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Open Book Exam

Written by Brown Shuga from the blog SHUGAS BLOGIWOOD on 19 May 2009
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DISCLAIMER: This topic has got nothing to do with Television

As some of y'all know, I'm studying through UNISA and I was writing an exam today. An open-book exam.

That alone made it very difficult for me (I dislike studying vele) to prepare for this exam because I just had this thing yokuthi, hayi with my Tutorial Letters and Text Book there, there's no way I can fail.
As you know with distance learning, you get to do your assignments, send them to the university, they mark them, send them back to you, and also send a Tutorial Letter with answers and suggested solutions to the assignments. Students/Learners (whichever is politically correct) are supposed to use this to prepare for the examination.

Now, lemme get to the point:

All my Tutorial Letters stated that this would be a 4 hour exam out of 100 Marks
The examination timetable said it would be a 2 hour exam (& it was and out 75 Marks)
Question 1 had two questions, 1.1. (10 Marks) and 1.2 (15 Marks) but the Examination Paper said Question 1 had a total of 30 points. (It should be 25)
There was a spelling error on one of the questions. Bringing was spelt as "brining".

WORST OF ALL:

THE CASE STUDY that all the examination questions were based on was the SAME case study we used in one of the assignments. The SAME case study whose ANSWERS and SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS I had brought into the exam room.

Now, in a close book exam, I have no problems with lecturers asking questions they asked during the year but OPEN BOOK?
Why the hell did I study if I could just come, copy and paste from my Assignment Feedback and get full marks?

I know as a lazy student, I should be happy but I'm really disappointed because as much as I would have loved to test my knowledge and answer the questions according to my understanding, there was no way I was going to take a chance of losing "free" marks so I ended up referring & later when I was pressed for time (2 hours is too short for open book), copying directly from my Feedback Tutorial.

My questions are:

Whatever the point of an Open Book Exam is, do you think it was achieved with this?
What IS the point of an open book exam?
Is it acceptable for a university examination paper to have spelling errors?
In the case where they miscalculated marks like in Question 1, do we get those 5 marks for free?
Why do they NOT check the papers before they are sent out?
Lastly, how do we know whether or not we are getting QUALITY education from these higher learning institutions?

Hope there is someone out there who can help me out...

36 Comments

Brown Shuga
19 May 2009 12:25

Maybe I should have called in on Redi's show to ask Blade Nzimande to advise on the above.......

HARAMBE24
19 May 2009 12:28

LOL

Beyonce
19 May 2009 12:28

My friend I doubt you will get this e University of Natal.. lol
Lesson learnt: Choose your University carefully.

Are the exams ova now, can we now go back to FB??

Brown Shuga
19 May 2009 12:33

But Bey it's University of South Africa..aren't they supposed to be "good"???

<<<<Are the exams ova now, can we now go back to FB??>>> LOL not yet...next one is on Monday and the last one on the 28th and then only will I be back on Facebook. hahah.

blakrose
19 May 2009 12:44

I think that demonstrates laziness on the part of the examiners.
they did not take time to actually set a paper. Considering you actually studied you have been disrespected as a student.

I think you need to lay a complaint, they are obviously slacking, esp cos they are supposed to set more than one exma in consultation with the external examiner etc etc.

I studied at Wits Uni and they did not credit a lot of Unisa courses, nor does UCT for people who wanted to switch, i guess we now know why. But it is unacceptable, they should be a premier tertiary institution, they carry the country's name for petes sake

blakrose
19 May 2009 12:46

and yes they should give you those 5 extra marks, their mistake not your problem

Toxic
19 May 2009 12:47

I seriously doubt this is the NORM with open book exams. Seems to me there's a big mistake that happened with the exam paper and someone should be fired for this. As for spelling mistakes, was this an English paper? LOL

Onkez
19 May 2009 12:57

I didnt even know that there was even something called an open exam!Why didnt I get any of these back in the day?!

Heartsbreaker
19 May 2009 12:57

Shoooo BS from what i hear it seems your exam was a walk on a park mos.i totally agree with you that Exams are about knowledge testing.....Now if it's an open book exam then Who's/which knowledge are you testing?, i used to see them people writting open book exams and from what i hear Bare di thata so i ask myself what's so difficult if everytime you answer the question you have to refer?

<<<What IS the point of an open book exam?>>> I totally don't see a point, they should have sent you the question paper to write at home instead of wasting your time and energy to go to the examination vanue

<<<<Are the exams ova now, can we now go back to FB??>>> LOL not yet...next one is on Monday and the last one on the 28th and then only will I be back on Facebook. hahah. You might as well not study and go back to FB,mos you already know the memo for your next test(Assignments,tutorials plus a bonus " open book ") hahahahahaha

Brown Shuga
19 May 2009 12:58

<<<I studied at Wits Uni and they did not credit a lot of Unisa courses, nor does UCT for people who wanted to switch>>> Wow, that's scary....

<<<I think you need to lay a complaint>> Hayi blakrose, what if they say we must re-write? LOL
They must just not do it again...

