Simple averages

The function =AVERAGE() can be used to calculate a simple average. In the parentheses, you
simply enter the range of cells you want to average, in the form (first:last).

This is illustrated in cell G2 below.

Here’s the result:

Using SUM() instead

An alternative way of calculating the average is with the function =SUM(B2:F2)/5. This seems
like more work than just using the AVERAGE function — and it is! But if you get into more
complicated calculations, like the ones below, you will find this method more flexible than using
=AVERAGE().

Dropping the lowest score

In order to find the lowest score, you can use the MIN() function.

=MIN(B2:F2) will give you the answer 76.

To average the grades excluding the lowest score, use this formula
=(SUM(B2:F2)-MIN(B2:F2))/4. Note that once we drop the low score, we are only dealing with 4
numbers, so that is whay we have to divide by 4, rather than 5.

Weighted averages
The disadvantage of the simple average is that it assumes that every score has the same
weight: that Quiz 2 is as important to the final grade as the Final Exam. If this is not the case,
you will want to use a weighted average instead.

There are two different ways of calculating weighted averages: by entering the weights by hand
as you create the formula, or by entering the weights on the spreadsheet and using the
=SUMPRODUCT forumla. We’ll look at both methods.

Weighted averages by hand

Let’s look at Jane’s scores, again.

We used the =AVERAGE() function to determine her grade before. Another way we could
calculate a simple average for Jane would be with the formula =(B2+C2+D2+E2+F2)/5 — in
other words, we add the scores, then divide by the number of scores we are adding.

To determine a weighted score for her, we simply modify this formula to reflect the importance of
each score. So if the project (E2) is worth twice as much as a quiz, and the final project is worth
3 times as much as a quiz, we could use this formula. =(B2+C2+D2+2*E2+3*F2)/8. Why do we
divide by 8? It’s slightly tricky: we are now dividing by 8, because in a way we are dealing with 8
items — we count the B2, C2, and D2 values once each, the E2 value twice, and the F2 values
3 times (so 1+1+1+2+3=8).

Weighted averages with SUMPRODUCT

You can also use the SUMPRODUCT function to calculate weighted grades, if you prefer. To do
this, you need to have a row in your spreadsheet that shows the weight of each grade. For
example, in the example described above, quizzes would each be 1/8 or 0.125 of the grade, the
project would be twice that or 1/4 or 0.25, and the final exam would be three times a quiz, 3/8,
or 0.375. You can insert a row in your spreadsheet to hold these values.

Once you have that set up as shown below, the formula is basically =SUMPRODUCT(range of
grades, weight of grades). In the example below, it is =SUMPRODUCT(B2:F2, B3:F3).

NOTE: If you plan to copy this formula to other cells, you should put $ marks in the formula
around the names of the cells where the weighting information is stored — so the formula would
instead look like this: =SUMPRODUCT(B2:F2, $B$3:$F$3). The dollar signs prevent Excel from
trying to “adjust” the range of cells that contain the grade weighting, and instead keep it looking
in the exact cells you set up for this information (in this example, B3 to F3). The dollar signs are
used to indicate an “absolute” reference — you can learn more about this by using Excel’s Help
function, if you wish.

There is more information about SUMPRODUCT in the resources listed at the end of this
document.

Assigning letter grades

To assign letter grades in Excel, you use the =LOOKUP() function to tell Excel which letter
grade you want to assign to each score.

To use this, take an out-of the way part of your spreadsheet, away from the student names and
data and set up two columns. The column on the left shows each possible letter grade and to
the right, the minimum score required to earn that grade. In this example, someone who scores
79 would get a C+ and someone who scores 80 would get a B-.

Note: these scores came off the top of my head and so do not reflect the actual grade cut-offs
for your class or department. Use your own numbers.

Now, in your spreadsheet you will be able to use the LOOKUP() function to check a student
score against this list and assign the appropriate grade.

Explanation here.

