Grade Calculator was built by students who wanted a fast, honest way to see how individual assessments change a course average. No accounts, no tracking — just a practical calculator to help you plan.

We made this because guessing rarely helps. Enter your expectations, scores as percentages or fractions (e.g. "18/20"), and the calculator shows the real effect on your overall mark. That makes it easier to decide what to study and how much effort a single test is worth.

Instructions

Quick guide to using the calculator:

• Use the Add Expectation button to add rows for assignments, tests, or exams.
• Enter your current score for each expectation (percent or fraction). Leave blank if not yet graded.
• Set the relative weight for each item. The calculator averages by weight to show your current overall mark.
• Experiment with predicted scores to see how improving one test changes the final course percentage.

Practical, no-nonsense techniques that actually move the needle. Focus on activities that force retrieval and make the next review easier.

Active Recall — the centrepiece

Stop re-reading. Ask yourself questions, close the notes, and try to produce answers from memory. Active recall builds retrieval strength: the more you practice pulling information out, the easier it is to pull it out under exam conditions.

The research is clear: passive review doesn't stick. Your brain needs to struggle a little. That struggle is where learning happens. When you force yourself to retrieve information from memory, you're strengthening the neural pathways that matter on exam day.

How to use active recall

• Create short questions for each concept — not long summaries. The act of answering is the learning.
• Do past-paper questions and then grade yourself honestly. Re-do the ones you got wrong after a short break.
• Explain concepts out loud as if teaching someone — that exposes gaps fast.

Spaced practice

Schedule brief, spaced sessions rather than one long cram. Revisit topics at increasing intervals — the spacing effect is real and cheap to use.

After you first learn something, review it the next day. Then wait three days. Then a week. Then two weeks. Each time you revisit, your memory gets stronger and lasts longer. Spacing out your study prevents the illusion of fluency that comes from cramming—that false confidence that evaporates the next week.

Practice Questions

Do questions under timed, exam-like conditions, then review mistakes carefully. Practice is where concepts get converted into usable exam skills.

Questions force you to apply what you know, not just recall it. When you get one wrong, that's where the real learning begins. Spend time understanding why your answer was wrong and what the right approach should be. Doing the same question twice—after you've learned the mistake—is worth ten fresh questions.

What we learned from our own studying

We built this calculator because we found ourselves constantly weighing which assessments mattered most. When we focused on Anki — spaced repetition of flashcards we wrote ourselves — our retention shot up. The key was that we made the cards. Turning a chapter into questions forced us to think through what actually mattered.

Then we paired Anki with past papers and old textbook questions. That's where everything connected. Questions forced recall; Anki made sure we didn't forget. Together, they meant fewer hours panicking and more hours sleeping before exams.

The gaps showed up fast: when a past-paper question stumped us, we added those cards to Anki. When Anki revealed something we'd forgotten, we'd look up that old question again. The loop between flashcards and real problems eliminated a lot of dead study time.

Tools that pair well with these habits

Flashcards with spaced review (Anki is free and brutal in the best way), practice question banks, and past papers. Use the calculator here to pick which assessments to prioritise: time is limited, so focus on the things that will change your grade most.

Build your own flashcard deck as you study—don't use someone else's. The act of distilling information into a question forces you to think about what's important. Pair your flashcards with old exams and textbook problems, and you'll see connections that passive study never reveals.

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