# can Excel convert letter grades to numbers?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-excel-convert-letter-grades-to-numbers/468537>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [October 18, 2008, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-excel-convert-letter-grades-to-numbers/468537 "2008-10-18T17:25:41Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\
**Post date:** [October 18, 2008, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-excel-convert-letter-grades-to-numbers/468537/1 "2008-10-18T17:25:41Z")

</div>

I’m trying to fake my way though figuring out how to get Excel to figure out my grades for me this semester - clearly taking a chance with my sanity and my students’ futures. I _think_ I can figure out how to get the spreadsheet to weight and then calculate the averages. But can I enter a conversion scheme someplace and then simply enter letter grades and have Excel convert them all to numeric equivalents, so that it can then do the calculations? And can I get it to do the reverse - once it has calculated a numeric average of these weighted grades, to then convert it back to a letter grade?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\
**Post date:** [October 18, 2008, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-excel-convert-letter-grades-to-numbers/468537/2 "2008-10-18T17:34:46Z")

</div>

Yes. Check out the lookup function.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\
**Post date:** [October 18, 2008, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-excel-convert-letter-grades-to-numbers/468537/3 "2008-10-18T17:38:50Z")

</div>

Yes. I asked that question right here on the boards last year.

[Here’s the thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=435552)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\
**Post date:** [October 18, 2008, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-excel-convert-letter-grades-to-numbers/468537/4 "2008-10-18T17:42:06Z")

</div>

Also, as i noted in the other thread, [this guy](http://www.ucalgary.ca/~rzach/teaching/grades.html) explains how it works, and also has a sample spreadsheet that you can download.