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For some classes, especially as you get higher in fields, no amount of open books will help you in an exam. If you're able to figure out the material using a bo

For some classes, especially as you get higher in fields, no amount of open books will help you in an exam. If you're able to figure out the material using a book then and there while not knowing it before, you deserve the grade.

nottorp 6y ago
My lowest level graph theory exam at university was "bring anything you think will help you". Including our teacher's book which had all the course contents and then some. Of course, it only helped you if you had gone through the material a couple times and knew (and mostly understood) exactly what was there, and you used the book to refresh minor details.
- inglor_cz 6y ago
  I studied mathematics too. Algebra and Number Theory. I believe people should be able to have pretty much any book (not software) at their disposal when doing university level math exams. It is stupid to fail because your overworked brain forgot some formula (did not happen to me, but easily could). And people who did not study beforehand will not be able to cheat their way through, at least not in the time limit needed. This isn't paramedic training where you need to do the right thing in seconds.
gnulinux 6y ago
When I was an undergrad (UC Berkeley) all Math and CS classes beyond basics (like Calculus etc) allowed "cheat sheets" in exams and some were "open book" (i.e. bring whatever the fuck you want (nothing digital of course, just paper, no calculator)). I don't remember an incident when bringing a cheat sheet was useful during the exam, maybe 1 time for a minor thing. Writing out the cheat sheet before the exam definitely helps learning though. If it's something you can look up during the exam, it's not gonna be something professor will ask you. If it's something you need to read, understand and conceptualize during the exam, it's gonna take you long enough that it'll be a significant disadvantage. EDIT: Now I remembered haha, our first CS class even printed out standardized cheat sheets and gave it to everyone. They basically printed ALL the slides of the class in tiny font on 3 papers and handed out to everyone with the exam. Fun times. I didn't even open the cheat sheet lol. I remember I was taking Algebra 2, which was about Module Theory and Galois Theory. We asked prof if we can bring cheat sheet to the exam, he was like "I mean I don't care, you can even bring the textbook". So I did but, obviously didn't even open it. If you really need to remember something (e.g. definition of Noeterian Ring) professor may write it in the question anyway, or if you need to remember something basic (e.g. definition of Group) you could technically use the textbook, but at that point, you'll likely fail the exam anyway.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- WalterBright 6y ago
  At Caltech the exams were nearly always open book, open note. Furthermore, they were not proctored (by institute policy), and you could take them home and do them, and you were trusted to adhere to the time limit. I.e. it was so easy to cheat there was no purpose to cheating. In many colleges, students brag to their peers about getting away with cheating. At Caltech, I never heard anyone brag about cheating. If you were caught cheating, the other students would ostracize you.
zem 6y ago
yep, when I was an undergrad there was a physics prof who would give us six hour long unlimited resources exams, we were just on our honour not to ask other people for help

nottorp 6y ago

My lowest level graph theory exam at university was "bring anything you think will help you". Including our teacher's book which had all the course contents and then some. Of course, it only helped you if you had gone through the material a couple times and knew (and mostly understood) exactly what was there, and you used the book to refresh minor details.

inglor_cz 6y ago
I studied mathematics too. Algebra and Number Theory. I believe people should be able to have pretty much any book (not software) at their disposal when doing university level math exams. It is stupid to fail because your overworked brain forgot some formula (did not happen to me, but easily could). And people who did not study beforehand will not be able to cheat their way through, at least not in the time limit needed. This isn't paramedic training where you need to do the right thing in seconds.

gnulinux 6y ago

When I was an undergrad (UC Berkeley) all Math and CS classes beyond basics (like Calculus etc) allowed "cheat sheets" in exams and some were "open book" (i.e. bring whatever the fuck you want (nothing digital of course, just paper, no calculator)). I don't remember an incident when bringing a cheat sheet was useful during the exam, maybe 1 time for a minor thing. Writing out the cheat sheet before the exam definitely helps learning though. If it's something you can look up during the exam, it's not gonna be something professor will ask you. If it's something you need to read, understand and conceptualize during the exam, it's gonna take you long enough that it'll be a significant disadvantage. EDIT: Now I remembered haha, our first CS class even printed out standardized cheat sheets and gave it to everyone. They basically printed ALL the slides of the class in tiny font on 3 papers and handed out to everyone with the exam. Fun times. I didn't even open the cheat sheet lol. I remember I was taking Algebra 2, which was about Module Theory and Galois Theory. We asked prof if we can bring cheat sheet to the exam, he was like "I mean I don't care, you can even bring the textbook". So I did but, obviously didn't even open it. If you really need to remember something (e.g. definition of Noeterian Ring) professor may write it in the question anyway, or if you need to remember something basic (e.g. definition of Group) you could technically use the textbook, but at that point, you'll likely fail the exam anyway.

deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
WalterBright 6y ago
At Caltech the exams were nearly always open book, open note. Furthermore, they were not proctored (by institute policy), and you could take them home and do them, and you were trusted to adhere to the time limit. I.e. it was so easy to cheat there was no purpose to cheating. In many colleges, students brag to their peers about getting away with cheating. At Caltech, I never heard anyone brag about cheating. If you were caught cheating, the other students would ostracize you.

zem 6y ago

yep, when I was an undergrad there was a physics prof who would give us six hour long unlimited resources exams, we were just on our honour not to ask other people for help