By: Laura Van Pate
As the University of Maryland heads into finals week, the question of whether online exams are fair or not is on students’ and professors’ minds.
A couple years ago, this would not have been a discussion, as classes and exams were always held in person. Things changed in March 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit and caused everything to become virtual.
Some believe that students should have the option to take exams online in cases where they are sick or have a personal emergency.
Others believe there should be an online exam option because it is less stressful than taking an in-person exam.
Test anxiety is one of the key reasons why a student who studies and prepares for an in-person exam ends up not doing as well as prepared for, since anxiety can cause a student to doubt their own knowledge.
According to a journal article from the International Journal of E-Learning and Distance Education, students who take online exams are overall less stressed out and have lower levels of test anxiety.
“I personally prefer online exams to in person ones because I get very stressed out during in-person exams, and because of that I end up getting a lower grade,” said Shania Harrison, a junior criminal justice major. “With online exams, I can take it from the comfort of my own room.”
A major criticism of online exams is that students are more likely to cheat because they also have full access to the internet.
According to an article from CNBC, during the pandemic, while classes were all online, students were using homework checking websites such as Chegg for both homework and tests. In 2020, at the height of the pandemic, Chegg’s usage rate went up by 196% from 2019.
On top of cheating more likely to occur with online exams, some students still find in-person exams easier.
“Even though I find online exams easier, I feel that I don’t learn a lot by taking them,” said Emilia Guzman, a freshman economics major.
Since online exams have both upsides and downsides, it’s left some people feeling conflicted about whether students should have the option of taking online exams.
When asked about whether he prefers giving out online exams or in-person ones, Daarel Burnette II, a journalism professor, said it depends on the type of exam for him.
“If the exam is open-ended short answer responses, then I think online exams are ok,” Burnette said. “If the exam is closed-ended and multiple choice, then I think online exams aren’t ok because students can just look up the answer.”
While this debate might seem to be on two opposite ends, there are some opportunities for compromise.
One of the ways is Lockdown Browser, an app that blocks internet resources while a test is being taken.
Lockdown Browser has proven to be a great compromise, as people that want online exams can still take them online, and people who are afraid of cheating don’t have to worry as much.
Another way to compromise is to use time limits during exams or not give students the option to switch answers.
While this might not be as effective as a system like Lockdown Browser, it can still decrease cheating as students who do cheat won’t have as much time.
No matter whether UMD gives students the option of online exams in the future or not, the positives and negatives of online exams will continue to be debated amongst people who support them and people who don’t.