Create a Pass/Fail Status Column

Excel & Google Sheets

How it works

IF checks one condition and returns one of two results. Here it asks whether the score in B2 is at least 70: if yes, the cell shows Pass; otherwise it shows Fail. The >= means the cutoff itself passes — a score of exactly 70 is a Pass. Swap the 70 for any threshold, or point it at a cell like $E$1 that holds the cutoff so you can change it in one place. It works identically in Excel and Google Sheets, and it's the foundation nearly every status column is built on.

B2>=70

The test: is the score 70 or higher? >= means "greater than or equal to".

"Pass"

What to show when the test is true.

"Fail"

What to show when the test is false.

When to use it

Use this for quality checks, sales quotas, exam results, credit thresholds — any place a number needs to become a plain yes/no verdict people can scan, filter, and count.

Common mistakes

• ✕Scores exactly at the cutoff fail.

  ✓Using > instead of >= makes 70 a Fail. Write B2>=70 if the threshold itself should pass.

• ✕Blank cells show Fail.

  ✓An empty B2 isn't >= 70, so it fails. Guard it: =IF(B2="","",IF(B2>=70,"Pass","Fail")) leaves blanks blank.

• ✕The threshold is buried in dozens of copies of the formula.

  ✓Hard-coding 70 means editing every cell when the cutoff changes. Put it in one cell and reference it: =IF(B2>=$E$1,"Pass","Fail").