<p>The incentive? I would hope that the feeling of actually finishing a project on time and actually having it meet the standards, or may be even surpassing it, should be enough incentive. Honestly, it might be just me, that is a bigger incentive than a number on a piece of paper. I know first hand. Why I think that system would work better is because the students choose what they would do as the year long project. As long as it is approved by the teacher and meets the minimum standards, I think the pupil will have a better motive to do great compared to a student given an arbitrary test that they had no choice in taking. I think the freedom gives people the incentive to do great. Trust me, I am a programmer, I have had lots of projects and even more unfinished ones. I do not succeed in environments where I am bound by constraints and restrictions.</p>