Letter Grade from a Score

Excel Formulas › Education & Grading

All versionsLOOKUP

Turn a numeric score into a letter grade with an approximate-match LOOKUP against a grade scale — cleaner and easier to maintain than a stack of nested IFs.

Quick formula: letter grade for a score:
=LOOKUP(score, {0;60;70;80;90}, {"F";"D";"C";"B";"A"})
LOOKUP finds the highest breakpoint not exceeding the score and returns its letter.

Functions used (tap for the full reference guide):

LOOKUPIFS

The example

An 87 lands in the B band.

AB
1ScoreGrade
287B
392A

The formula

The formula:

=LOOKUP(B2, {0;60;70;80;90}, {"F";"D";"C";"B";"A"}) // approximate-match bands

How it works

How it works:

  1. Build a grade scale: ascending breakpoints (0, 60, 70, 80, 90) and matching letters.
  2. LOOKUP (or VLOOKUP with TRUE) finds the highest breakpoint ≤ the score.
  3. It returns the letter for that band — 87 falls in the 80 band → B.
  4. Keep breakpoints sorted ascending; a real lookup table beats hard-coded arrays for editing.

A table beats nested IFs. Put breakpoints and letters in two columns and use =VLOOKUP(score, scale, 2, TRUE). Adding plus/minus grades or changing a cutoff becomes a quick table edit — no formula surgery — and the same scale can drive an entire gradebook.

Try it: interactive demo

Live demo

Enter a score (0–100).

Grade:

Variations

VLOOKUP table

From two columns:

=VLOOKUP(score, scale, 2, TRUE)

With plus/minus

Finer bands:

=LOOKUP(score, {0;60;63;67;70;...}, {"F";"D-";"D";"D+";"C-";...})

IFS version

Explicit bands:

=IFS(score>=90,"A", score>=80,"B", score>=70,"C", TRUE,"F")

Pitfalls & errors

Sort ascending. Approximate-match LOOKUP/VLOOKUP needs breakpoints in ascending order.

Cover the bottom. Start the scale at 0 so low scores still match.

TRUE for VLOOKUP. Omitting the 4th argument forces exact match and breaks bands.

Practice workbook

📊
Download the free Letter Grade from a Score practice workbook
A letter-grade sheet with the VLOOKUP, plus/minus, and IFS variants, 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 approximate-match lookup: =LOOKUP(score, {0;60;70;80;90}, {"F";"D";"C";"B";"A"}) or =VLOOKUP(score, scale, 2, TRUE).
How do I add plus/minus grades?
Extend the breakpoint and letter lists (e.g. 90→A-, 93→A) in ascending order, ideally in a lookup table.
Why does my grade lookup return the wrong letter?
Breakpoints must be sorted ascending and you must use approximate match (TRUE) with VLOOKUP.

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Related formulas: Two-way approximate lookup · IFS multiple bands · Weighted grade

Function references: LOOKUPIFS