Do you have open note tests in college?

[xnfs93hy]

Where your prof gives you the exam and you have to research the answers in your text/notes?

They do this in AP classes sometimes.

Just curious.

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[Baller MD]

Rarely.

 

[Maygyver]

Where your prof gives you the exam and you have to research the answers in your text/notes?

They do this in AP classes sometimes.

Just curious.

I wish. They do that in AP classes? I have never heard of that before. Some classes you will be given a note card for equations, but even that is rare. Maybe if you take the lower level courses. I did calc based physics one quarter and had no notecard for equations and I found the course extremely easy. Now I am in the non-calc because I decided not to switch to biochem major and the class is beyond easy. So in short, I highly doubt you will get to use your notes, maybe a notecard, but don't rely on it. If you could use notes, why would you study? If you use notes it doesn't show that you learned the material at all.

 

[broken tibula]

I have a class up at our CC right now where all tests are open-note. Anything you have that is hand-written, you can use it on the exam. Also, the test is all multiple-choice/true-false.

On the other hand, we just had our first test last week and 75% of the class flunked.

I'm of the opinion that if the test is open-note, then it's going to be really fricking hard.

 

[RemiJP]

I've had a few in college and now in grad school, particularly with on-line quizzes. But typically they are harder, mostly "application" questions. In my case, the open note test are all clinical cases where we have to decide how we would conduct an assessment or do a treatment plan for a patient given only a short case history.

 

[Maygyver]

I have a class up at our CC right now where all tests are open-note. Anything you have that is hand-written, you can use it on the exam. Also, the test is all multiple-choice/true-false.

On the other hand, we just had our first test last week and 75% of the class flunked.

I'm of the opinion that if the test is open-note, then it's going to be really fricking hard.

Ha yeah true. I've had an open note quiz and they probably aren't what you are expecting Jefgreen. Your notes will usually not have the exact answer and if you rely on your notes for the entire exam/quiz, you probably won't have time to finish. As tibula says, open note usually means the professor just doesn't care how hard they make it because "I let you use your notes."

 

[tennisball80]

I took a grade 9 ESL science class when I was in grade 10. That's the last time I had open book.

Since grade 10, I never even had a true/false question on my quizzes and tests.

 

[EyEnStein 07]

Usually open notes is NOT a good thing. This expands the amount of questions the professor can ask, which is really bad especially if you are not compatible with there teaching method (basically, you don't like them as a professor).

I had open note tests in all of chemistry including the final. I did not do so stellar in the course, and now that i am in chem 2, with a much better professor, who does not offer open note (just an index card) it is difficult for me to understand some concepts i should have in chem 1.

 

[MilkmanAl]

Usually open notes is NOT a good thing.

Oh God, I second this times a billion. The hardest tests I had in college were open book/note. The trick about open book, open note tests is that the book and your notes won't help you. You'll have to understand concepts like crazy to do well.

 

[xnfs93hy]

Oh God, I second this times a billion. The hardest tests I had in college were open book/note. The trick about open book, open note tests is that the book and your notes won't help you. You'll have to understand concepts like crazy to do well.

I figured. I have heard many people say that they suck really bad.

Yep, I think in at least AP US you do an open note exam each quarter or something, it part of the class I think.

 

[xnfs93hy]

I wish. They do that in AP classes? I have never heard of that before. Some classes you will be given a note card for equations, but even that is rare. Maybe if you take the lower level courses. I did calc based physics one quarter and had no notecard for equations and I found the course extremely easy. Now I am in the non-calc because I decided not to switch to biochem major and the class is beyond easy. So in short, I highly doubt you will get to use your notes, maybe a notecard, but don't rely on it. If you could use notes, why would you study? If you use notes it doesn't show that you learned the material at all.

Dude, allll I asked was if they have them in college. I figured since they have them once a marking periood in the AP's that some classes in UG/Grad school might have them as well.

And, again. Yes, I know for a fact that in Lang and Comp and APUSH in my school, the students have one open note test a marking period (4 a year). I think.

 

[gabeybaby]

Yep, I think in at least AP US you do an open note exam each quarter or something, it part of the class I think.

Yeah, we had something similar to what you said. We basically read 30 or so pages from the book and there's a study guide our teacher allows us to fill out to help us follow with the text, and you are sometimes allow to use that on the quiz that we had everyday on our reading. Those were easy.... but then again, it's high school.

 

[xnfs93hy]

Yeah, we had something similar to what you said. We basically read 30 or so pages from the book and there's a study guide our teacher allows us to fill out to help us follow with the text, and you are sometimes allow to use that on the quiz that we had everyday on our reading. Those were easy.... but then again, it's high school.

True. My friend also has them in AP English 11 and he said they are a joke and an easy A. Lol. This is why I asked, I figured that you prob. had them in UG/Grad school but they were REALLY hard.

 

[EyEnStein 07]

I figured. I have heard many people say that they suck really bad.

Yep, I think in at least AP US you do an open note exam each quarter or something, it part of the class I think.

If you want to pass that AP test...DONT use ur notebook, know the material. The only thing you can look up is dates maybe. but thats all, and this is if you want to pass the test. The AP is far from open note.

