Convert Scores to Grades (IF / IFS)

Excel Formulas › Logical

All versionsIFS (2019+)XLOOKUP alt

Turning a number into a band — a test score into a letter grade, a value into Low/Medium/High — is a classic nested IF job. Modern Excel does it more cleanly with IFS, and a lookup table beats both when the bands change often.

Quick formula: to grade the score in B2 (A≥90, B≥80, C≥70, D≥60, else F):
=IFS(B2>=90,"A", B2>=80,"B", B2>=70,"C", B2>=60,"D", TRUE,"F")
IFS checks each test in order and returns the first that is TRUE. The final TRUE is the catch-all.

Functions used (tap for the full reference guide):

IFSIFXLOOKUP

The example

Scores to letter grades.

ABC
1StudentScoreGrade
2Ana93A
3Ben81B
4Cy78C
5Dot55F

The formula

The grade formula, copied down:

=IFS(B2>=90,"A", B2>=80,"B", B2>=70,"C", B2>=60,"D", TRUE,"F") // 93 → A, 55 → F

How it works

IFS evaluates condition/result pairs top to bottom:

  1. It checks B2>=90 first. For 93 that’s TRUE, so it returns "A" and stops.
  2. For 81, the first test fails but B2>=80 is TRUE → "B".
  3. Order from highest to lowest matters: the first TRUE wins, so a high cutoff must come before a lower one.
  4. The final TRUE,"F" catches anything that failed every band — the "else".

Why not nested IF? =IF(B2>=90,"A",IF(B2>=80,"B",IF(...))) works everywhere but is hard to read and easy to mis-nest. IFS (Excel 2019+) flattens it. A lookup table is best of all when bands change.

Try it: interactive demo

Live demo

Drag the score and watch which band IFS returns.

Grade:

Variations

Nested IF (every version)

Works in Excel 2016 and older:

=IF(B2>=90,"A",IF(B2>=80,"B",IF(B2>=70,"C",IF(B2>=60,"D","F"))))

Lookup-table version (easiest to maintain)

Put cutoffs (0,60,70,80,90) and letters in a table and use XLOOKUP’s next-smaller match — change bands without touching the formula:

=XLOOKUP(B2, {0;60;70;80;90}, {"F";"D";"C";"B";"A"}, , -1)

Pitfalls & errors

Wrong grades from wrong order. If you test >=60 before >=90, every passing score returns "D". Always go highest cutoff first.

IFS needs a catch-all. Without a final TRUE, value, a score matching none of the tests returns #N/A.

IFS requires Excel 2019+. Older versions show #NAME? — use the nested IF or the lookup-table version.

Practice workbook

📊
Download the free Convert Scores to Grades (IF / IFS) practice workbook
Scores with live nested-IF grading, the IFS version, and the XLOOKUP lookup-table approach, plus 4 challenges with answers. No sign-up required.

Frequently asked questions

How do I convert a score to a letter grade in Excel?
Use IFS from highest cutoff down: =IFS(B2>=90,"A", B2>=80,"B", B2>=70,"C", B2>=60,"D", TRUE,"F"). The final TRUE is the catch-all for failing scores.
What's better, nested IF or IFS?
IFS (Excel 2019+) is far easier to read than deeply nested IFs and avoids mismatched parentheses. For bands that change, a lookup table with XLOOKUP match_mode -1 is easiest to maintain.
Why does my IFS return #N/A?
No condition matched and there's no catch-all. Add TRUE as the last condition with the default result, e.g. TRUE,"F".

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Function references: IFS · IF · XLOOKUP