Is a D a passing grade?

For course credit in most US high schools and many colleges, yes. For prerequisites, majors and transfer, usually no; those often require a C.

It is above a 60% D threshold and below a 70% C threshold. Whether it passes depends on which one your course uses.

It is a C on the standard scale: solid for credit, and the minimum many programs accept toward a major.

MYGRADEPLAN GUIDE

What is a passing grade?

A passing grade is usually 60% (D) in US high schools and 70% (C) for many college majors, but the real answer is in your syllabus and program handbook. How to check, and how to plan for it.

Usually60% (a D) in high school and 70% (a C) for college courses that count toward a major,but your syllabus and program rules decide.

“Passing” means two different things: passing the course, and the course counting toward something. Both have their own threshold.

Passing the course

In most US high schools, a D (60% and up) is a passing grade for credit. Many colleges also award credit at a D, but a 60% is rarely enough to satisfy a prerequisite or a major requirement.

Counting toward a program

Degree programs, nursing and engineering sequences, and transfer agreements commonly require a C (70% or sometimes 73%) in required courses. Graduate programs often require a B. The threshold lives in the program handbook, not the course syllabus.

Minimum requirements that override the percentage

Some courses require you to pass the final exam on its own, attend a set number of labs, or submit every major assignment. A 72% average with a failed final can still fail the course. Read the policy section before relying on an average.

Planning for a pass

You need 70% in a 1,000-point course. That is 700 points. You have 410 from 650 so far, so you need 290 of the remaining 350 points: an 82.9% average on what is left. If the final alone is worth 300 of those points, the final exam calculator gives you the exact score required.

Pass/fail and credit/no-credit

Where a course is graded pass/fail, the threshold is usually set at the C or D boundary by school policy. The percentage never appears on the transcript, but it still has to clear the line.