And here is the result:

Calculating a student’s rank within the class
The functions RANK and PERCENTRANK can be used to calculate each student’s rank or
percentile rank within the class. If Jane Smith’s final score is in cell G2 and the final scores for
the full class are in cells G2 through G22, Jane’s rank in the class is given by the formula

=RANK(G2;$G$2:$G$22)

and her percentile rank is given by

=PERCENTRANK(G2;$G$2:$G$22)

Grade Formulas in Excel

by GR EGO R Y on NOVEMBER 20, 2010

There are several ways to turn student scores into

letter grades. I recently came across a nested IF
formula that did the trick, but it seemed rather
complicated.

A better solution would be to use a VLOOKUP formula

with a Grade Lookup Table, but then it occurred to me
that the VLOOKUP formula could stand alone by using
an Array Constant.

For all these solutions I’m using the following grade

scale:

 0 – 59 = F
 60 – 69 = D
 70 – 79 = C
 80 – 89 = B
 90 – 100 = A

The Nested IF Solution

Using the scale above as a guide, the
following nested IF formula will turn a score from 0
to 100 into the correct letter grade.
=IF(Score>=90,”A”,IF(Score>=80,”B”,IF(Score
>=70,”C”,IF(Score>=60,”D”,”F”))))
This formula uses Score, which is a named
range that contains all the student scores.

A VLOOKUP with a Grade Lookup

Table
The following formula will also give the correct letter
grades.

=VLOOKUP(Score,GradeLU,2,TRUE)
 GradeLU
This formula has four arguments. Score refers to the
student score that’s being looked up.
GradeLU is the Grade Lookup Table that’s on another
worksheet and is a named range.
The two (2) means that a number from the second
column will be returned from GradeLU.
The TRUE means the student score will
be approximately matched to the first column from
GradeLU. This is what allows a score of 72 to be
matched to 70 and consequently return a letter grade
of C.

A VLOOKUP with an Array Constant

The Grade Lookup Table can be replaced with
an array constant. In the formula above, the second
argument, GradeLU, could be replaced with the
following:
{0,”F”;60,”D”;70,”C”;80,”B”;90,”A”}
However, instead of typing this into the formula each
time, we can create a Named Constantin the Define
Name dialog box shown below.
By creating GradeLookup as a named constant
array, the formula can be shortened to:
=VLOOKUP(Score,GradeLookup,2,TRUE)
This formula does not need to reference a separate
Grade Lookup Table on a worksheet because all the
values are located in the named array constant,
GradeLookup, which is now located in Excel’s internal
memory.

Create a Named Constant Array

Bring up the Define Name dialog box and type in the
name GradeLookup. Then delete the contents in
the Refers to: text box and type
in {0,”F”;60,”D”;70,”C”;80,”B”;90,”A”}exactly
and click OK. Excel will add the equals sign (=).
How you access the Define Name dialog box depends
on the version of Excel your using:

 In Excel 2003, and Excel 2008 and 2011 for Mac,

use the menu selection Insert-Name-Define…
 In Excel 2007 and 2010 click the Ribbon
tab Formulas and select Define Name.

Using Microsoft Excel to Calculate and Manage Grades

Macintosh and Windows
4 January 1999
Copyright 1997, Academic Computing and Instructional Technology Services
[email protected]
The University of Texas at Austin

This handout discusses features of Microsoft Excel that are useful in computing and
managing grades. These features include calculating averages and standard deviations,
dropping low test scores, assigning letter grades, and creating frequency distributions.
The handout assumes that you are able to enter and edit data in Excel and create basic
formulas and functions.

Statistical Functions and Weighted Averages

Excel has numerous functions to summarize data. The AVERAGE( ) function

calculates the average of a group of numbers. For example in cell F2 below,
=AVERAGE(B2:E2) calculates the average for the student in row 2. This AVERAGE(
) function assumes that all test scores are weighted equally. It also ignores blank cells;
it does not treat them as 0. Create AVERAGE( ) functions by either typing them
manually or using Excel’s Paste Function tool.

