How to use the points lost to test mistakes calculator
Walking out of an exam, the sting is usually about questions you knew and still got wrong. How many points that actually cost is another matter, and guessing at it is easy to get wrong. Three arithmetic slips at two points each is six points, and a single bubbling error on a four-point question can move a grade on its own. Enter each mistake type with its question count and points per question, and this page adds up what each type cost and shows which one was the most expensive.
Each type is scored as questions × points per question and the results are added up. The table is sorted from the largest loss down and shows each type as a share of the total, so a mistake that hit only one question but a high-value one stands out right away. The score without those mistakes adds the total loss back to the score you received, and points lost for other reasons is what remains of the gap between your score and the exam total. When the two match, that line reads zero.
A few cautions. How you split mistakes into types, and whether a given question was a slip or a gap in knowledge, are your own calls. If the losses you list exceed the points you actually lost, the entry contradicts itself, so the page stops and shows both figures. This page deals in points only and does not convert anything into a grade or a percentile. Questions carrying partial credit are hard to represent here, since a slip on one may cost only part of its value.
Frequently Asked Questions
The points you actually lost are the exam total minus your score. If the mistakes you list add up to more than that, a question count or a point value is wrong. The message shows both figures so you can compare them and fix the entry.
It is whatever is left after the mistake losses are taken out of the points you lost, which is usually material you did not know. When the two match, this line reads zero, meaning every point you lost came from a mistake.
No. It reports points lost by mistake type and each type’s share of the loss, and nothing is turned into a letter grade or a percentile rank. Use a grade calculator separately for that.