Themes > Assessment

Open Book Examinations

Contributor(s): Dr. Chan Ming Yin

What are Open-book exams?

Open-book exams allow you to take notes, texts, or resource materials into an exam situation. Open book exams can be used to assess students' skills, which depend on the design of the questions. It can also be used to test students' ability to find and apply information and knowledge. ("Open Book & Take Home Exams," 2004)

Two different types of Open-book exams:

• Students write a test in the exam room with a specified time period, and "varying degrees of access to resource materials and references"
• Take home exam-students receive examination questions, to complete and return them with a specified period of time, without getting help from other people.

Background of the Study

• This study is to understand student learning approach towards Open-book exams, their time management during Open-book exams, and teachers' perspectives on Open-book exams.

Steps to do it

The study procedures are as follows:

1. A group of students from BSE complete the questionnaire survey in relation to what ways they prepare for their Open-book exams. The questionnaire comprises of demographic data, students' learning approach, number of text-books students borrow from library, time to prepare Open-book exams, time spent on selecting materials before Open-book exams, number of books bring into venue, and number of books or materials referred.

2. To further understand teachers' perspectives on Open-book exams, a group of teaching staff from the department are invited for face-to-face interviews in terms of their views on the assessment criteria, questions or tutorials or handouts to be used either in open or closed-book exams.

Feedback from students

• Most of students understand the questions and are able to allocate relevant information from the materials that they bring into the exam
• Most of students prefer teachers' handouts rather than books borrow from library.

Feedback from teachers

• Majority of teachers have positive views on Open-book exams.
• Teachers agree to implement the Open-book exams in the final stage of Engineering based subjects because most of the questions for Engineering are application types. Open-book exams can be used to assess students' analytical ability. Also, all are open-ended questions providing alternative solutions to students so that they will not be bounded by the model answers.
• Teachers inform students in advance the assessment criteria. For example, marks will not be given to students if they copy materials directly from textbooks or handouts that they bring into the exam

References

Open Book & Take Home Exams. (n.d.). Retrieved March 20, 2004, from The University of New South Wales, The Learning Centre Website.
http://www.lc.unsw.edu.au/onlib/obe.html

Rae, Phil. (2002). Designing Assessment to Improve Physical Sciences Learning. Retrieved March 20, 2004, from Liverpool University, LTSN Physical Sciences Centre Website:
http://dbweb.liv.ac.uk/ltsnpsc/guides/designing_assessment/openbook.htm