A B C D E F

Student Exam Exam Exam Final Average

1 1 2 3

Davis 88 73 85 78 =AVERAGE(B2:E2)
2
 Johnson 52 71 65 67 =(B3*.20)+(C3*.20)+(D3*.20)+
3 (E3*.40)

Smith 91 85 96 89 =(SUM(B4:E4)-MIN(B4:E4))/3
4

Jones 78 82 67 75 =(SUM(B5:D5)-MIN(B5:D5))/2*.60 +
5 (E5*.40)

Connor 88 91 83 75 =(SUM(B6:D6)-MIN(B6:D6)-
6 SMALL(B6:D6,2))*.50 + (E6*.50)

Weighted Averages

There are many methods to create a weighted average using 
formulas. For example, if you want to count each test 20% 
and the final 40%, use the following formula:

=(B3*.20)+(C3*.20)+(D3*.20)+(E3*.40).

You can easily modify this formula to accommodate a 
different grading scheme. If each test counts 15% and the 
final counts 55% the formula would be:

=(B3*.15)+(C3*.15)+(D3*.15)+(E3*.55).
Dropping Low Scores
Dropping the lowest test or quiz score is a common grading 
practice. Excel’s MIN( ) function is useful in this type of 
calculation. The MIN( ) function returns the smallest value 
in a range of cells. The formula in cell F4 above adds all test 
scores for Smith then subtracts the minimum test score and 
divides the result by 3. This formula also assumes that all 
scores are weighted equally. However, you can calculate a 
weighted average and drop a low score. Let’s say tests count 
60% and the final counts 40%. You also let students drop 
their lowest test score. In cell F5 above the formula for this 
example is:

=(SUM(B5:D5)­MIN(B5:D5))/2*.60 + (E5*.40).

Excel’s SMALL( ) function is also helpful in determining the
second or third lowest score. The syntax of the SMALL( ) 
function is

=SMALL(data,n)

where data is the range of cells containing the data and n 
represents the nth smallest number in the data set. For 
example to find the second lowest test score for Connor in 
the previous example use SMALL(B6:E6,2); to determine 
the third lowest score use SMALL(B6:E6,3). If you need to 
calculate an average that drops the two lowest scores use 
MIN( ) to subtract the lowest and use SMALL( ) to subtract 
the second lowest. The formula in cell F6 in the table above 
drops the two lowest exam scores and calculates the average 
with the final and the remaining Exam score counting 50% 
each.

The table below lists several of the more common and 
helpful statistical functions in Microsoft Excel.

FUNCTION WHAT IT DOES

SUM(range ) Adds a range of cells

AVERAGE( range) Calculates the average of a range of cells

MAX(range ) Returns the maximum value of a range

MIN(range ) Returns the minimum value of a range

COUNT(range ) Counts the number of values (cells containing

numbers) in a range

COUNTA(range ) Counts the number of non-blank cells within a

range

COUNTBLANK(range ) Counts the number of blank cells within a range

COUNTIF(range, "string" ) Counts the number of cells that are the same as a
search string
 STDEV(range) Calculate the standard deviation of a sample

SMALL(range, n) Returns the nth smallest number in the specified

range

You will probably use the SUM( ) and AVERAGE( ) 
functions most frequently. As stated above, the COUNT( ) 
function counts the number of cells containing numbers. The
COUNT( ) function ignores blank cells and does not count 
cells that contain text labels. To count cells containing text, 
you must use the COUNTA( ) function.
Conditional Calculations and Lookups

Excel has several logical functions that let you test cells and 
perform different operations depending on their contents.
IF( ) function

The IF() function enables you to specify two different 
calculations based on a certain condition. The syntax of the 
IF( ) function is

=IF(condition, calculation if condition is true, calculation if 
condition is false)

If the condition specified in the first argument is true, Excel 
performs the calculation specified in the second argument, 
otherwise Excel calculates the third argument. For example, 
in the figure below suppose you have a liberal grading policy
that allows students to replace an exam score if they 
improve. Specifically, if a student scores higher on Exam 3, 
their adjusted Exam 2 score is the average of Exams 2 and 3.
If they did not score higher on Exam 3, then their adjusted 
Exam 2 score is their actual Exam 2 score. The IF( ) function
in cell E2 below performs this calculation.

