Reimagining Examinations: The Role of Open-Book Assessment in Transforming Higher Education
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31305/rrijm.2026.v11.n02.008Keywords:
Open-Book Assessment, Higher education assessment, Critical thinking, Deeper learning, National Education Policy (NEP)Abstract
The human mind is a complex system, and contemporary education aspires to nurture learners holistically across the cognitive, affective and psychomotor domains. In order to evaluate such broad learning outcomes meaningfully, assessment systems must extend beyond the traditional focus on recall and reproduction. In India, particularly at the higher education level, examinations still rely predominantly on long, short and very short answer questions that begin with prompts such as “what”, “where”, “how” and “when”, and far less often with “why”, “create”, “design” or “model”. This pattern constrains opportunities to develop and assess higher-order thinking skills. The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 (para 11.2) calls for creativity and innovation, critical and higher-order thinking, problem-solving abilities, deeper learning and mastery across disciplines. In this context, open-book examinations (OBEs), once a rare assessment format, have gained renewed attention as a means of aligning evaluation practices with these goals. This paper conceptually examines the nature of OBEs, their potential advantages in fostering critical thinking, deeper learning and real-world preparedness, and their challenges, including question design, academic integrity, equity and logistics. It analyses key differences between open-book and traditional closed-book examinations in terms of assessment focus, preparation strategies and student experiences. The paper also outlines best practices for designing and implementing OBEs, examines key policy implications for institutions, and identifies future research priorities related to effectiveness, student experiences and the use of emerging technologies in assessment.
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