Letter grade
Using the grade in E2, return A for 90 or more, B for 80 or more, C for 70 or more, and D otherwise.
Formula: =IF(E2>=90,"A",IF(E2>=80,"B",IF(E2>=70,"C","D"))) → B
Hands-on Excel exercises
Excel Skills for Students
Practice Excel for students: weighted grades with SUMPRODUCT, letter grades with nested IF, averages, and counts, with worked answers.
Students use spreadsheets for something concrete and personal: what is my grade so far, and what do I need on the final? That makes grade books a good first project. The skills involved, weighted averages, a letter grade from thresholds, counting results above a bar, are also the basics that internships and first-job tests ask for.
The live sheet is a course grade book with four assessments, each with a score and a weight in percent. Your task is the weighted course grade: multiply each score by its weight, add the products, and divide by the total weight, which SUMPRODUCT does in one step. The worked answers then turn a grade of 80.9 into a letter with nested IF, find the plain average of the scores, and count how many scores reach 80.
Do not memorize formulas; understand what each reference means and check by hand. Change one weight and ask whether the grade should rise or fall. Save a copy of your sheet before experimenting, and label inputs so a teacher or interviewer can follow your work. When you are ready for more, the basic skills test page covers cells, totals, and counts at a steady pace, and the job-interview page shows how to explain your approach aloud.
Your turn
Your turn: in F2, calculate the weighted course grade: the sum of score times weight divided by the total weight, rounded to one decimal.
| A | B | C | D | E | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Assessment | Score | Weight % | Grade | ||
| 2 | Homework | 90 | 25 | 80.9 | ||
| 3 | Midterm | 78 | 30 | |||
| 4 | Project | 85 | 20 | |||
| 5 | Final | 72 | 25 | |||
| 6 |
Not yet solved.
Answer: =ROUND(SUMPRODUCT(B2:B5,C2:C5)/SUM(C2:C5),1)
Practice under a time limit
Try the free Sample mock exam with 4 tasks in 8 minutes, or browse the level and interview mock exams included with Pro + Exams.
Related exercises
Open a task in its lesson.
- In B4, enter the population of Phoenix: 1600000.
- In D2, calculate the total for bread: price × quantity.
- In D7, calculate the total amount of the purchase.
- In E2, count how many employees have a number in the sales column (B).
- In F2:F4, look up the item name for each code in column E.
- Build a column chart of revenue by month (A1:B7).
- Split "courier, district" in C2:C10: the courier stays in C and the district moves to D.
Worked answers
Try the spreadsheet first, then compare your formula and result.
Plain average of the scores
What is the simple average of the four scores in B2:B5?
Formula: =AVERAGE(B2:B5) → 81.25
Count scores of at least 80
How many scores in B2:B5 are 80 or higher?
Formula: =COUNTIF(B2:B5,">=80") → 2
Frequently asked questions
Why is the weighted grade different from the average?
The average treats every score equally. The weighted grade lets a larger assessment count for more.
Can I use this for my own grades?
Yes. Replace the scores and weights with your own, and keep the weights adding to 100.
Why nested IF for letters?
Each IF tests one threshold from the top down, and the first true condition wins. The order matters.
What should I practice next?
The basic skills test page, then a small project of your own such as a budget, using only formulas you can explain.