Teachers & educators
Standards-based grade calculator.
Several ways to summarize one standard's scores, shown together so you can see how far apart they land.
Inputs
Result
Enter your numbers.
How do you average standards-based grades?
This page does not pick a method for you. It shows several side by side. The mean counts every score equally. The median is the middle score and the mode the most repeated. Most recent is the last score. A decaying average is computed in date order: new average = previous average × (1 − w) + new score × w. Skyward's example uses w = 0.65 with scores of 4, 3 and 3.5, giving 3.35 and then about 3.45. Ontario's Growing Success policy says a report-card grade should reflect the student's most consistent level of achievement, with special consideration given to more recent evidence, and leaves the method to teacher professional judgement.
Frequently asked questions
What is a decaying average?
A running average where each new score gets a fixed weight, such as 65%, and the earlier average gets the rest, so recent work counts more.
Which method should I use?
That is your professional judgement and your school or district policy. Policies such as Ontario's ask for the most consistent level of achievement with special consideration for recent evidence.
Why does the order of scores matter?
The decaying average, most recent and trend all depend on date order. Enter the oldest score first.
What if there are two modes?
The tool shows all tied values. With no repeated score it says so.
Sources
Checked
- Skyward: What is a decaying average?
- Ontario Ministry of Education: Growing Success (2010), assessment, evaluation and reporting
Mean, median and mode are arithmetic definitions. The decaying average formula follows the Skyward description; the default 65% weight is an example, not a standard. Runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you type is sent or stored.
Scope
Grading policy belongs to your school or district. This tool shows arithmetic, not a recommended method or official guidance.