What is the purpose of education? According to Martin Luther King Jr., “The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character — that is the goal of true education.” Note one important omission — there is no mention of memorization. This is because testing a person’s ability to memorize information is far different from testing their understanding of the material.
However, in many instances it seems that our education system uses these two distinct methods of testing — closed-note and open-note — interchangeably. Many professors operate under the misconception that open-note tests are too easy and prevent students from bringing in any reference materials for their exams. Though, in certain instances, this format of testing is more useful, open-note tests are ultimately more beneficial to both students and professors, and should be the standard at the university level.
When you’re shopping at the grocery store, do you stop to add up the prices of all of your items in your head? If you’re tipping a waiter at a restaurant, are you doing mental math to calculate the tip? More likely, you pull out your phone to use a calculator instead. This illustrates one of the most fundamental problems with closed-note testing: it’s completely unrealistic. In a typical work environment, it would be counterproductive for an employer to prevent employees from accessing resources that would aid their job performance. Thus, if university courses are meant to prepare students for their future careers, students should be tested in a manner similar to how knowledge is applied in the real world.
Test anxiety is another drawback of exams that can be reduced through open-note testing. When faced with the pressure of memorization, students can often experience heightened anxiety, which can lead to memory lapses during the exam. Open-note tests remove the element of memorization, allowing students to focus on grasping the material and generally promoting a more relaxed testing environment. This, in turn, can lead to reduced anxiety among students prior to and during exams.
An additional benefit of emphasizing understanding over memorization of course material is that online exams disincentivize students from cheating, particularly in online exams. Cheating on take-home tests is rampant and can be extremely difficult to combat, due to the numerous workarounds to current supervision technology. By making exams open-note and crafting meaningful questions, academic integrity can be preserved while still comprehensively assessing a student’s learning.
However, arguably the most compelling case to be made for open-note tests is the ability for professors to ask more complex questions in their assessments. A well-crafted open-note test assesses more than a student’s ability to recall information. Instead, these types of exams test a student’s ability to analyze, synthesize and apply information. Though this is a broad generalization, it can be applied in a variety of ways depending on the type of test and subject matter.
An open-note multiple choice test should be designed so that questions cannot be easily searched online. This means that students will most likely not be able to pull directly from their notes and would thus be forced to apply their knowledge. This can be done in a variety of different ways. Some of the most effective include designing questions which incorporate an understanding of multiple course concepts or providing answer choices that require a high level of understanding to differentiate between. Short answer questions on an open-note test should also tap into a student’s higher level of thinking. Rather than asking students to regurgitate a definition or synopsis of a concept, short response questions should require a student to take their understanding of the concept and apply it to a novel scenario.
These two types of questions can materialize differently depending on their subject material. Concepts in liberal arts, for example, would benefit from more short response test questions that emphasize critical thinking, interpretation and synthesis of ideas. One way this can be done is through providing a text or alternative form of media and requiring students to perform an analysis.
STEM fields, on the other hand, can benefit from both short response and multiple choice questions, so long as they emphasize problem solving and incorporate multiple concepts when possible. One of the best ways to achieve this is through the use of word problems with multiple parts. The use of red herring fallacies can also test a student’s understanding of material by forcing them to differentiate between necessary and unnecessary information.
Many detractors of the open-note testing format argue that open-note tests can disincentivize studying by causing students to rely too heavily on outside resources. Another common argument in favor of closed-note tests is that they emphasize retention and aid in the retrieval of information. However, if students know that they will be allowed notes on a test, they are automatically clued into the fact that the exam questions will require a far more comprehensive understanding of the material than if the test were closed-note. As a result, students will study for open-note exams with the intent to learn and understand course content, rather than studying with the intent to memorize it.
Additionally, restrictions can be made on the amount of reference materials that can be brought into a given exam. Many STEM classes at the University, for instance, allow students to bring in one double-sided sheet of notes. This provides students with the ability to write basic information, but does not afford them the space to keep comprehensive notes on the entire class. Thus, students are forced to decide which information is the most crucial to know for an exam, which, in turn, requires extensive knowledge of the course material. Limiting the amount of reference materials can also continue to emphasize retention of information. With only limited notes, students must find ways to use the notes as a tool to aid in retrieving information rather than simply writing the information down directly.
Open-note tests are thus far more than just a student’s best friend. Professors can acquire a more complete picture of their student’s understanding of course material. The University can more effectively prepare students for their careers through more realistic assessments. Students can be incentivized to study more thoroughly and are less prone to test anxiety. A true win-win for all.
Sam Wit is an Opinion Columnist and can be reached at samwit@umich.edu.