Take-home Exam
A take-home exam is a very effective tool for assessing students' analytic thinking, reasoning and interpreting. Moreover, it allows to focus on the ability to question one's own beliefs and encourages students to open up to perspectives different from their own. This form of assessment gives students a reasonable amount of freedom to choose where and when they want to complete a take-home assignment. However, it is important to consider, and prepare for, the pitfalls associated with this type of examination.
This page contains all the information you will need to develop, use and evaluate your own take-home exams. First, we will give you the three most important tips to remember when opting for take-home exams in your courses. Additionally, we provide tips to ensure good practice, and teach you how to avoid pitfalls associated with this type of examination.
At te bottom of the page you will find more in-depth information about take-home exams, other forms of assessment, a list of valuable resources and some examples of take-home exams.
Formulate a specific question or dilemma in which the student can formulate his own argumentation based on sources they may consult.
Formulate generic criteria with which the answer must comply. On this basis, develop a rubric with four to five possible answer levels.
Use a plagiarism check.
Preparing for a take-home exam
Pitfalls
- The take-home exam is not in line with the learning objectives and activities. This could happen when the course (structure/literature) is fragmented and ineffective, when students spend time on activities that do not result in the intended outcomes, or when feedback is not a part of the course. A take-home exam should always be an important part of the course, that provides a teacher with insight in the learning outcomes.
- Communication about the take-home exam is key. If a teacher's instruction is insufficient and ambiguous, it can cause stress and an incorrect interpretation of the assessment by students.
- Every teacher use there own criteria to grade a take-home assessment, which is unreliable. It is therefore important to create a grading form together with a colleague to score the examinations.