Yes — 89% is a B on the plain 10-point scale and a B+ if your school uses plus and minus grades. It is one percentage point below an A− (90%), so it is not an A. To convert any percentage, find its band on your grading scale: 90–100% is an A, 80–89% a B, 70–79% a C, 60–69% a D, and below 60% an F.
The percentage-to-letter-grade table
A percentage does not need any math to become a letter — you just find which band it lands in. The catch is that US schools use two different band layouts. The plain 10-point scale gives one letter per ten points. The plus/minus scale splits each letter into three narrower bands of about three points each, so it can turn the same 89% into a B+ instead of a plain B.
These are the two most common layouts, but they are not the only ones. Some schools shift the B+ band to 85–89% or set a straight A at 93% instead of 90%. The full US grading scale shows the standard bands, and a grade calculator applies your chosen scale to a raw score automatically. Always confirm the cutoffs on your syllabus before trusting any chart.
| Percentage | Plain 10-point scale | Plus/minus scale | GPA (plus/minus) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 97–100% | A | A+ | 4.0 |
| 93–96% | A | A | 4.0 |
| 90–92% | A | A− | 3.7 |
| 87–89% | B | B+ | 3.3 |
| 83–86% | B | B | 3.0 |
| 80–82% | B | B− | 2.7 |
| 77–79% | C | C+ | 2.3 |
| 73–76% | C | C | 2.0 |
| 70–72% | C | C− | 1.7 |
| 67–69% | D | D+ | 1.3 |
| 63–66% | D | D | 1.0 |
| 60–62% | D | D− | 0.7 |
| Below 60% | F | F | 0.0 |
Is 89% a B? The borderline percentages, settled
The number people argue about is almost always sitting one point from a line. Using the standard scale, 90% is an A — labelled A− on a plus/minus scale, still an A, with a 3.7 GPA. 89% is a B, or a B+ with plus/minus, and one point below an A−, so not an A. 80% is the bottom of the B band. 79% is a C, not a B, because the B band starts at 80%.
Lower down, 70% is the lowest C, 69% is a D and not a C, and 60% is the lowest passing grade — a D−, not an F. 59% is the first failing percentage. The one genuine grey area is 89.5%: some instructors round it up to 90% and an A−, many treat 90.0% as a hard line, and there is no universal rule — grade rounding rules covers how to read that policy, and if the class is curved the raw percentage is only a starting point.
| Percentage | Plain scale | Plus/minus | The ruling |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90% | A | A− | An A. An A− still counts as an A. |
| 89% | B | B+ | A B. One point below an A−, not an A. |
| 80% | B | B− | Bottom of the B band on both scales. |
| 79% | C | C+ | Not a B — the B band starts at 80%. |
| 70% | C | C− | The lowest C. |
| 69% | D | D+ | Not a C. |
| 60% | D | D− | Lowest passing grade — a D−, not an F. |
| 59% | F | F | The first failing percentage. |
Plain 10-point scale vs plus/minus scale
Which layout your school uses changes the label on your grade but not the band it belongs to. On the plain scale, every percentage from 80 to 89 is simply a B. On a plus/minus scale, 80–82% is a B−, 83–86% a B, and 87–89% a B+. The letter family is the same; the plus or minus is extra precision.
That precision matters for GPA. A B+ is worth 3.3 grade points and a B− is worth 2.7, a spread of 0.6 points on one course, and across a semester of six classes that gap can move a GPA by close to half a point. It does not change whether you got a B, though — and an A− is still an A, worth remembering when a 91% feels like a letdown.
How to convert a percentage to a letter grade
Converting is a three-step lookup, not a calculation, because the percentage is already the number you need.
If your score is not already a percentage — say it is 17 out of 20 or 340 out of 400 — divide the points earned by the points possible and multiply by 100 first, then run the lookup. Turning an X out of Y score into a grade walks through that step with a conversion chart.
- Find your grading scale: check the syllabus for the plain 10-point scale or a plus/minus scale, and note any non-standard cutoffs.
