{"id":287349,"date":"2024-03-18T19:00:08","date_gmt":"2024-03-18T13:30:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/?p=287349"},"modified":"2024-03-19T17:58:52","modified_gmt":"2024-03-19T12:28:52","slug":"open-book-exam-explained-pointwise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/open-book-exam-explained-pointwise\/","title":{"rendered":"Open Book Exam – Significance and Challenges – Explained Pointwise"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Open<\/p>\n

The CBSE has decided to conduct a pilot comprehensive study<\/span> to assess the viability of implementing Open Book Exam<\/span> (OBE<\/span>) for students from classes 9 to 12. The pilot will be held in select schools in November-December for subjects like English<\/span>, Mathematics<\/span> and Science<\/span> for Classes 9 and 10<\/span>, and English<\/span>, Mathematics<\/span> and Biology<\/span> for Classes 11 and 12<\/span>.<\/p>\n

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Created By Forum IAS<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n
Table of Content<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
What is Open Book Examination (OBE)? What is the History of OBE in India?<\/a>
\nWhat is the need for CBSE to introduce OBE in India?<\/a>
\nWhat are the advantages of Open Book Examination (OBE) in India?<\/a>
\nWhat are the Challenges\/limitation with the system of OBE?<\/a>
\nWhat Should be the way Forward?<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

<\/a>What is Open Book Examination (OBE)? What is the History of OBE in India?<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Open Book Examination-<\/strong> This is an examination pattern where students are allowed<\/span> to refer to their books<\/span> and notes to answer questions\u00a0during the examination.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Types of Open Book Examination (OBE)-\u00a0<\/strong>There are 2 types of open book examination.
\n1) Restricted open book assessment-<\/strong> Students are allowed to refer only<\/span> the study material<\/span> approved<\/span> by the exam-conducting authority<\/span>.
\n2) Free type open book assessment-<\/strong> Students are allowed to bring any material<\/span> of their choice.
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

OBE not a new concept for Indian Students- <\/strong>Open-book exams are not a new idea for India.<\/p>\n

1. 2014-<\/strong> CBSE introduced Open Text Based Assessment<\/span> (OBTA<\/span>) which was implemented in Class 9<\/span> (Hindi<\/span>, English<\/span>, Mathematics<\/span>, Science<\/span>, and Social<\/span> Science<\/span>) and Class 11<\/span> (Economics<\/span>, Biology<\/span>, and Geography<\/span>).
\nIt was aimed to ease the burden of memorization and promote information processing skills. However, it was discontinued in the 2017-18<\/span> academic year due to its failure to develop critical thinking skills among students.<\/p>\n

2. 2019-<\/strong> All India Council for Technical Education<\/span> (AICTE<\/span>) permitted open book exams in engineering colleges following a recommendation from an advisory body.<\/p>\n

3. 2020 and 2021 COVID-19 Lockdown-\u00a0<\/strong>Various Central Universities, like Delhi University<\/span>, Jamia Millia Islamia<\/span>, Jawaharlal Nehru University<\/span>, Aligarh Muslim University<\/span>, IIT Delhi<\/span>, IIT Indore<\/span>, and IIT Bombay<\/span> have conducted open book tests to evaluate students.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Why CBSE introduced Open Books Examination(OBE) in India?<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

1. Transformation of Culture of assessment in line with NEP 2020-<\/strong> The National Education Policy 2020<\/span> has recommended implementing various modes of exams for the benefit of students. CBSE is exploring Open Book Examination (OBE) as an alternative for regular exams.<\/p>\n

2. On the lines of National Curriculum Framework – <\/strong>The CBSE has proposed this form of assessment based on the National Curriculum Framework (NCF)<\/span> <\/a>released last year. The National Curriculum Framework for School Education has highlighted the need to reform the current assessment process<\/span>, which is\u00a0 ‘focused on measuring rote learning<\/span>‘.<\/p>\n

<\/a>What are the advantages of Open Book Examination (OBE) in India?<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

1. Shift of Focus from ‘rote learning’ to ‘conceptual understanding’-<\/strong> Open Book Examination will help the students focus on core concepts<\/span>, high-order<\/span> foundational skills<\/span>, and self-peer assessments.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

