Students’ and lecturers’ perceptions of the effect of open-book examinations on teaching and assessment at departments of accountancy at South African universities

Abstract

Strong arguments are put forward in literature that teaching methods should be aligned with assessment practices in order to optimise the teaching-learning environment. When the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants changed its initial test of competence examination (ITC) from a closed-book to an open-book format, accredited universities changed their assessment accordingly. This article investigates how students and lecturers perceive the changes made to teaching and assessment after the introduction of open-book assessment. A survey was performed among prospective chartered accountants preparing for the ITC. These students were mostly assessed through closed-book examinations in their graduate studies, but were assessed using open-book examinations in their final year. The views of students and lecturers in certain universities' departments of accountancy were compared. The views of students and lecturers differed significantly on the extent of changes which were made to teaching practices and the setting of examination papers. The article identified aspects to be considered to encourage students' deep learning, long term retention, selection of knowledge and preparation for open-book assessment. Issues lecturers need to take into account when determining their teaching and assessment approach within the broader context of an open-book assessment environment were also identified.