I have considered building the non load bearing walls up to the floor decking, but (a) the framers don't like it because the precut studs on the job would then be two different lengths (b) the top plates would not be continuous at the intersection of the load bearing and non load bearing studs.
I have designed several multi-story wood buildings using a typical detail for bracing the top of the exterior non load bearing walls (parallel to the floor trusses). The non load bearing walls are always built to the same elevation as the load bearing walls, then two rim joist are placed on top...
