Grade Rounding Calculator

A 4.6 is a 5 rounded to the whole point and a 4.5 rounded to the half: it passes or fails depending on the rule. Check all four at once.

Depending on the rule

—

Depending on the rule—

To the whole point—

To the half point—

To the quarter point—

Truncated—

To pass you are short by—

How this was worked out

The formula

rounded = nearest multiple of the step the institution uses

Where it comes from

Rounding grades is not general rounding: every institution applies its own and not all of them round to the whole point. Half points and quarter points are common at university, and truncating — keeping the integer part — is what a transcript that does not round at all does. The difference only matters on the edge, but on the edge it decides everything.

How to work it out by hand

Divide the grade by the step: 4.6 over 0.5 is 9.2
Round to the nearest whole number: 9
Multiply by the step again: 4.5
Compare with the pass mark

What is worth knowing

That a 4.6 can be a pass or a fail depending on how it is rounded is a matter of regulation, not mathematics, which is why what counts is knowing which rule applies before appealing. It is usually written in the syllabus or the assessment regulations, and sometimes the answer is that nothing is rounded at all: the transcript records the grade to one decimal and a pass starts at exactly 5.0. The page flags precisely the cases where the rule decides, because in the rest there is nothing to argue about.

Frequently asked questions

Is a 4.6 a pass?

It depends on the rule: to the whole point it goes up to 5 and passes; to the half point it drops to 4.5 and fails.

Which rule applies?

Whichever your institution’s assessment regulations state. There is no single one.

What about an exact 4.5?

To the whole point it goes up to 5 under the usual rule. It is the most disputed case of all.

Can rounding be appealed?

You can ask for the published rule to be applied. What you cannot do is pick the rule.