 

[tennisball80]

If you want to pass that AP test...DONT use ur notebook, know the material. The only thing you can look up is dates maybe. but thats all, and this is if you want to pass the test. The AP is far from open note.

True, Jeff, you can't take the AP exam with open book. I recommend you doing test without open book either.

Also, be sure to remember your name. Dates is the only thing you can look up during the test as EyEnStein said.

 

[Depakote]

they exist in college, but they're more the exception than the rule.

as noted above, they're more likely to make be a burden than a blessing.

A variation on the open note test I had was the...

"you may bring in one 8x11 sheet of paper and put on it what you will"

This was usually for classes that used formulas like physics. But you could write anything on the sheet... not that it would help b/c you had to know how to apply the formulas and understand what the questions were asking. (I usually used any extra space to write out examples for how to apply the formulas)

 

[gabeybaby]

True, Jeff, you can't take the AP exam with open book. I recommend you doing test without open book either.

Also, be sure to remember your name. Dates is the only thing you can look up during the test as EyEnStein said.

The only source that you can look information up in an AP exam is your brain & documents that might be provided to you. I have no idea what you are referring to Tennis.

 

[EyEnStein 07]

they exist in college, but they're more the exception than the rule.

as noted above, they're more likely to make be a burden than a blessing.

A variation on the open note test I had was the...

"you may bring in one 8x11 sheet of paper and put on it what you will"

This was usually for classes that used formulas like physics. But you could write anything on the sheet... not that it would help b/c you had to know how to apply the formulas and understand what the questions were asking. (I usually used any extra space to write out examples for how to apply the formulas)

Very true, this semester for physics i get this 8x11 paper.

For chemistry 2 this semester, im limited to a 3x5 index card.....

and your going to love this.....

Chemistry 1 (the one i did poorly on), Open Note book = Bring Textbook, Class notes and LAPTOPS. yes, our teacher encouraged us to GOOGLE our answers............you can probably tell that me doing poorly had more than me not putting in my 100% effort....

 

[pressmom]

Open note tests are a nightmare. They usually are quite hard.

 

[Hazel Eyed Kate]

In all honesty, it depends on the professor. I have had some classes where we were allowed to refer to our notes for quizzes; but, as far as exams are concerned, it is very rare. The best advice I can offer for exam preparation is to review all class notes and any study aids available; and, no last minute cramming! It is much more effective to study the material to be covered on the exam the week before the test, rather than waiting until 2 days before hand. Best of luck in the years to come! 🙂

- Kate

 

[SouthernSurgeon]

I had two classes in college that did this:

1) A math class where the final exam was 5 questions, open book. Get all 5 right, you get an A; 4/5 --> B; 3/5 --> C; less than that --> F

2) A statistics class where you had to write SAS code for part of the exam; your exam grade was based on whether the code you wrote would correctly analyze the given data set.

These were two of the most memorable courses in college due to the overwhelming difficulty of these tests. The math class, I had the flu while taking the final - I got the fourth question right and then just said "F--- it" and turned it in w/o looking at #5 and took my B

 

[tennisball80]

These were two of the most memorable courses in college due to the overwhelming difficulty of these tests. The math class, I had the flu while taking the final - I got the fourth question right and then just said "F--- it" and turned it in w/o looking at #5 and took my B

Moral of the lesson, don't swear to parents and teachers. We must learn from that.

 

[SouthernSurgeon]

Moral of the lesson, don't swear to parents and teachers. We must learn from that.

Haha, actually I forgot to mention that that test was a take-home open book final - we had 48 hours to solve five problems...they were that hard!

 

[tennisball80]

Haha, actually I forgot to mention that that test was a take-home open book final - we had 48 hours to solve five problems...they were that hard!

😱

Was is Calculus ? What kind of problem did he give to you ? Couldn't you find an example from the text book ?

 

[SouthernSurgeon]

😱

Was is Calculus ? What kind of problem did he give to you ? Couldn't you find an example from the text book ?

This was "honors" freshman calc - it's been a long time; they were bizarre mismatches of multiple fields of math. Way beyond what would be in the textbook (the last 2 at least...the first three were not AS bad).

 

[MilkmanAl]

I had a take-home astrophysics final that I literally put in over 24 hours of work on, and I still had to totally BS 2 of the 5 problems. That was not fun. Got a good grade in the class, though, so obviously I did okay. 😛

 

[OpticalBlackOut]

I'm jealous of the people that got the 8X11 paper.
Not because I needed to write more formulas, but I could have had a chance to deciphered my miniature writing...oh, 3x5 notecards. Probably caused my myopia.

 

[135892]

For one of my intro math classes, we could bring in a sheet of paper with absolutely anything written on it, including homework problems. Now, this would have made the class easy enough, but on the exams, the professor also gave questions that were word for word from the assigned homework (and we knew about this beforehand). So all we basically had to do was copy the answers from our cheat sheet onto our test. Needless to say, that was the easiest class I have ever taken.

 

[Caesar]

Where your prof gives you the exam and you have to research the answers in your text/notes?

They do this in AP classes sometimes.

Just curious.

Sometimes, but it is pretty rare.