Context: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has approved the introduction of Open-Book Assessments (OBE) for Class 9 from the academic year 2026-27. This follows a 2023 pilot study which revealed strong teacher support for the move.
Relevance of the Topic: Prelims: What is the Open book exam and how is it conducted? Mains: Open Book Exam: Need, Advantages, Disadvantages.
The reform aligns with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the National Curriculum Framework (NCF) vision of moving away from rote memorisation towards competency-based learning.
What are Open Book Exams?
- An open book exam is an assessment in which students are allowed to use approved resources (textbooks, class notes, reference material) during the exam.
- E.g., In science facts may be given in the book, but students must link them logically to arrive at a conclusion.
- Purpose: To test conceptual understanding, analytical ability, and application of knowledge, rather than memorisation.
History of Open Book Exams:
- Hong Kong became one of the earliest adopters of OBEs in 1953, integrating them into school assessments.
- In the US and UK, trials between 1951 and 1978 allowed students to use textbooks, notebooks, and lecture notes across various university courses, using formats from multiple-choice to essay-type questions.
- Studies from this period found that OBEs encouraged deeper internalisation of concepts rather than rote memorisation and often benefited weaker students.
- Despite early experiments, OBEs remained rare in high-stakes secondary exams worldwide, with most boards (E.g., UK GCSEs, US SATs) retaining closed-book formats.
- The COVID-19 pandemic marked a turning point, as universities globally adopted open-book, open-note, and even open-web assessments for online examinations, though many reverted to traditional exams post-pandemic.
History of OBE in India:
- In 2014, CBSE introduced the Open Text-Based Assessment (OTBA) for Class 9 in Hindi, English, Mathematics, Science, and Social Science, and for Class 11 in subjects like Economics, Biology, and Geography, with students receiving reference material four months in advance.
- By 2017-18, CBSE discontinued OTBA, concluding it had not succeeded in developing the critical thinking abilities it had aimed to promote.
- In 2019, the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) approved the use of OBEs in engineering colleges after expert recommendations.
- During the COVID-19 pandemic (2020-2022), universities such as Delhi University, Jamia Millia Islamia, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Aligarh Muslim University, and IITs in Delhi, Indore, and Bombay adopted OBEs in online mode.
- More recently, Kerala’s Higher Education Reforms Commission proposed using the OBE format only for internal or practical assessments.
What does Research say about OBE?
- A Norwegian study in 2000 found that students taking OBEs were more likely to seek connections between ideas instead of just recalling facts.
- Research at AIIMS Bhubaneswar reported that medical students experienced lower stress levels when taking OBEs.
- At Delhi University, a study found that students scored higher in OBEs even without specific training in skills required for the format.
- Another Research emphasises that real gains from OBEs require training in breaking down questions, analysing concepts, and applying knowledge rather than just looking up answers.
However, many students pointed out patchy internet connectivity as a significant drawback during online OBEs.