Grading systems

[Mark Stellmack]

I am trying to gather information about how instructors assign final grades in their classes.  My usual system is such that students accumulate points based on their performance in different activities (e.g., exams, quizzes, homework, writing assignments...) and then letter grades are assigned based on the total number of points that are accumulated.

For example, I might give three exams worth 100 points each, five 20-point quizzes, and a 50-point paper.  In this case, there would be 450 points available.  On my syllabus, I might say that a student accumulating 400 points or above will receive an A, 385-399 points is worth an A-, 370-385 points earns a B+, etc.

Does anyone use (or is anyone aware of) a different type of grading system that is not essentially based on the number of points accumulated by the student during the semester?