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Project RITE

The Effects of Open Book Testing in Online Learning Environments

Download final report: PDF

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Glenda Rakes

Professor, Department of Educational Studies, UT Martin

There is increasing evidence that online course and program offerings have penetrated the mainstream of colleges and universities across the country. To illustrate, Allen and Seaman (2005) report that:

• the overall percent of schools identifying online education as a critical, long term strategy grew from 49% in 2003 to 56% in 2005.
• sixty-five percent of higher education institutions report they are primarily using core faculty to teach their online courses.
• sixty-five percent of schools offering graduate face-to-face courses also offer graduate courses online.
• among all schools offering face-to-face MasterŐs degree programs, 44% also offer MasterŐs programs online.

With the proliferation of online courses as part of many college degree programs come many concerns about the quality of online courses. Concerns over the new role of faculty, establishing effective communication with students, motivating students, and assuring learning outcomes are growing (Yang & Cornelious, 2005). A continuing concern regarding learning outcomes is associated with assessment of student performance.

A variety of performance assessments, including examinations, should be employed to assure quality in online instruction (Yang & Cornelious, 2005). Academic integrity of the evaluation process is of particular concern in an online environment. According to Olt (2002), one way to help ensure academic integrity in online courses is through the use of open book examinations.