How to use the score-needed reverse calculator
Once some components of a civil service examination are already scored, the average you still need on what is left can be worked backwards. Enter the total number of rated components, the target average you are aiming at and the scores already confirmed, and this calculator returns the average you need across the remaining components. Bonus points are added to the total already secured, and if you enter a per-component minimum, a needed score that falls below it is raised to that minimum.
The work is done on totals. The target average multiplied by the number of components gives the target total; the confirmed scores and any bonus are subtracted, and the remainder is divided by the components left. The needed score is rounded up to two decimals, because only rounding up makes "score this and the target is met" actually true. Rounding down could leave you a fraction of a point short.
If the needed score comes out at 0 or below, even a zero on the rest keeps the target, so it is reported as already reached. If it comes out above the maximum, the calculator says the target is out of reach even with a perfect score. When the confirmed components equal the total there is nothing left, so it simply judges whether the current average is at or above the target, and an average exactly equal to the target counts as reached.
The target average is entered by you, since cutoffs move with the job series, the location and the examination year. This calculator returns needed scores only; it does not judge per-component pass rules or rank standing.
Frequently asked questions
Rounding down can leave a score that misses the target. Earn the rounded-up score and the target average is definitely covered.
Cutoffs differ by job series, location and year, so no built-in value would be right. Enter one based on the figures published for your exam.
When the score needed for the target average is lower than that minimum, the figure is raised to the minimum and a note explains why.