<<<As for spelling mistakes, was this an English paper? LOL>>> LOL hayisuka Tox, it was supposed to be in proper English!

Brown Shuga
19 May 2009 13:06

<<<<Bare di thata so i ask myself what's so difficult if everytime you answer the question you have to refer?>>>>
I think they mark them the same way they mark assignments. If you've only copied directly from the text book you get low marks but you will get MORE marks if you've explained/analysed the concepts using your own words and demonstrating their application.
It still doesn't make sense why I should use my own words when the book definition is staring me in the face. Sometimes I use the theasarus and use alternative meanings just so they can say I've used my own words. lol

<<<<<You might as well not study and go back to FB,mos you already know the memo for your next test(Assignments,tutorials plus a bonus " open book ") hahahahahaha>>>>
Hahahahahah today's paper was the only "openbook" UNFORTUNATELY.

blakrose
19 May 2009 13:07

hawu BS, lol. mos ufundile, pho iphi inkinga, :)

Cande
19 May 2009 13:10

I have heard a lot of open book exams in my days. But to me it was like MAths it only gave you the formula to the problem but not the actual solution. so we needed to code programs and the test book you would only use for reference. An open book test also delays. So in your case BS i think they should have made it close book coz then there was no point of the exam

Brown Shuga
19 May 2009 13:26

<<<<hawu BS, lol. mos ufundile, pho iphi inkinga, :)>>>> Yho, do you know what a mission it is for me to "write with a pen"? Exams should be computerized so we can type, it would be faster too.... I hate writing out long stories ngesandla....

Renegade
19 May 2009 13:33

I've written a couple of open books, and i've always found them to be more challenging. It's like Cande said, the open book might lead you to a formulae, but if you don't know the concept of what you are writing, you are screwed.

I do think that yours really is an isolated case. As for the spelling mistake, blame it on the recession, they probably noticed it after having printed all those papers, and to reprint would have been considered financial mismanagement, and with the stories of your vice chancelor, we don't want that now do we?

nice
19 May 2009 13:37

Your lecturer is lazy BS because there is a lot that goes in to setting an open book exam. Firstly the paper is supposed to checked by an external examiner to make sure that it is according to the University standard and if it makes sense.

Spelling and arithmetical errors are unacceptable, very disappointed with them. How can they let that slip, and no they cant say it is presentation because if it was it should have been clearly stated in the paper. Where is SAQA, they will not be impresses with this nonsense.

I have written open book exams, and I must add that they are difficult as they will never test you on what you have or ask for the regurgitation of facts. It is usually when there is a tax legislation or an accounting standard. They cant expect people to rememeber all sections of the legislation and to make it reasonable they allow open book exams, provided you do not make notes on your Act.

Molilo
19 May 2009 13:42

BS both the exam and test papers should go through quality assuarance, UNISA failed you, no wonder Buti et al want Prof Pityana to be dismissed. He is really not doing his job if question papers do not go thru QA. The subject head is lazy including the moderators.

Molilo
19 May 2009 13:45

Yes true nice, for open book there must be specifications of what to bring you just cannot bring everything to the exam room.

Cande
19 May 2009 13:49

hehehe I have written open book exams and even when we brought everything we still failed the exams. The book is to help you by leading you on the right direction but if you were not going to go prepared for the exam then it was going to be terrible.. Nice i agree totally with you

Brown Shuga
19 May 2009 13:55

Sounds like I must sue ke!

Molilo
19 May 2009 13:59

Please BS for the sake of SA education

Vesa
19 May 2009 14:05

I studied at Wits Uni and they did not credit a lot of Unisa courses, nor does UCT for people who wanted to switch, i guess we now know why. But it is unacceptable, they should be a premier tertiary institution, they carry the country's name for petes sake

Every university decides on it's policy......just like Unisa would not allow anyone with a university of KZN BAcc degree to do honours, but would let them do certain level 3 courses first.

I for one have written open book examinations and they are not as easy as they seem. I've written 5 hour exams open book and truth be told it flies past quickly. If you didn't study, you gonna flip pages till that woman tell you " You have 15 minutes left". CA exams are also open book and a large no of students still fail

Vesa
19 May 2009 14:08

I have written open book exams, and I must add that they are difficult as they will never test you on what you have or ask for the regurgitation of facts. It is usually when there is a tax legislation or an accounting standard. They cant expect people to rememeber all sections of the legislation and to make it reasonable they allow open book exams, provided you do not make notes on your Act.

It looks like you and I have written the same exams?

Best-Achiever
19 May 2009 14:26

i have written open book exams before but there was nothing open about them, it is better closed than open becase the open one consume loads and loads of time instead of providing you with quick answers. I actual prefer an off-guard test that those exams.

