One of the best examples for an exam like this was the final exam in history at my high school. Half of it was a few class-wide topics of 20th century history.

One of the best examples for an exam like this was the final exam in history at my high school. Half of it was a few class-wide topics of 20th century history. The other half was anything of the students choosing, I've chosen the policy of Perestroika of Gorbatschov and the downfall of the Sowjet Union. The exam was simply a text snippet (dunno anymore whether newspaper or something more official) from the time about the reunion of the two Germans, and the assignment was to put it into greater context and connect it with other things that happened at the time, hereby explaining this particular incident. The questions for the general part were of similar spirit. It's been one of the best exams I've ever had. Not just because I've got a straight A, but also because I've actually _learned_ something while writing it: It forced me to think about the knowledge I've already amassed from a different pov for two hours, greatly increasing my understanding of it. I think every exam should be like that: If you haven't learned anything new while writing/having it, it's likely just pointless rendition of stuff learned by heart. And frankly, computers just beat humans at that ;-). Of course, doing this requires good teachers and quite an investment of time from them.