Exam resource availability and student outcomes: an exploratory analysis in Occupational Therapy Students

Area of Science:

• Educational Psychology
• Health Professions Education
• Assessment and Evaluation

Background:

• Written examinations are standard for assessing student learning.
• Resource availability during exams (closed-note, open-note, cheat-sheet) may affect knowledge retention and application.
• The impact of exam resource policies on long-term knowledge application remains understudied, particularly in applied fields like Occupational Therapy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effects of different exam resource availabilities on short-term knowledge retention and long-term knowledge application among occupational therapy students.
• To compare student performance in course one (retention) and course two (application) based on whether exams were closed-note, open-note, or cheat-sheet.
• To inform pedagogical strategies regarding exam design in health professions education.

Main Methods:

• A quasi-experimental design utilizing data from four consecutive cohorts (n=73) of occupational therapy students.
• Independent variable: Exam resource availability (closed-note, open-note, cheat-sheet) during course one.
• Dependent variables: Course one midterm exam, final exam, overall course grade (short-term retention), and course two summative assessment grade (long-term application). Kruskal-Wallis tests were used for analysis.

Main Results:

• No significant differences in course one midterm or overall grades across resource conditions.
• Course one final exam grades were significantly higher for the cheat-sheet group compared to the closed-note group (3.9% increase).
• Course two summative assessment grades (long-term application) were significantly higher for the closed-note group compared to the open-note group (6.25% increase).

Conclusions:

• A cheat-sheet condition showed a small advantage for short-term knowledge retention (final exam).
• A closed-note condition demonstrated a moderate advantage for long-term knowledge application.
• Findings suggest exam resource policies may influence different learning outcomes, but results require cautious interpretation due to sample size and design.