Simple Gradebook Template in Excel with Auto GPA

This template provides a basic framework for tracking student grades and automatically calculating their GPA. It’s designed to be easy to use and customize for different grading schemes.

Template Structure

The gradebook will consist of the following columns:

• Student Name: The name of the student.
• Assignment 1, Assignment 2, …: Columns for each graded assignment. You can rename these to reflect the specific assignment (e.g., “Quiz 1,” “Midterm,” “Project”).
• Total Points Possible: A row indicating the maximum possible points for each assignment.
• Total Points Earned: The sum of the points earned by a student across all assignments.
• Percentage: The student’s overall percentage grade (Total Points Earned / Total Points Possible).
• Letter Grade: The corresponding letter grade based on the percentage (e.g., A, B, C).
• GPA: The Grade Point Average calculated based on the letter grades.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Open Microsoft Excel.
2. Create Headers: In the first row, enter the following headers in the specified columns:
   • A1: Student Name
   • B1, C1, D1, …: Assignment 1, Assignment 2, Assignment 3,… (Customize these)
   • (Last Assignment Column + 1): Total Points Earned
   • (Total Points Earned Column + 1): Percentage
   • (Percentage Column + 1): Letter Grade
   • (Letter Grade Column + 1): GPA
3. Enter Total Points Possible: In the second row, enter the total points possible for each assignment. For example:
   • B2: 100 (for an assignment worth 100 points)
   • C2: 50 (for an assignment worth 50 points)
   • And so on.
4. Enter Student Names: In column A, starting from A3, enter the names of your students.
5. Enter Student Grades: Enter the grades (points earned) for each student in the appropriate assignment columns. For example:
   • B3: 85 (Student 1 earned 85 points on Assignment 1)
   • C3: 42 (Student 1 earned 42 points on Assignment 2)
   • And so on.
6. Calculate Total Points Earned: In the “Total Points Earned” column (e.g., column ‘F’ if you have four assignment columns), use the `SUM` function to calculate the total points earned by each student. For example, if the assignment columns are B, C, D, and E, then in F3, enter the following formula and drag it down for all students:

   =SUM(B3:E3)

7. Calculate Percentage: In the “Percentage” column (e.g., column ‘G’), calculate the percentage grade for each student. First, you need to calculate the total possible points across all assignments. Let’s assume the ‘Total Points Possible’ are in cells B2, C2, D2, and E2. Create a cell somewhere in your spreadsheet (e.g., H2) and calculate the sum of the total possible points:

   =SUM(B2:E2)

   Then, in the “Percentage” column (G3), enter the following formula and drag it down:

   =F3/H$2

   Explanation: F3 is the ‘Total Points Earned’, and H2 (with the dollar sign) is the fixed cell containing the total possible points. The dollar sign ensures that the reference to H2 remains constant when you drag the formula down.

   To display the result as a percentage, select the “Percentage” column, go to the “Home” tab, and click the “%” button in the “Number” group.

8. Determine Letter Grade: In the “Letter Grade” column (e.g., column ‘H’), use the `IF` function (or `IFS` function if available in your Excel version) to assign a letter grade based on the percentage. Here’s an example using nested `IF` statements:

   =IF(G3>=0.9,"A",IF(G3>=0.8,"B",IF(G3>=0.7,"C",IF(G3>=0.6,"D","F"))))

   Explanation:

   • If the percentage (G3) is greater than or equal to 0.9 (90%), the letter grade is “A”.
   • Otherwise, if the percentage is greater than or equal to 0.8 (80%), the letter grade is “B”.
   • And so on.
   • If none of the conditions are met, the letter grade is “F”.

   Adjust the percentage thresholds and letter grades according to your grading scale. Drag the formula down for all students.

   If you have Excel 2016 or later, the `IFS` function can simplify this:

   =IFS(G3>=0.9,"A",G3>=0.8,"B",G3>=0.7,"C",G3>=0.6,"D",TRUE,"F")

   Explanation: The `IFS` function evaluates conditions in order and returns the corresponding value when a condition is true. The `TRUE` condition at the end ensures that “F” is returned if none of the preceding conditions are met.

9. Calculate GPA: In the “GPA” column (e.g., column ‘I’), use the `VLOOKUP` function to convert the letter grade to a GPA value. First, you need to create a table mapping letter grades to GPA points. For example, in columns K and L, starting from K1, enter the following:
   

   Letter Grade	GPA
   A	4.0
   B	3.0
   C	2.0
   D	1.0
   F	0.0

   Then, in the “GPA” column (I3), enter the following formula and drag it down:

   =VLOOKUP(H3,K1:L5,2,FALSE)

   Explanation:

   • `H3` is the cell containing the letter grade.
   • `K1:L5` is the range containing the letter grade to GPA mapping table.
   • `2` specifies that we want to retrieve the value from the second column of the table (the GPA value).
   • `FALSE` ensures an exact match for the letter grade.

Customization

• Grading Scale: Modify the `IF` or `IFS` function in the “Letter Grade” column to match your specific grading scale.
• GPA Values: Adjust the GPA values in the lookup table (columns K and L) as needed. You might want to include plus/minus grades (e.g., A+, A-, B+, B-).
• Weighted Assignments: If assignments have different weights, you’ll need to modify the “Total Points Earned” calculation and potentially the “Percentage” calculation to account for these weights. You can add a “Weight” column for each assignment and adjust the formulas accordingly.

Example

Here’s an example of what your gradebook might look like: