- What some faculty may think: Students may cheat.
- What some students may think: I will be less anxious.
What Evidence Suggests
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Research shows untimed/open book tests are more valid and reliable measures of learning and are more inclusive and equitable. | Students taking closed-book tests perform better in some studies. |
| Instructors can focus on asking better questions (that cannot be “looked up”) fostering better learning. | Students do not study as much or in the same way for open book tests as they do for closed book tests. |
| Open book tests reduce anxiety. | The potential for academic integrity issues increases. |
Bottom Line
The test format produces little differences in learning outcomes (Durning, et al., 2016) and properly constructed untimed/open book tests provide many advantages from higher order learning, equity, cost savings (e.g., scantrons, proctoring), and reductions in anxiety. Honor codes and instructions can reduce academic integrity issues.
In General: The effectiveness of your pedagogical choices on learning depend on a number of factors (e.g., the educator and student characteristics, discipline, course level, lecture, & slide quality). Be intentional, transparent, and compassionate in pedagogical decision making. It always pays to be CCOMFE (Compassionate, Clear, Organized, Multi-faceted, Flexible, and Engaging).
References
- Agarwal, P. K., & Roediger, H. L. (2011). Expectancy of an open-book test decreases performance on a delayed closed-book test. Memory, 19(8), 836–852.
- Durning, S. J., Dong, T., Ratcliffe, T., Schuwirth, L., Artino, A. R., Jr., Boulet, J. R., & Eva, K. (2016). Comparing open-book and closed-book examinations: A systematic review. Academic Medicine, 91(4), 583–599
- Gernsbacher, M. A., Soicher, R. N., & Becker-Blease, K. A. (2020). Four empirically based reasons not to administer time-limited tests. Translational Issues in Psychological Science, 6(2), 175–190.
- Rummer, R., Schweppe, J., & Schwede, A. (2019). Open-book versus closed-book tests in university classes: A field experiment. Frontiers in Psychology, 10.
- Stowell, J. R., & Bennett, D. (2010). Effects of online testing on student exam performance and test anxiety. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 42(2), 161–171.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License