Did Home-Based Exams during COVID-19 Affect Student Ranking? A Case from a Business School

Abstract

Background/purpose -Home-based exams were introduced during COVID-19 with an open-book format and limited control over dishonest student behavior. Such exams were used in lieu of traditional, closed-book school-based exams as a necessity due to the pandemic. This article investigates whether or not students' grades from home-based assessment exams differed from the grades they achieved in traditional school-based exams.Materials/methods -Using administrative data from 2017 to 2020 from a business school in Norway, a quantitative approach that compared differences, correlation analysis, and regression models was applied in the study.Results -By switching from school-based to home-based exams, students' academic success during their second year of business school showed a smaller association with students' outcomes from their first year. One interpretation is that skilled students achieved weaker performance in home-based exams.Conclusion -Home-based exams without any control mechanisms appear to result in different student rankings. This knowledge may be useful for employers looking to hire applicants who graduated during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Business Students’ Perspective of Choice of Assessments: A Case From Norway

“…Several studies have not shown any changes in letter grades by moving to home-based exams (Spiegel and Nivetta 2021). Opstad and Pettersen (2022) suggested that a home-based exam favours academically weaker students, who achieve better grades, while for skilled students, it can have the opposite effect. Moore and Jensen (2007) have argued that open-book assessments can lead to more surface learning, while others have suggested that it gives an opportunity to test the higher level of Bloom's taxonomy (Tam 2022).…”

“…The reason why students experience a school-based test as fairer than a home-based test may be because the latter provides different opportunities for accessing tools, and it can also open the possibility for cheating (Bilen and Matros 2021). This can influence the ranking of students (Opstad and Pettersen 2022). Schoolbased exams ensure equal conditions for everyone to a much greater extent.…”

Management Students’ Attitude Towards Different Kinds of Exam Format: A Case From a University in Norway

“…A problem with home-based exams is that they are perceived differently, and can tempt many students to unethical behaviour as there is little control (Bengtsson, 2019). This can lead to an unjustified ranking of the students based on knowledge and skills (Opstad & Pettersen, 2022). Management students do not experience this as a problem when choosing individual home-based exams.…”

“…Students are divided in their view of digital readings in relation to traditional teaching and also in terms of which exam forms they think work best, and which provide the best learning outcomes (Bengtsson, 2019;Opstad, 2020a). The choice of exam can have a major impact on the ranking of the students (Opstad & Pettersen, 2022).…”