Bring Back the Blue-Book Exam
Purpose of Exams vs Real‑World Work
- Debate over whether blue-book style, tool-free exams reflect any real-world scenario where professionals have internet, AI, and reference tools.
- Defenders say exams must isolate foundational skills and internalized concepts (like basic math or reasoning) before tools can be used effectively.
- Critics argue many “subskills” (e.g., long-hand arithmetic) are low-value in modern life and over-taught just to satisfy tests, not genuine usefulness.
AI, Cheating, and Assessment Integrity
- Take-home written work is widely seen as compromised by AI; in-class exams are increasingly viewed as the only semi-reliable check on individual learning.
- AI-assisted cheating in exams is described as common: second phones, cameras scanning pages, quick LLM queries. Effective prevention requires heavy proctoring that many institutions won’t fund or enforce.
- Some note parallel problems in hiring: candidates passing online coding tests yet failing simple live exercises, sometimes obviously relaying answers from off-screen AI or helpers.
Alternatives and Pedagogical Concerns
- Blue-book exams are criticized as artificial, biased by handwriting, and poor at assessing iterative writing or thesis development.
- Tutorial/supervision models (write at home, then defend one-on-one) are praised as AI-resistant and far better for teaching argumentation and writing.
- Worry that moving back to timed hand-written essays will erode multi-draft writing skills and richer projects.
Grading, Logistics, and Technology
- Grading large stacks of handwritten exams is described as miserable and error-prone; rubrics evolve mid-stream, early scripts are unfairly treated.
- Some mitigate this with structured paper exams, scanning plus software (e.g., Gradescope), and multi-pass grading strategies; others suggest AI might eventually grade more consistently than exhausted grad students.
- Proposals for locked-down laptops or lab environments raise practical issues: hardware logistics, tampering, accessibility, data export, and security vs cost.
Role of School and Institutions
- Underneath is a deeper question: is college about genuine learning, about ranking students for employers, or both?
- Some see current AI-driven “assessment security” rhetoric as prioritizing sorting over cultivating critical thinking.
- Others emphasize that exams also measure teaching quality: bad results sometimes reveal poor instruction more than lazy students.