How to Calculate Percentage of Marks?

“How to calculate percentage of marks” remains a common question among students seeking to get higher education abroad. The calculation of percentage from marks can be done using simple Percentage Formula, i.e. (Total Marks Obtained/Total Maximum Marks) x 100. 

If you are Indian student dreaming of studying at top university abroad then this guide is perfect for you. Just as your CGPA- percentage is universally understood by universities worldwide. Hence converting your marks into percentages is often crucial step when applying to top global institutions in some of best countries for higher education abroad where different grading systems need to be translated clearly. 

Calculating percentage of marks can vary when total marks are 100 or different. Hence in this article we have come up with different formulas to calculate percentage of marks when total marks vary. The common way to calculate percentage of marks is dividing total obtained marks by total possible marks and multiplying result by 100. Here's percentage calculation formula- Percentage = (Obtained Marks ÷ Total Marks) × 100 

By end of this article, you will be able to calculate percentage from marks in any situation, whether your exam was out of 100, 50, or any other total. We have included real examples relevant to Indian students applying abroad, plus special sections on percentage increase and decrease calculations. 

Also read- 

• How to convert GPA into percentage?  
• How to Convert Percentage to GPA?

What is a Percentage?

Term percentage is taken from Latin word “Per Centum”. It means “by parts of 100”. Percentage expresses some parts of a number, rate or amount as part of whole entity - mostly considered 100. General calculations involving calculation of percentage from marks involve common steps of obtaining denominator as multiple of 100. If that cannot be done then there are diff. formulas to calculate percentage of marks

Formula to Calculate Percentage of Marks

So, are you wondering what is the percentage formula?

Percentage of marks can be calculated by dividing the obtained marks by total marks and then multiplying result by 100. Thus percentage formula comes out to be -

Percentage = (Total Obtained Marks/Total Obtained Marks)x100 

For eg. - if a student scores 25/50 marks on his test then his percentage of marks will be (25/50)x100 = 50%

However, there are different formulas to calculate percentage of marks in different scenarios. These are given below. 

How to Calculate Percentage of Marks?

To calculate the percentage of marks, you just need to apply one basic formula. For calculating percentage of marks of one subject, you need to divide the obtained marks by the maximum marks for that subject and multiply the result by 100.

If you wish to calculate the percentage of marks for more than 1 subject, then you must add up all the obtained marks and the maximum marks for these subjects separately. Divide the total obtained marks by the total maximum marks and multiply the result by 100.

Step-by-step procedure of calculating Percentage from Marks

Refer to steps given below to calculate percentage from marks- 

1. Add all marks obtained across subjects. 
2. Add maximum marks (M.M.) across these subjects. 
3. Divide total marks obtained by total M.M. 
4. Multiply result by 100 to get percentage. 

Also Read- How to calculate percentage from SGPA?

Test Marks to Percentage Calculation Examples | Different Cases

Let us understand how to calculate the percentage of marks in different cases. 

Case 1 Total marks are 100. 

This is the simplest case. Here marks are given out of 100 and the percentage is simply the marks obtained. Percentage of marks formula in this case is Percentage = obtained marks/total marks= obtained marks/100 = (obtained marks)% 

For eg. Rohan scored 74/100 marks and Shilpa scored 95/100 marks in a test. Therefore percentage of marks scored by Rohan and Shilpa is 74% & 95%. 

Case 2. When the total marks are not 100 but a multiple of it. 

Calculating the  percentage of marks when the total marks are not 100 sometimes gets tricky. In this case you need to calculate average percentage marks of all subjects. For this add marks obtained in all subjects and divide it with total marks. Then numerator of fraction represents percentage of marks. For example, Rohit secured 540/600 marks in his exams. So we divide both numerator and denominator by 6 to get 100 in denominator i.e. (540÷6)/(600÷6)=90/100=90% therefore Rohit's scored 90% marks in his exams. 

Also Read - 

• Calculate CGPA into Marks 
• How to Convert GPA to Percentage for Studying Abroad 

Case 3. When Total Marks are Factor of 100 

In similar case as above when  total marks are factor of 100 multiply whole fraction of marks by a number such that denominator becomes 100 or total marks become 100. For example Sanjana receives 16 marks out of total of 25 marks. So fraction of marks that Sanjana obtained is 16/25. Now multiplying the whole fraction by such a number that denominator becomes 100 - (16x4)/(25x4) = 64/100 = 64% 

How to Calculate Percentage From Marks: Summary

As we have learned all cases of how to find the percentage of marks - we can summarise all three cases below. 

