No Final Exam or Summative Assessment

Another option is to have no final exam or summative assessment. In this scenario the assessments done during the term (tests, assignments, and other graded learning tasks) total 100% of students’ final grade.  

Recommended Practices

• Have a balance of formative assessments (no or low grades, meant to give feedback) and summative assessments (graded work like midterms or major assignments).
• Ensure that your assessments address all of your key learning outcomes.
• Schedule assessments after the Course Add period, but still early enough in the term that students can gauge how they are doing and improve through the rest of the term. Also, when students receive some grades and feedback before the final drop date, they can make informed decisions if they need to make any changes to their course load. 
• To help students stay on track throughout the term, incorporate frequent low-stakes assessments (such as a weekly quiz) but avoid assigning several different low-stakes learning activities each week. Aim for a balance in the number, frequency, and weight of assessments; avoid having very few high-stakes components (for example, don’t have two midterms, each worth 50%). Consider replacing high-stakes midterms with a series of quizzes that assess a smaller amount of course content.
• If you use quizzes or assignments every week or every two weeks, consider dropping the lowest mark(s).
• Design online tests and assessments according to recommended practices in the Assessments Section