Sure, even the basic math courses like calculus are cumulative... no wonder this course is cumulative. Although I don't like it going over what I even don't remember at the end of a semester, I think it helps in the long run because you may end up understanding the whole course thoroughly and feel like you really learnt something. Let's go for the cumulative final!
Most courses always tend to have the last part of the content on the final since they haven't given an offical exam for that content yet. I have had one class where the final exam was only on the material covered after the second exam in the class, and it helped to be able to concentrate on that area to study then many as opposed to cumulative exams. So in my opinion it helps when it comes to studying especally if you have alot of exams that week.
Having a non-cumulative final makes finals week a lot easier. There are things at the beginning of the semester that you never really use throughout the rest of it. By having a non-cumulative final, it allows you to study better. There is always too much information to all fit on the final, so not needing to study everything cuts down on time wasted during weeks when there is never enough time anyway.
I understand that the reason for a cumulative exam is to ensure that material sticks, that is that you actually learn and not just memorize for a day before forgetting. However, it doesn't actually prevent that because one can just re-memorize the older stuff. That doesn't stop me from not wanting to have to take another cumulative exam.
It seems reasonable for the final to be cumulative. There is nothing to memorize in this course. Just ways of thinking about things.
