Conduct AssessmentDesign AssessmentsPlan open-book take-home exams

This post contains a short video that discusses some strategies for planning and designing of open-book take-home examinations. In designing such an assessment, it is important to plan ahead to ensure that the assessment items or questions are appropriate for the level of your students, are aligned to the learning outcomes of the module, cover a balance of content and thinking questions, and that they are fit-for-purpose. In addition, the use of digital assessment tools implies that more thought needs to be put into ensuring students are prepared to access and use the tools fairly and appropriately.

Open Book Assessments

A significant concern is assessment integrity. In the absence of extensive online proctoring, all assignments, tests and examinations should be written in a manner that recognises that students will have access to their notes, textbooks and indeed the internet. These assessments are necessarily open-book assessments. An open-book examination can also mean that students are provided with the examination questions as a take-home examination.

Properly devised open-book examinations require students to answer in more critical and analytical ways. Questions in such examinations should encourage higher-order skills in students. It is important to avoid questions that require rote learning and superficial application of knowledge. So, how should we go about designing questions for open-book examinations?

  • Questions in open book examinations need to be devised to assess the interpretation and application of knowledge, comprehension skills, and critical thinking skills rather than only knowledge recall
  • Make use of case-based examination questions that require students to apply critical reasoning skills in response to a trigger scenario
  • Devise clear and unambiguous questions to limit student confusion and time spent interpreting the question so students can spend their time making use of their notes or textbook to effectively answer the questions
  • Devise questions that require students to apply and make use of the information from their textbook or notes rather than simply requiring them to locate and re-write this information
  • Design your questions and overall examination paper with the learning outcomes in mind, i.e. what skills and knowledge are you assessing?

Caveat: It is important that students know what is expected of them in answering questions from open-book examinations. Students can falsely assume that because they have access to their notes and textbooks that such examinations will be easy.

Technology How-to Guides

A guide to take-home examinations

NUS Resources

NUS Quick Guide to Online Teaching: Open-book assessment

Other Resources

A Guide for Academics—Open Book Exams (University of Newcastle)

Tags: assessment, open-book exams, take-home exams

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