Open Book Assessment in Computing Degree Programmes 1

The use of \Open Book" assessment is widely seen as an approach that more effectively tests a student's understanding and knowledge of a subject area. There have been a number of attempts to introduce such assessment in the School of Computer Studies at the University of Leeds, and open book examinations are now used in several modules. This paper describes the experience of introducing open book assessment into a level 2 computing module. We consider the process of setting and marking the examination, and the problems and issues raised by the students. We also compare the results from the examination with the results of the same students on other modules examined \traditionally". We demonstrate that open book assessment produces results that are at odds with the results produced from conventional assessment, and consider some of the reasons for this. It is also shown that students' results across open book examinations show a much weaker correlation than might be expected. On the whole, open book assessment is shown to be a valid and useful way of assessing student learning. We conclude by considering whether it should be used to replace or complement conventional examinations, and what other assessment techniques may be used.