Does a sudden shift of testing format from closed-book to open-book change the characteristics of test scores on summative final exams?
Curr Pharm Teach Learn
; 13(9): 1174-1179, 2021 09.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1275244
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION:
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, most universities in North America transitioned to online instruction and assessment in March 2020. Undergraduate pharmacy students in years one to three of two four-year entry-to-practice programs at a university in Canada were administered open-book examinations to complete their didactic winter-term courses in pharmaceutical sciences; behavioural, social, and administrative sciences; and pharmacotherapeutics. The impacts of the switch to open-book examinations on final exam characteristics are examined.METHODS:
The ratios and correlations of final exam and midterm grades in 2020, where final exams were open-book, and in 2019, where finals were closed-book, were calculated and compared.RESULTS:
In 2020, the ratio of final exam to midterm exam scores for five out of seven courses were significantly larger than they were in 2019. Alternatively, for all but one course, the correlations between midterm and final examination grades showed no significant difference from 2019 to 2020.CONCLUSIONS:
Compared to 2019 when finals were administered in a closed-book format, a sudden shift to an open-book format for final exams in 2020 appears to be associated with the final exams becoming easier relative to midterms. However, when considering how final and midterm exam grades correlate year over year, in all but one class, there was no significant difference. These findings suggest that changing exams to be open-book may change how they can be used to inform criterion-referenced or absolute grading decisions but not norm-referenced or rank-based decisions.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Students, Pharmacy
/
Education, Distance
/
Educational Measurement
/
Educational Status
Type of study:
Prognostic study
Limits:
Humans
Country/Region as subject:
North America
Language:
English
Journal:
Curr Pharm Teach Learn
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
J.cptl.2021.06.039
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