A B C D E F

Student Exam Adjusted Exam Adjusted Exam 3

1 1 Exam 1 2 Exam 2

Davis 88 73 =IF(F2>D2, 78
2 (F2+D2)/2,D2)

Johnson 52 71 67
3

Smith 91 85 89
4

Jones 78 75
5

Connor 88 91 75
6
The first argument, F2>D2, tests whether the student scored 
better on Exam 3. If the condition is true, the second 
calculation is performed (the average of the two exams). If 
the condition is false, the adjusted score is simply the actual 
score on the exam, D2 in this case.
AND( ) and OR( ) functions

To specify multiple conditions within an IF( ) function, use 
Excel's AND( ) and OR( ) functions.

The syntax of these functions is:

=AND(condition 1, condition 2, ...condition n)

= OR(condition 1, condition 2, ...condition n)

AND( ) returns the value of TRUE if all its conditions are 
true, and returns FALSE otherwise. OR( ) returns TRUE if 
at least one of the specified conditions is true.
ISBLANK( ) function

Excel’s ISBLANK( ) function tests whether a certain cell is 
blank,. This function returns TRUE if the cell is blank and 
FALSE if it’s not.

Use the AND( ) function and the ISBLANK( ) functions to 
modify the previous grading scheme. Assume a student only 
gets to improve their Exam 2 score if they actually took 
Exam 2 (i.e. Exam 2 is not blank) and they did better on 
Exam 3. This formula would be 
=IF(AND(F3>D3,NOT(ISBLANK(D3)),AVERAGE(F3,D3),
D3).

The first argument of the IF( ) function is a AND( ) function 
that tests both conditions, Exam 3 is greater than Exam 2 
and Exam 2 is not blank. If both conditions are true, Excel 
performs the second calculation, otherwise Excel performs 
the calculation in the third argument.
Lookup Tables

The IF( ) function is very useful, but it is limited to either 
TRUE or FALSE outcomes. In many worksheets, you might 
want to create a function that handles multiple outcomes. 
Excel's VLOOKUP( ) function is ideally suited for this sort 
of calculation.

With the VLOOKUP( ) function (short for vertical lookup) 
you can specify lookup values for different outcomes. For 
example, if you have a list of numeric averages in a 
worksheet, you can create a formula that assigns letter 
grades based on a student's numeric score (e.g. a score of 76 
would be a C).
To use a VLOOKUP( ) function, you must first create a 
lookup table with a range of values. This lookup table is 
similar in concept to a tax table. When using a tax table, find
your income in the first column and then read across to the 
column that applies to you, single, married etc. A sample 
lookup table to handle letter grades appears in cells E2:G6 
below. In this case, 0­59 is an F, 59­69 is a D, and score above
89 is an A.

A B C D E F G

1 Averag Grade Looku Grad Comme

e p e nt

2 Jones 76 =VLOOKUP(B2,$E$2:$G$ 0 F Failing

6,2)

3 Willia 85 59 D Poor
ms

4 Larkin 92 69 C Fair

5 Piniella 58 79 B Good

6 Jordan 63 89 A Excellen
t

7 Smith 77

 
After you create a lookup table in a blank area of your 
worksheet, construct a lookup function. The basic syntax of 
the VLOOKUP( ) function is:

=VLOOKUP(lookup value, lookup table range, value 
column)
Arg 1 Arg 2 Arg 3

The first argument, the lookup value, is the value you wish 
to look for in the lookup table. In the example above, it is the
student's numeric score in column B. The lookup table range
is the range on the worksheet that contains the lookup table, 
cells E2:G6 in the example. You should not include 
descriptive column or row headings in the range used for 
argument 2. Finally, the value column in argument 3 tells 
Excel which column of the table to use for the actual result. 
Specify the value column by indicating what numeric 
column of the lookup table to use. In the Grades lookup 
table above, use column 2 if you want letter grades and 
column 3 if you prefer comments like Excellent or Poor.

