What kinds of subjects are suitable for OBEs?
The suitability of open book exams depends not on the subject matter of a course, but on the kinds of questions we want students to answer, which in turn depends upon what is being tested in an exam. Ultimately, it boils down to what we want them to attain at the end of the course. If a course expects students to memorize the information given to them, and reproduce it in the exam, an open book examination is unsuitable. On the other hand, if a course expects students to be able to process new information, an open book examination is more appropriate. If a course aims to test understanding through exposition, open book examinations are not suitable; if it aims to test understanding through application to novel situations, then open book examinations are suitable. Suppose we want to find out if students have understood the so-called naturenurture debate on the roles of genetic predisposition and environmental factors on human behavior. We could design an exam question like: “Critically