Yours BS look like it was notes... lol, considering money that you pay at the university if you fail exams, as insulting as this exam looks i'd actual be happy ...lol

NNa i had a very very lazy-explorer supervisor for my studies that im about tofinish with UNISA and i regret the day wits told me they aint offering my studies at the level i needed that... i tried changing the institution but it was like i'll startfrom the very begining, with no sponsor whatsoever, and at this day and age im not prepared to pay for a single subject... Education is supposed to be free, then i had to settle for UNISA but im not happy and wont be as proud as i would be if i were to get my studies from any other university ... My supervisor was more of spoonfeeder than supervisor ... mnxm lazy man, who only think of the next holday everytime i had to consult.

myname
19 May 2009 14:32

I also did a lot of open book exams but they never eazy. I even failed the 1st time but after doing some research i found out that its not really that open but bayakubayzisa. So dont fall 4 that crap thinking everything u gonna find it inside written black & white. To me they r harder than closed onces.

You were lucky.

nice
19 May 2009 14:40

It looks like you and I have written the same exams?

Vesa, possibly! Are you registered with SAICA?

Ms. Jay
19 May 2009 14:44

I for one have written open book examinations and they are not as easy as they seem. I've written 5 hour exams open book and truth be told it flies past quickly. If you didn't study, you gonna flip pages till that woman tell you " You have 15 minutes left". CA exams are also open book and a large no of students still fail

very true - you need to have studied first, in your case it may have been a mistake or test to see if you really did take time out to study/use your own terminology + etc....instead of just copying from the suggested solutions etc......whatever the case you should wait to see what you get and take it further.....

I for one had no option really but go for UNISA.....it was very convini @ the time work / school etc......what r u studying btw BS?

GML
19 May 2009 15:54

Talking from Experience: Open books are more difficult because they dont want you to copy and paste like you did BS. They want to see if you will recognise what they have asked you and whether or not you can apply your own knowledge and understanding to it. This requires knowing your text book so that you can easily refer to it.

They normally dont ask you a straight answer they ask it in such a way that you should combine certain chapters f the text book into 1 answer. The questions are sometimes very long quesions.

I dont know why they would ask you what they asked in the assignment. It sounds like some1 forgot to set the paper and just did a last minute thing. It should have been a difficult exam considering that they are not very common

pitch
20 May 2009 13:36

As much as i dont know the purpose of the open book i would comment on this. Its a bit strange that you where actually doing copy and paste with your open book exam. During my days of studying, the other students whom their courses has open book exam used to tell me that its not as easy as it seems...you need to study just like any exam but yours its a different story.

The examiner and the moderator are very lazy and i dont see the point to actually ask the very same thing and have spelling errors and miscalculated the mask. I think complain has to be lodged regarding this matter. They should at least on the case studies go for something totally different as case study its where you have to really apply your knowledge and understanding and not copy and paste.

Quality Education is needed.

Sobza
20 May 2009 17:28

Wethu.....I am studying with Unisa (BA Communication Science), I must say I've never written any open book exams. So far so good....I am writing on Monday and Thursday. I am going to pass those two modules.

makgotso
21 May 2009 07:34

@ Vesa and Nice : I feel you on that 5 -hour open book exams, are you now qualified mina I just wrote my QE1.

@BS: I wrote open book exams @ UNISA, we were told which textbooks are allowed and no lose papers, I hate open book its just a waste of time. Too bad you had a bad experience after you studied so much ignoring the like of us on FB.
All the best with the rest of your exams, miss you on FB.

thepersonza
21 May 2009 13:29

1. Whatever the point of an Open Book Exam is, do you think it was achieved with this?

In this case NO...

2. What IS the point of an open book exam?

To apply what you have learnt mainly. So the theory (and maybe the rules to follow) are available to you, but you are not aware of the problem/case study. You need to apply the theory/rules to the given problem.

3. Is it acceptable for a university examination paper to have spelling errors?

Though we try to avoid it, It does happen. Small typos can go through the system. As long as it does not alter the meaning of the question

4. In the case where they miscalculated marks like in Question 1, do we get those 5 marks for free?

Could be a typo. They would just remove the 5 marks and mark out of 25.

5. Why do they NOT check the papers before they are sent out?

They should check them. Usually there are processes where lecturers check them, followed by external examiners.

6. Lastly, how do we know whether or not we are getting QUALITY education from these higher learning institutions?

I think thats for you to judge based on Reputation, experience from other people that attended said institution. Course evaluations are also there for students to tell lecturers problems and suggestions regarding the course

Hope that helps...

Zazacious
22 May 2009 10:33

lol at asking the same quetions as those in the tutorial and giving you the right answers and then practically asking to just copy the answers. Yo yo yo i wish wits was like that for some of their exams. so BS my darling I sense a100 % in the pipeline.
Seriously though i dont understand an open book exam,a test yes maybe but not an exam

pkpage
23 May 2009 12:40

that is OBE style for you and it sucks because you don't know even what you know.

Brown Shuga
23 May 2009 13:57

Thanx 4 the feedback y'all, i dnt know abt geting 100% coz I didnt finish writing, 2hrs was to short. Wil post my result here though hehehe. Yeah thepersonza it helped, much thanx :-)

Heartsbreaker
23 May 2009 18:19

LMAO@ posting the results!! WE'll be waiting BS.Hahaha

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