The lookup function to calculate a final letter grade for 
Jones in cell C2 is =VLOOKUP(B2,$E$2:$G$6,2). Jones' 
grade is 76. Excel looks for this value in the first column, 
lookup table range. Since it does not find 76 it looks for the 
largest value that is less than 76, which is 69 in the table. 
Excel then reads the value from the appropriate value 
column corresponding to the 69 score.

Note: The first column of a vertical lookup table must be in 
sorted order.
Analysis ToolPak

Microsoft Excel has numerous Add­in features that support 
statistical analysis. Two specific tools are useful in 
generating descriptive statistics and histograms of grade 
distributions. To access these features the Analysis ToolPak 
must be loaded.
Loading the Analysis ToolPak

Open the Tools menu in Excel. If the Data Analysis menu 
appears near the bottom, the Analysis ToolPak is already 
loaded. If the menu is not visible, choose Add­Ins from the 
Tools menu. In the Add­Ins dialog box click the checkbox 
next to Analysis ToolPak and click OK.
After some screen flickering and disk churning, the Data 
Analysis menu should appear on the Tools menu.
Descriptive Statistics

The Descriptive Statistics tool generates simple descriptive 
statistics like average, median, and standard deviation for a 
collection of data. To generate these statistics, choose Tools 
and Data Analysis. In the Data Analysis dialog box select 
Descriptive Statistics. In the Descriptive Statistics dialog box
(see below), specify the cells that contain your data in the 
Input Range box. Click the Summary Statistics checkbox in 
the lower left corner. By default, Excel generates the 
statistics on a new worksheet. If you want the statistics to 
appear on the same worksheet, click the Output Range 
button and specify a destination cell for the statistics.
Sample output from the Descriptive Statistics tool appears in
the table below.
Mean
13767.827

Standard Error
313.7244427

Median
11550

Mode
12300

Standard
Deviation 6830.264586

Sample Variance
46652514.31
 Kurtosis
5.377822396

Skewness
2.124606282

Range
47700

Minimum
6300

Maximum
54000

Sum
6525950

Count
474

Confidence
Level(95.000%) 614.8876984

Histogram

The descriptive statistics above reported skewness and 
kurtosis, which both concern the shape of the data 
distribution. Excel also let’s you plot this visually by using 
the Histogram function in the Analysis ToolPak.
Generating the Bin Range for a Histogram
The Histogram tool requires that a Bin Range or list of 
categories be specified. The Bin Range represents the 
categories for which you want frequency accounts. For 
example in a grading situation, the Bin Range might include 
all possible test scores. Or you might only list ranges of 
scores like the table below.

The Bin Range 1 would count how many people scored 1, 2, 
3, etc. Bin Range 2 would count how many people scored 0­2,
2­4, 4­6 etc.

Bin Range 1 Bin Range 2

1 0

2 2

3 4

4 6

5 8

6 10
 7

10

Use Excel’s Fill tool to help create this Bin Range for a 
histogram. Start by entering the lowest possible test score in 
a cell. You can enter 0 or use the MIN( ) function to calculate
the actual minimum. With that minimum cell selected, 
choose Edit then Fill Series.

In the Series dialog box, select columns and Linear for the 
Type. Enter the appropriate Step and Stop values and click 
OK. The Step Value specifies how much to increase each 
entry and the Stop value indicates when to stop the series. To
generate the series from 1 to 10 above, you would choose 1 
for the Step Value and 10 for the Stop Value. For Bin Range 
2 above, select 2 for the Step value and 10 for the Stop 
Value.
Creating the Histogram

After you create the Bin Range, generate the actual 
histogram. Choose Tools and Data Analysis, and select 
Histogram in the Data Analysis dialog box.

In the Histogram dialog box, the Input Range is the actual 
data you want to summarize, for example the list of all test 
scores. The Bin Range is the range you created with the 
different categories.

