Notes for Tests: Yes or no?

[charlotteb]

In all my years of homeschooling, I have not allowed my children to use notes for tests.  They can use the notes to study, but need to memorize the material for a test.  Two years ago, my son started community college for dual credit and now my oldest daughter is doing it as well.  DS (hs graduate) is now a full time student at the same community college, finishing his associates before he transfers next year to the big university. To our surprise, the local community college, has allowed them to use their notes or even books for all their tests. They are finding it super easy because they were previously taught memorization.  Is this normal for all colleges and universities now?  Or maybe just for our local community college?

[Gil]

Nothing is normal for all colleges/universities.

While in college, I had some classes where we were allowed to make note cards/cheat sheets that we could use during an exam. Most of my classes were not like that.

 

 

[Arcadia]

I had open books exams at the university back in the early 90s. They are a lot harder than closed books ones. That was for engineering. My friends in Law School and School of Medicine also had open book exams.

 

There isn't much time to flip the books and notes if you don't already know the material being tested.

[marbel]

I had open books exams at the university back in the early 90s. They are a lot harder than closed books ones. That was for engineering. My friends in Law School and School of Medicine also had open book exams.

 

There isn't much time to flip the books and notes if you don't already know the material being tested.

 

Same for me, though I was not an engineering, law, or medical student.  :-)

 

Some tests were open books/notes, some were not.   As Arcadia said, still have to know the material pretty well in order to find it in books/notes.

 

[Mom22ns]

Nothing is normal for all colleges/universities.

While in college, I had some classes where we were allowed to make note cards/cheat sheets that we could use during an exam. Most of my classes were not like that.

 

:iagree:

 

 

Neither one of my kids has had any classes that allowed notes on tests, not the CC, not the local State U, and not ds's private college. That isn't to say it doesn't happen at any of those institutions, but it isn't the norm. 

[regentrude]

I am not aware of any college classes at our university that would allow notes other than a formula sheet.

This said: if a test is open notes, the test can be designed in such a way that it will be extremely difficult without a thorough conceptual understanding. I can write you an open notes+open book physics test where the notes would be completely worthless.

 

An instructor would not use the same test that would be used without notes... unless the exam is seriously dumbed down, which may well be the case.

[Matryoshka]

Our CC seems to have open book or open notes for at least the science classes my kids have taken so far.  Physics was open-book (and take-home, I think), and younger dd is taking Zoology this spring, and it's open note.  I was rather surprised.

 

I'm hoping the note-taking for Zoology will encourage dd to take really good notes.  She has had a hard time learning how to really study for a test, and she says she wants to re-write her notes for the test, which is probably more studying/looking at them than she would have done without having to bring them in, ironically...

[SparklyUnicorn]

I agree that nothing is normal.  I've had some teachers allow it and some not allow it.

 

Some teachers will even give take home tests.  And some open book. 

I've been to both a CC and a University.

 

[Gwen in VA]

I was an engineering major, and many of my tests were open-book or at least allowed a cheat sheet.

 

The tests that were open-book were SIGNIFICANTLY harder than the exams that were not open-book -- we dreaded them.

 

The worst exams of all were the take-home exams that were open-everything. Those were sheer torture!

[Miss Mousie]

 

I'm hoping the note-taking for Zoology will encourage dd to take really good notes.  She has had a hard time learning how to really study for a test, and she says she wants to re-write her notes for the test, which is probably more studying/looking at them than she would have done without having to bring them in, ironically...

 

This is exactly why I decided to make DS's 9th grade biology tests open-note.  He is definitely a minimalist when it comes to notes, and he still has some difficulty picking out the important information, so I am trying to set him up for the "lightbulb moment" by explicitly discussing the notes-test connections both before and after he takes the test.

 

You've given me a good idea, Matroyshka.  I'm now thinking that for next year's science tests I might limit him to a single page of notes.  Then he will have to consolidate the information and will likely learn how to study more efficiently.  Thanks!

[GoodGrief]

College was so long ago for me that I don't really recall anymore ;-) I do know my current college junior will have some open book type tests. I think it just depends on the goals of the class and the instructor.

[Lolly]

Lots of kinds of colleges here. All of them have some classes/tests open book. Just depends on the teacher. The open book tests are usually harder and usually timed. If you don't know the material fairly well, you won't do well.

[JumpedIntoTheDeepEndFirst]

I would never confuse having an open note/book test with not studying ahead for the test.  Typically those tests are written knowing that the students will be using their materials when answering.  I would also advise a student to understand how to use their materials to support them during the exam because relying on memory and preparation alone and not taking advantage of the book/notes can also lead to a bad grade.  I can remember putting tabs in text books to more easily locate material for an open book test once.  I can also remember one of the hardest final exams I had in college was an open book, open note, take home exam in a history class.  

[MerryAtHope]

In all my years of homeschooling, I have not allowed my children to use notes for tests.  They can use the notes to study, but need to memorize the material for a test.  Two years ago, my son started community college for dual credit and now my oldest daughter is doing it as well.  DS (hs graduate) is now a full time student at the same community college, finishing his associates before he transfers next year to the big university. To our surprise, the local community college, has allowed them to use their notes or even books for all their tests. They are finding it super easy because they were previously taught memorization.  Is this normal for all colleges and universities now?  Or maybe just for our local community college?

Not the norm so far for my son's classes, but I think he was allowed either the book or a page of notes for one test last semester (not all the tests in that class).

 

I did do some tests open book in high school for my kids, depending on the subject.

[Reefgazer]

I teach at a community college and don't allow notes in my exams (an open note exam is much more difficypult to write that a conventional exam), but I do know several teachers do allow notes (or one small index card as a "help card", which I think is like phone a friend of the college world). I think this is the result of declining standards across the board in higher ed, rather than an increase in the difficulty of the exam, as far as I can tell.

Edited January 30, 2016 by reefgazer

[daijobu]

Many of my engineering classes (if not all, my memory is hazy) were open book or open note, but let me tell you.  Those exams were still hard, and frankly, I didn't have much time to consult my notes or textbooks anyway.  

[Nan in Mass]

Many of mine were open notes and or open book. There was no way you could do them if you didn,t know the material well, in other words, if you hadn,t done all the assignments and practised enough with the concepts to be able to apply the material fast. They were open book and notes because neither the book nor your notes were going to be any use - what was being tested was problemsolving ability and creativity. The takehome ones were the worst because that eliminated the time constraint. If the exam was takehome, you pretty much knew it was going to take hours and hours and all your inginuity. Every once in awhile we,d be given a takehome quiz that we were told would be fast and easy. I think those were class average corrections for the times when a professor had misjudged the difficulty of an exam or assignment. The profs didn,t want to waste class time on them. There was the occasional easy, en everything pop quiz during the last 5 minutes of class, too, on lovely spring days when the seats were unusually empty... But generally, open everything just meant that you were being tested on your ability to think, not your ability to memorize. My children have all had them at their colleges, too.

 

Nan

[hillfarm]

Dd's cc has some classes that allow it and others that don't. I definitely recommend those little, colored Post It flags to mark pages containing important information. The open book, open note tests may be harder but DD approaches them with more confidence because she has the security blanket of her notes or text.