Question

The following are some of the views on giving open book questions for assessment:

a. It helps to gauge the conceptual understanding of the student.

b. Giving open book questions is unfair to bright students as it gives an opportunity for all students to be successful.

c. Open book questions reduce the fear of assessment.

d. Students find open book questions very useful as there is no burden of memorizing the answers.

Select the View/views that embrace the spirit of open-book questions. 

1. b, c, d
2. a, c, d
3. b
4. a, b, c, d

Answer 1

Correct Answer - Option 2 : a, c, d

An “open book examination” is one in which examinees are allowed to consult their class notes, textbooks, SLPMs, and other approved material while answering questions during the examination. In an open book examination, it is therefore meaningless to ask questions for which relevant information from the textbook or other relevant material can be directly copied into the answer book. Given the availability of textbooks or other material in the examination room, teachers will not ask questions that require the mere transfer of information from the textbook to the examination (answer) booklet. 

Following are the advantages and disadvantages of the Open Book Examination.

• Advantages-
  • It is less demanding on memory because it is no longer necessary for students to cram a lot of facts, figures, and numbers for open-book examination.
  • It provides a chance for students to acquire knowledge during the preparation process of gathering suitable learning materials rather than simply recalling or rewriting it.
  •  It helps to gauge the conceptual understanding of the student.
  • It promotes information retrieval skills of students through finding efficient ways to get the necessary information and data from books and various resources.
  • It enhances the comprehension and synthesizing skills of students because they need to reduce the content of books and other study materials into simple and handy notes for examination. 
  • Open book questions reduce the fear of assessment. 
• Disadvantages-
  • It is difficult to ensure that all students are equally equipped regarding the books they bring into the exam with them because the stocks of library books may be limited and also some books may be expensive to students.
  • It requires more desk space for students during the examination because students often need lots of desk space for their textbooks, notes, and other reference materials.
  • Sometimes students may spend too much time finding out which parts of the books to look for answers to instead of applying the knowledge, practical skills, and reasoning ability.
  • A lot of students are unfamiliar with open-book examinations. They must be provided with clear procedures and rules.  

Thus from the above-mentioned points, it is clear that option a, c, d have embraced the spirit of open-book questions.