Does the Format of an Assessment (Closed Book or Open Book) Affect Learning? A Systematic Review of the Literature

Abstract

When administering an in-class exam, a common decision that confronts every instructor is whether the exam format should be closed book or open book. The present review synthesizes research examining the effect of administering closed-book or open-book assessments on long-term learning. Although the overall effect of assessment format on learning was mixed, two robust findings were that closed-book assessments led to a lower rate of forgetting (i.e. the percentage of change in information participants remembered on an initial test compared to that of the final test) relative to open-book assessments and students preferred to take open-book assessments. We also discuss possible moderators (e.g. item overlap) of the effect. Recommendations are provided to instructors who seek guidance regarding the most appropriate assessment format to adopt for their course. We conclude by outlining avenues for future research.

Department(s)

Psychological Science

Keywords and Phrases

Closed-book exams; forgetting; learning; open-book exams; performance

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

1470-1294; 1356-2517

Document Type

Article - Journal

Document Version

Citation

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2025 Taylor and Francis Group; Routledge, All rights reserved.

Publication Date

01 Jan 2025

Link to Full Text

Share

 
COinS