2. Promotion of critical and creative thinking-<\/strong> OBE helps to assessment of learner readiness<\/span>, application of course content to real-life scenarios<\/span>, analysis of case studies<\/span> and connection of content with real-world situations<\/span>.<\/p>\n

3. Prevents the proliferation of coaching industry-<\/a><\/strong> The examination system using an open book would prevent the proliferation of board-exam based coaching industry<\/span>.<\/p>\n

4. Encourages Resource Management Skills –<\/strong> Through the use of Open Book method of examination, students learn to efficiently navigate and use reference materials. This leads to the development of a valuable skill in quickly finding relevant information<\/span>, which is of great help in academic and professional settings<\/span>.<\/p>\n

5. Reduction in examination related stress of Students-<\/strong> According to a 2021 study<\/span> involving medical students from All India Institute of Medical Sciences<\/span> (AIIMS<\/span>) Bhubaneswar<\/span>, it was found that open book exams were less stressful. OBE will reduce the exam related cases of student suicides in India<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/a>What are the Challenges\/limitation with the system of OBE?<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

1. Challenge for Indian Teachers-<\/strong> There is lack of creativity on part of Indian school teachers<\/span> to design innovative Open Book assessments. Questions in an open book exam, unlike a traditional exam, cannot be direct.<\/p>\n

2. Reduction in student’s motivation for studies-<\/strong> Students often get complacent in an open book examination assessment system, by completely ignoring<\/span> the strong memorization<\/span> or critical thinking skills<\/span>.<\/p>\n

3. Challenges of Time Management-<\/strong> Students may spend too much time searching for information in their materials leading to incomplete or rushed answers<\/span>.<\/p>\n

4. Exacerbation of Inequality among students-<\/strong> The availability of different resources can create inequality among students. Students\u00a0with better access to high-quality materials<\/span> may have an advantage over their peers<\/span>.<\/p>\n

5. Logistical Challenges-<\/strong> Organizing and administering OBEs can be logistically difficult for the teachers, with the students trying to bring too many books<\/span> into the exam environment.<\/p>\n

6. Risk of plagiarism-<\/strong> There are risks of plagiarism, with students being tempted to copy answers<\/span> or use unauthorised materials.<\/p>\n

<\/a>What Should be the way Forward?<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

1. Implementation of Yash Pal Committee Report – <\/strong>The\u00a0Yash Pal Committee Report, \u2018Learning Without Burden<\/span>\u2019, had recommended reducing the burden of exams and introduction of measures like OBEs to reduce the<\/span> ‘catch up<\/span>‘ syndrome<\/span>.
\n(Catch up syndrome is the popular belief that India needs to catch up with the explosion of knowledge had occurred in the West through strict curriculum and rigorous examinations)<\/p>\n

2. Development of spirit of critical pedagogy-<\/strong> Teachers must engage in a meaningful dialogue<\/span> with young students. They should remove their whole attention from \u201ccompleting\u201d the official syllabus in time.<\/p>\n

3. Training of students-<\/strong> Students must be trained on how to write an open book exam<\/span>, and develop the necessary skills of analysing concepts<\/span> to get the benefits of Open Book Exam.<\/p>\n

4. Training of teachers-<\/strong> Teachers must be trained on formulating comprehensive<\/span>, unique questions for an OBE<\/span> different from the formulaic and archaic questions<\/span> in a regular exam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Read More-<\/strong> The Indian Express<\/a>
\nUPSC Syllabus-<\/strong> GS Paper 2 Social Justice \u2013 Issues relating to Education, Human Resources.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The CBSE has decided to conduct a pilot comprehensive study to assess the viability of implementing Open Book Exam (OBE) for students from classes 9 to 12. The pilot will be held in select schools in November-December for subjects like English, Mathematics and Science for Classes 9 and 10, and English, Mathematics and Biology for… Continue reading Open Book Exam – Significance and Challenges – Explained Pointwise<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10357,"featured_media":287610,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[130,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-287349","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-7-pm","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Open-Book-Exam-Significance-and-Challenges.webp?fit=1280%2C853&ssl=1","views":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287349","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10357"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=287349"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287349\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/287610"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=287349"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=287349"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=287349"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}