a B (3.0) and a C (2.0) make (4.0 + 4.0 + 4.0 + 3.0 + 2.0) ÷ 5 = a 3.4 unweighted GPA (BigFuture). Where classes carry different credits, each grade’s points are multiplied by the class’s credit hours before averaging, as the University of Illinois shows (Illinois registrar).
Because a GPA mixes many grades under those rules, it can’t generally be turned back into one percentage or one letter grade. The table below is only an illustrative comparison: each GPA next to the letter that carries those grade points on this page’s scales.
| GPA | Letter with those grade points (illustrative) |
|---|---|
| 4.0 | A |
| 3.67 | A− |
| 3.5 | Between B+ and A− |
| 3.33 | B+ |
| 3.0 | B |
| 2.67 | B− |
| 2.5 | Between C+ and B− |
| 2.33 | C+ |
| 2.0 | C |
| 1.0 | D |
| 0.0 | F |
An illustrative comparison, not an official conversion. Whole letters (A 4, B 3, C 2, D 1, F 0) as in Florida law and the College Board chart; plus and minus points from the University of Illinois example. Your school’s own scale and credit rules decide what a GPA means.
Some schools also weight GPAs, giving extra points for harder courses like AP and honors, the College Board notes. South Carolina’s current Uniform Grading Policy, for example, adds half a quality point (0.5) for approved honors courses and allows a full point (1.0) for AP and IB courses (South Carolina Department of Education), and Florida law requires a statewide weighted system for honors and accelerated courses.
The 7-point grading scale
Some schools still use a 7-point scale, with higher cutoffs for each letter. South Carolina graded its high school courses this way until 2016, when the State Board of Education voted to switch to the 10-point scale from the 2016–17 school year. The change moved the lowest passing grade, a D, from 70 down to 60, with a C from 70, a B from 80 and an A from 90. Districts there can still choose the 7-point scale for elementary and middle school grades (South Carolina Department of Education).
The difference is real for students. In an example from the April 2016 presentation to South Carolina’s State Board of Education, a 92 was an A worth 4.0 for a student from a Georgia high school, but a B worth 3.0 for a student in South Carolina under the old scale (presentation).
Is a D a passing grade?
On the 10-point scale, yes. Florida’s law calls a D (60–69%) “lowest acceptable progress” and anything below 60% a failure, and South Carolina’s 10-point scale puts the floor for a passing grade at 60. A course, a program or a college can set a higher bar, such as a C, so check the syllabus.
How to turn a score into a letter grade
- Divide the score by the total and multiply by 100: 17 out of 20 is 17 ÷ 20 × 100 = 85%.
- Round the way your school does, to a whole number or not.
- Find the band: 85% is a B on the 10-point scale, and a B with plus and minus grades (83–86%).
The teacher grade calculator does all three for any test and prints a chart of every score.
Questions
What is the grading scale?
The common 10-point scale: A 90–100%, B 80–89%, C 70–79%, D 60–69% and F below 60%. Florida law sets it for grades 6 to 12, and South Carolina adopted it for high school in 2016, noting that states such as Florida, North Carolina and Georgia already used it. Some schools use a 7-point scale or their own cutoffs, so your school’s policy is the final word.
What letter grade is a 75?
A C. On the 10-point scale a C covers 70–79%, and with plus and minus grades a 75 is a plain C (73–76%).
What letter grade is a 79?
A C on the 10-point scale, the highest C. With plus and minus grades, a 79 is a C+ (77–79%).
What is a 3.0 GPA in letter grades?
On an unweighted 4.0 scale it matches a B, which is worth 3.0 grade points in the College Board’s chart and in Florida law, so it’s often called a B average. It doesn’t mean every grade was a B or that the student averaged 80–89%: the GPA follows the school’s credit and weighting rules.
What is a 3.5 GPA in letter grades?
It falls between a B+ (3.33 grade points) and an A− (3.67) on the University of Illinois’ plus and minus scale, or halfway between a B and an A with whole letters. Like any GPA, it doesn’t turn into one letter or percentage.
Final Takeaway
On the 10-point letter grade scale, an A starts at 90%, a B at 80%, a C at 70% and a D, still a passing grade, at 60%; anything lower is an F.
Plus and minus cutoffs and GPA rules vary by school, and some schools still use the 7-point scale, so treat those parts of this page as examples. Your school’s policy decides, down to whether 89.5% rounds up to an A.
Main Sources
- Florida Statutes §1003.437, Middle and high school grading system (2026): A 90–100% (4, “outstanding progress”), B 80–89% (3), C 70–79% (2), D 60–69% (1, “lowest acceptable progress”), F 0–59% (0, “failure”); a statewide weighted system for honors and accelerated courses.
- College Board BigFuture. How to Calculate Your GPA on a 4.0 Scale: A 90–100 (4.0), B 80–89 (3.0), C 70–79 (2.0), D 66–69 (1.0), F below 65; the five-class GPA example (equal credit, unweighted); weighted GPAs.
- University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Office of the Registrar. Explanation of Grades: plus and minus grade points, A+ 4.00 to D− 0.67.
- University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Office of the Registrar. Calculate Your GPA: grade points times credit hours, divided by the GPA hours.
- South Carolina Department of Education. Frequently Asked Questions on the 10-Point Grading Scale.
- South Carolina State Board of Education. Uniform Grading Policy, May 14, 2019 (the current policy): the 10-point scale since 2016–17; 0.5 quality points added for approved honors courses and a full point allowed for AP and IB courses.
- South Carolina State Board of Education. Uniform Grading Policy presentation, April 12, 2016 (historical): the Georgia and South Carolina example under the old 7-point scale.