Related Reads 

• How to Calculate CGPA for Studying Abroad? 
• How to convert 10 point CGPA to 4 point GPA? 
• How to Calculate SGPA?

How to Calculate Percentage Change?

When quantity or value changes in terms of percentage over period of time- amount of change that occurred can be expressed by percentage change. The formula to calculate change in percentage is given below. 

Percentage Change = (Change in Value/Original Value) x 100 

Therefore- increase and decrease in percentage can be calculated as explained ahead.

How to Calculate Percentage Increase? 

A percentage increase is referred to as increase in percentage value of given quantity over period of time. The calculation of percentage increase can be useful when determining change in percentage of large quantities over period of time- such as change in population or change in bacterial growth over period of time. The percentage increase formula is given below.

Percentage Increase = (Increased Value - Original Value)/Original Value x 100 

For example- consider that total population of town has increased from 1500 to 2500 people. Then- calculation of percentage increase in total population of town is shown in image below Percentage Increase = (2500 - 1500) / 1500 x 100 = 66.66% (image representation given below) 

So- above calculation indicates percentage increase in population of town is 66.66%. 

Also Read- Indian Percentage to German GPA Calculator

How to Calculate Percentage Decrease? 

A percentage decrease is referred to as decrease in percentage value of given quantity over period of time. The percentage decrease formula is given in image below. Percentage Decrease = (Original Value - Decreased Value)/Original Value x 100 For example- consider that total number of students in school has decreased from 750 to 550. The percentage decrease in total number of students in that school can be calculated as given below. Percentage Decrease = (750 - 550) / 750 x 100 = 26.66% (image representation given below) 

So- above calculation indicates that percentage decrease in total number of students in given school is 26.66%. 

Also Read- Understanding International Grading for Students 

How to Calculate Weighted Average Percentage from Marks?

To calculate a weighted average percentage from marks, multiply each mark by its assigned weight (as a decimal), sum those products, and then divide by the total sum of weights; if weights are percentages that sum to 100%, you just sum the products. The core formula is (Sum of (Mark × Weight)) / (Sum of Weights), but if weights are decimals adding to 1 (e.g., 0.2, 0.3), the division step is simplified as you divide by 1. 

Here is an example to understand this calculation step-by-step:-

1. List all your marks and weights:- For example, to calculate the weighted percentage of marks for the entire year, the weighted averages of class tests, midterms and final exams are required. Suppose, in class test you scored 90% marks, and its weightage is 20%. In the midterm you scored 85% and it has a weightage of 30% and in the final exam, you scored 92% marks, and the exams have a weughtage of 50%. 
2. Now you have to calculate the weighted scores in each exam:- This includes multiplying marks by their weights in decimal or decimal weight (for example, a weightage of 20% becomes 20/100 = 0.2). This gives us the following weighted marks:
   1. Class tests: 90 x 0.2 = 18 
   2. Midterm exams: 85 x 0.3 = 25.5
   3. Final exams: 92 x 0.5 = 46
3. Adding all the weighted scores: Add all the weighted scores from step 2. This gives us - 18 + 25.5 + 46 = 89.5
4. Add all the weights: 20% + 30% + 50% = 100%
5. Divide (If Needed): If your weights add up to 100% (or 1 as a decimal), your answer from Step 3 is your weighted average. If weights don't add to 100%, divide the sum from Step 3 by the sum from Step 4. 
   • Hence, in this case, the weighted percentage of marks is 89.5%. 

How to Calculate Marks from Percentage?

We have provided the formula to calculate marks from percentage below in case the students need to verify their marks based on the percentage that they received in the examination. For using this formula to calculate the marks from a percentage, the students must be aware of the total marks.  

Marks = (Percentage of Marks/100)xTotal Marks (image representation given below) 

For eg.- Rohan received 64% marks on his test - which was scored out of total of 25 marks. Thus, marks obtained by Rohan are- 

Marks = (64/100)x25 =16 

Hence Rohan obtained 16 marks on his test. 

So, this was all about how to find the percentage of marks and how to calculate marks from percentage. In this blog, we also presented the calculation of percentage increase and decrease. Candidates looking for assistance with the university application process can get in touch with our Shiksha Counselling Services on the same. Candidates can write to us with their queries in the comments section below.