Lesson: Grade in Microsoft Excel

1. Introduction

A Grade is a way of representing a student’s academic performance using a letter or category instead of showing only the percentage.

In a Student Report, after calculating Total Marks and Percentage, a grade can be assigned according to the grade criteria or thresholds defined for the report.

For example:

Marks
  ↓
Total Marks
  ↓
Percentage
  ↓
Grade

The provided Excel notes include grade thresholds as part of the Student Report practical.

2. Purpose of Grade

The main purpose of a grade is to give a simple representation of a student’s performance.

Instead of reading the exact percentage every time, the Grade column provides a quick performance category.

For example:

Note: These grades are only an illustrative example. The actual grade should be assigned according to the criteria defined in the Student Report.

3. Grade Threshold

A grade threshold is the percentage or marks level used to determine which grade a student receives.

For example, an institution may define criteria such as:

These ranges are only for understanding the concept. Your provided notes establish that grade thresholds are used in the Student Report, but the extracted section does not provide this exact A/B/C/D table.

4. Grade Calculation Concept

Suppose a student has:

Total Marks = 255
Maximum Marks = 300

First calculate the percentage:

=(255/300)*100

Result:

85%

The percentage is then checked against the defined grade thresholds.

85%
 ↓
Check Grade Criteria
 ↓
Corresponding Grade

5. Grade in a Student Report

A typical Student Report may contain:

Here, the Grade is determined from the student’s percentage according to the predefined criteria.

6. Grade Formula Concept in Excel

Grade can be calculated automatically using Excel’s logical functions when the grading criteria are defined.

For example, if the percentage is stored in G2, a nested condition can be used:

=IF(G2>=80%,"A",IF(G2>=60%,"B",IF(G2>=40%,"C","D")))

Formula Flow

Percentage
    ↓
Check First Threshold
    ↓
If not → Check Next Threshold
    ↓
If not → Check Next Threshold
    ↓
Return Grade

Important: This formula is an illustrative Excel implementation of the grade-threshold concept. The provided notes establish the use of grade thresholds but do not show this exact formula in the extracted Student Report section.

7. Understanding the Formula

Consider:

=IF(G2>=80%,"A",IF(G2>=60%,"B",IF(G2>=40%,"C","D")))

The formula checks the conditions one by one.

First Condition

G2>=80%

If true:

A

If false, Excel checks the next condition.

Second Condition

G2>=60%

If true:

B

If false, it checks the next condition.

Third Condition

G2>=40%

If true:

C

Otherwise:

D

8. Copying Grade Formula

Once the Grade formula has been entered for the first student, it can be copied down to other students.

For example:

Student 1 → =IF(G2>=80%,"A",...)
Student 2 → =IF(G3>=80%,"A",...)
Student 3 → =IF(G4>=80%,"A",...)

The row reference changes automatically because G2 is a relative reference.

9. Grade and Percentage Relationship

Grade is normally determined after percentage is calculated.

Complete Flow

Subject Marks
      ↓
Total Marks
      ↓
Percentage
      ↓
Compare with Grade Thresholds
      ↓
Grade

This makes the Student Report easier to understand and manage.

10. Grade vs Percentage

11. Important Points

• Grade is assigned according to predefined criteria.
• Percentage is commonly used to determine the grade.
• Grade thresholds must be clearly defined.
• Excel can automate grade calculation using logical formulas.
• The Grade column should be linked to the correct Percentage column.
• When copying formulas, check that the cell references point to the correct student’s percentage.

12. Quick Revision Chart

┌──────────────────────────────┐
│          GRADE               │
├──────────────────────────────┤
│ Percentage                  │
│       ↓                      │
│ Check Grade Thresholds      │
│       ↓                      │
│ Apply Defined Criteria      │
│       ↓                      │
│ Grade                       │
└──────────────────────────────┘

Easy Way to Remember

Percentage → Check Threshold → Grade

78%
 ↓
Grade Criteria
 ↓
Grade

⭐ One-Line Definition

Grade is a performance category assigned to a student according to predefined marks or percentage thresholds in a Student Report.