- Locate the band your percentage falls into on that scale.
- Read off the letter, and the GPA value for that letter if you need it.
When your percentage and your letter don't line up
Sometimes the letter on your report card is not the one the table predicts. Rounding and curves come first: a rounding rule can lift a 79.6% to a B−, and a curve re-scales the whole class after grading, so a raw 72% might land higher.
A second cause is that the percentage you are looking at is not your final course grade — it is one score inside a weighted category, and the category weights still have to be applied before the course letter is set. Finally, some programs use stricter scales: a graduate course often treats anything below a B− as failing work even though an undergraduate scale would call a 72% a passing C.
Does the letter change your GPA?
Yes — GPA is built from letters, not percentages. Once your percentage becomes a letter, that letter carries a fixed number of grade points on the 4.0 scale: A is 4.0, B is 3.0, C is 2.0, D is 1.0, and F is 0.0. A plus adds about 0.3 and a minus subtracts about 0.3, so a B+ is 3.3 and a B− is 2.7.
Honors and AP courses often use a weighted scale where an A is worth 5.0 instead of 4.0. To turn a set of course grades into a GPA, use the GPA calculator; the letter-grade-to-GPA chart lists every letter's value, and weighted vs unweighted GPA explains the 5.0 scale. A percentage does not map to a GPA directly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is 89% a B?+
Yes. 89% is a B on the plain 10-point scale and a B+ on a plus/minus scale. It sits one percentage point below the 90% cutoff for an A−, so it is not an A, however close it feels.
Is 79% a C or a B?+
A C — or a C+ on a plus/minus scale. The B band starts at 80%, so 79% is not a B unless your class rounds up or applies a curve. Check the syllabus for a rounding rule before assuming.
What letter grade is 71%?+
A C on the plain scale and a C− on a plus/minus scale. The GPA value is 2.0 for a plain C or 1.7 for a C−. It is a passing grade at most schools but below the C required for credit in some college major courses.
What grade is an 85%?+
A B on both scales. On a plus/minus scale, 83–86% is a straight B worth 3.0 grade points, so 85% is not a B+ — that band starts at 87%.
Is 90% an A or an A−?+
An A. On a plus/minus scale it is labelled A− and carries a 3.7 GPA, but it still counts as an A whenever the question is simply whether you earned an A in the class.
Is 60% passing?+
Yes. 60% is a D on the plain scale and a D− on a plus/minus scale, and a D− is the lowest passing grade at most US schools. An F begins below 60%. Some college courses require a C (70%) for the credit to count toward a major.
What percentage is a B+?+
87–89% on the standard plus/minus scale. A handful of schools use an 85–89% band for B+ instead, so confirm the cutoffs on your syllabus.
Does 89.5% round up to an A?+
Only if your instructor or syllabus says so. Many instructors round 89.5% up to 90% and an A−; many others treat 90.0% as a firm line. There is no universal rule, so the written grading policy is the deciding source.
What GPA does my percentage give?+
Convert the percentage to a letter first, then read the letter's grade points: A is 4.0, B is 3.0, C is 2.0, D is 1.0, and F is 0.0, with a plus or minus shifting the value by about 0.3. A percentage does not map to a GPA directly.
Why is 89% a B in the US when it is excellent elsewhere?+
Because US scales set the A cutoff at 90%. Many other countries set their top grade far lower — a UK First-class result starts at 70% — so the same 89% earns a different label. The work is identical; the scale is local.
What is the lowest passing grade?+
A D− (60–62%) on a plus/minus scale, or a D (60–69%) on the plain scale. Anything below 60% is an F. In practice, many college programs need a C or better in core courses, so a D can still mean repeating the class.
Is a C+ better than a B−?+
No. A B− (80–82%) ranks above a C+ (77–79%) and carries a higher GPA — 2.7 versus 2.3. A plus never lifts a letter above the next letter's minus.
Muhammd Salman
I build and maintain Grade Calculator independently. Every worked example on this site is checked against the underlying formula, with notes on where school or instructor policy can change the result. More about this site →