Using Excel as a Grade book

Grade book basics

Many school systems have begun to provide grade recording software

applications to their teachers. If your school system does not provide
such software to you, perhaps you could make your own grade book
using Excel.
Below you see an image of the beginning of a Grade book Several
elements of this image will be discussed one at a time. Your grade book
may be more simple than the example below. We purposely used a fairly
complicated weighted grading system to illustrate the things that you
can do with Excel
Send Email to either of the co-founders of Internet4Classrooms if you
need specific help in making, or modifying, a grade book for your own
classroom management.
Our email addresses can be found at the bottom of any of our pages.

This is not shown so that you can copy my information into a

spreadsheet. It is Only shown as an example.
As you experiment with using an Excel workbook as a Grade book, you
should keep it simple.
Start with 4-5 names and at most two types of grades.
Legend

Legend - List each item for which you gave a grade. Be specific, you
have plenty of room and later you may wish that you had recorded more
information about what assignment the grade was given for.
Grade Policy
 Grade Policy - You should clearly spell out how you will use grades to
determine a student's final grade. An Excel worksheet provides enough
room that this information could be included on each Grade book page.
Function

Equation for determining grades (Function) - The equation above

applies my stated grade policy. If you can state your grade policy as an
equation, you can write an Excel function to do the calculation. The
function above does the following

 Test grades

o Add the three grades (D7+E7+F7)

o Divide by the number of grades (average)

o Multiply by 0.4 (40 %)

 Project grades

o Add the two grades (G7+H7)

o Divide by the number of grades (average)

o Multiply by 0.5 (50 %)

 Homework grades

o Add the four grades (I7+J7+K7+L7)

o Divide by the number of grades (average)

o Multiply by 0.1 (10 %)

 Filling the function into other cells - In the sample worksheet above
the function has been entered into cell M7. Click on the bottom right
corner of the cell and drag down to the last cell where the function is
needed. In the example above that would be cell M17.
 Formatting data
Averages can be displayed to whatever precision you wish to use. I used
one decimal place, although you may wish to use zero decimal places.
Zero decimal places would keep the grades in a format like they are
reported to students. An advantage of using zero decimal places would
be to avoid confusion regarding rounding grades. To illustrate this
consider the following grade:

 A grade of 75.49 would round to 75 with zero decimal places.

However, at one decimal place that grade rounds to 75.5 and students
would have the expectation that the grade would round to 76. Using
zero decimal places will allow Excel to round without confusion to some
students.
How to format
1. Highlight the column to be formatted by clicking on the letter at the top
of the column.

2. From the Format menu choose Cells

3. From the Format Cells window choose Number and then select the
number of decimal places you want to use.
 Advanced Grade book topics

Using a Lookup table

Now we will ask Excel to look at the numerical average in column M and
compare it to a list which defines the grading scale, for the purpose of
assigning a letter grade to the average. Room was left at the top of the
Grade book for this purpose.

The information to the left, defining the grade scale must be entered in
ascending order from top to bottom. The number entered to the left of a
letter must be the lowest number grade that would equal that letter
grade.

1. enter the numbers and letters

2. highlight the entire range from A1 to B5

3. Go to the Insert menu, select Name and choose Define

4. Give a name to this lookup table, I called mine grades

Next we will write an equation which will look at a student's numerical
average, look at a list of grades, and assign a letter grade to the student.
This is done with a functioned named VLOOKUP. The equation must
specify three elements:

1. The location of the numerical grade to be compared (M7 in the

example)

2. The name of the lookup table (grades)

3. The location of the letter grade in the lookup table (2) [because the
letter grade is in column 2 in the lookup table]
 After the equation is entered in N7, click and drag to fill the equation
down into the remainder of the Grade book

A List of Online Resources for Excel Grade books

1. Microsoft Template Gallery for Teachers Step by step Tutorials -

PDF Files.

2. Part one - Part Two - Must get both to get the entire tutorial

3. Microsoft in Education: Excel 2002 - Microsoft Tutorial -

Managing Grades

4. Excel Grade book: Other Helpful Calculations - University of

Wisconsin-Eau Claire - Scroll to the Grade book section.