I remember several classes where, since the material was cumulative, the grade you earned on the final was your final grade if it was your highest. I remember teachers saying that you would have had to go back and figure out what you hadn't known on the earlier tests and quizzes. If your score was lower, then you were given your average. Personally, that was my favorite way. Although I used it as a way to slack until the end, I did see it benefit peers who were truly working and improving as the courses went along.