What Grade Is 21 out of 40? (21/40)
21 out of 40 (21/40) is 52.5%, which rounds to 53%: an F on all three common scales. That is 19 wrong answers and 0.0 GPA points on the 4.0 scale.
- Percentage
- 52.5%
- rounds to 53%
- 10 point letter
- F
- F with +/-, F on 7 point
- Wrong
- 19
- of 40 questions
- 4.0 GPA
- 0.0
- for an F
One more right, one fewer: 22/40 and 20/40
One more right makes it 22 out of 40, a 55%: still an F on the 10 point scale. One fewer is 20 out of 40, a 50%, the same F. Each question is worth 2.5 percentage points.
The next letter up with pluses and minuses is a D- at 24/40 (60%), 3 more right answers away. That is also a D on the 10 point scale.
Right answers needed for each letter out of 40
| Letter | Percent | Right | From 21/40 |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 93 to 100 | 38 or more | 17 more right |
| A- | 90 to under 93 | 36 or more | 15 more right |
| B+ | 87 to under 90 | 35 or more | 14 more right |
| B | 83 to under 87 | 34 or more | 13 more right |
| B- | 80 to under 83 | 32 or more | 11 more right |
| C+ | 77 to under 80 | 31 or more | 10 more right |
| C | 73 to under 77 | 30 or more | 9 more right |
| C- | 70 to under 73 | 28 or more | 7 more right |
| D+ | 67 to under 70 | 27 or more | 6 more right |
| D | 63 to under 67 | 26 or more | 5 more right |
| D- | 60 to under 63 | 24 or more | 3 more right |
| F | below 60 | 23 or fewer | your score |
Plus and minus scale; the 10 point letter is the plain letter. Every letter can happen with whole scores out of 40.
52.5% on other test lengths
No other common test length gives exactly 52.5%. The closest scores are 5 out of 10 (50%), 6 out of 12 (50%), 8 out of 15 (53.33%), 10 out of 20 (50%), 13 out of 25 (52%), 16 out of 30 (53.33%), 26 out of 50 (52%) and 31 out of 60 (51.67%).
Is 21 out of 40 passing?
Not where passing starts at 60%: that takes 24 right out of 40, and 21/40 is 3 questions short. Where the line is 70%, as on the 7 point scale, it needs 28 right, 7 more right answers. Whether a D passes the class is a separate rule, covered in the passing grade guide.
Out of 40 grade chart with 21/40 marked
| Score | Percent | 10 pt | +/- | 7 pt |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40/40 | 100% | A | A | A |
| 39/40 | 97.5% | A | A | A |
| 38/40 | 95% | A | A | A |
| 37/40 | 92.5% | A | A- | B |
| 36/40 | 90% | A | A- | B |
| 35/40 | 87.5% | B | B+ | B |
| 34/40 | 85% | B | B | B |
| 33/40 | 82.5% | B | B- | C |
| 32/40 | 80% | B | B- | C |
| 31/40 | 77.5% | C | C+ | C |
| 30/40 | 75% | C | C | C |
| 29/40 | 72.5% | C | C- | D |
| 28/40 | 70% | C | C- | D |
| 27/40 | 67.5% | D | D+ | F |
| 26/40 | 65% | D | D | F |
| 25/40 | 62.5% | D | D- | F |
| 24/40 | 60% | D | D- | F |
| 23/40 | 57.5% | F | F | F |
| 22/40 | 55% | F | F | F |
| 21/40 | 52.5% | F | F | F |
| 20/40 | 50% | F | F | F |
| 19/40 | 47.5% | F | F | F |
| 18/40 | 45% | F | F | F |
| 17/40 | 42.5% | F | F | F |
| 16/40 | 40% | F | F | F |
| 15/40 | 37.5% | F | F | F |
| 14/40 | 35% | F | F | F |
| 13/40 | 32.5% | F | F | F |
| 12/40 | 30% | F | F | F |
| 11/40 | 27.5% | F | F | F |
| 10/40 | 25% | F | F | F |
| 9/40 | 22.5% | F | F | F |
| 8/40 | 20% | F | F | F |
| 7/40 | 17.5% | F | F | F |
| 6/40 | 15% | F | F | F |
| 5/40 | 12.5% | F | F | F |
| 4/40 | 10% | F | F | F |
| 3/40 | 7.5% | F | F | F |
| 2/40 | 5% | F | F | F |
| 1/40 | 2.5% | F | F | F |
| 0/40 | 0% | F | F | F |
Whole scores; the printable out of 40 chart adds a lookup and a CSV download.
How to calculate 21 out of 40 as a percentage
Divide the number right by the number of questions, multiply by 100, then find the band on your school's scale. CurveFox reads the letter from the exact percent, the same rule as the grading scale chart.
Next step: put this test into your class grade with the grade calculator, see what the final needs with the final grade calculator, or curve a whole class with the grade curve calculator.
21/40 as a percent: worked example
You get 21 right on a 40 question test. What is the percent and the letter?
- 21 / 40 = 0.525
- 0.525 x 100 = 52.5%, 53% rounded to a whole percent
- 52.5 is an F on all three scales (below 60 with pluses and minuses)
21/40 is 52.5%: an F on all three common scales.
Questions and answers
Is a 21 out of 40 a good grade?
52.5% is a failing score on the 10 point scale (an F). An A takes 36 right, 15 more right answers than 21. It does not pass on the common scales.
What do I need for the next letter after 21/40?
24 right out of 40 (60%) is a D- with pluses and minuses, 3 more questions than 21. That is also a D on the 10 point scale.
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