Straighterline Proctored and Closed Book

[ironheadjack]

Seems like everyone who has actually taken an exam with SL recently has been allowed to use their book. So I am going to believe that until I see a change on the exam sheet, that books aren't allowed.

[OST]

Actually most of StraighterLine's final exams are still open book, including Business Ethics. The proctor is not StraighterLine, you need to show them this page Exam Proctoring Details by Course | StraighterLine if they are not letting you use your book.

[OST]

For psychology exam, i was told by the proctor that book is not allowed. So I told the proctor that I was thinking that the exam is open book. The proctor allowed me to re-schedule the exam. The proctor I got for my re-scheduled exam allowed me to use the book.
Thanks
BS

According to Exam Proctoring Details by Course | StraighterLine the Psychology final exam is closed book.

[Daithi]

Hi There,

My contact at Straighter line says, "quizzes are all open book except for the final exam. The final exam has very recently become close book." My question is this: If I get the hard copy of the book (which I have just ordered--mainly because I like highlighting text, and from what I understand reading a book is easier on the eyes than looking at a screen for hours on end) and I take the final exam online, how do they know if I'm using the book or not? Is a Webcam involved? ;-)

Also, since some folks on this thread have experience with the Business Ethics Straighterline course, do you have to read the entire text, or is it just bits and pieces? I'm not the fastest reader in the world and am wondering how I am going to get through 512 pages with any kind of speed. Thanks bunches.

When I first started at StraighterLine my process was to just read the entire textbook. This usually took me several days (I really don't read that fast either). Then I would do all the quizzes and then take the final. Usually, the quizzes and exams were really about how quickly you could look up the answer. Eventually, I tried doing a couple quizzes without even bothering to read the text. Once you get used to finding the answers, it is absolutely possible to pass these courses without knowing squat about the course. This isn't true of all StraighterLine courses (I wouldn't try it with calculus, chemistry, etc.), but many of the courses are really just testing how quickly you can find an answer. Business Ethics was one of these "find the answer quickly" courses for me, but I did read the whole textbook.

I actually think it is a good idea for them to go to a closed book exam. I believe it forces you to learn more. However, if they are going closed book, they need to revise the final exams as well. Most of the questions are not about testing your understanding of the material. Most of the questions ask obscure trivia instead. If they continue to ask trivia then most people will fail these exams. Here is an example question from Western Civilization II that I am taking this week end--

Which best describes the extent of the disaster that befell the Grand Army in Russia?
a. only 75,000 of 150,000 survived
b. only 250,000 of 500,000 survived
c. only 100,000 of 600,000 survived
d. only 300,000 of 600,000 survived

Good luck answering that question without being able to look it up. Even questions that supported educated guessing would be exceedingly difficult. Here is another example--

Once in power, Bismarck
a. opposed nationalism
b. dissolved the parliament
c. reinstated the parliament
d. alienated Russia

Heck, I enjoy history, but I have no idea, and this not the kind of thing I would try to remember when reading the text. The things I remember are the causes that led to major events. The above trivia doesn't apply.

(NOTE: I saved these two quiz questions for a personal project I'm working on, so they're actual questions.)

[ironheadjack]

I struggled to pass western civ. II using my textbook, I couldn't imagine passing without it. By far the toughest SL course I took.

[NatashaB]

When you get to the page where you click 'start exam' it tells you clearly which items are allowed. All of mine have specified that the textbook is permitted.

[Lemurian_Spirit]

Wow OST! Thanks bunches for that link. I will definitely show that to them if they don't allow me to use the book. Also, I had originally been planning to take this in March after all my CLEPs/DSSTs. However, since there is by far more reading involved for this course and I am currently unemployed (which hopefully won't last for long) I think it would be best to start this course immediately after I pass the Educational Psychology CLEP this Monday. The Straighterline Business Ethics book should be here by Tuesday, so that is when I plan to start. I need to be done by the end of December (preferably the 30th). At this point I think that five chapters/lessons/whatever per week should be achievable. Also, if they are moving to closed book, it might be best to take the course this year rather than next (when the transition will be most likely). Of course, I don't know if that's a factor or not, but I could see that it well might be. Many, many thanks for your info and insights.

BTW, my understanding is that the final exam is 2 hours for the Straighterline Business Ethics course. Any idea how many questions are on the final? Thanks bunches once again.

[ironheadjack]

You don't need to read the entire book before the course if you are in a rush to get the credits. I believe business ethics has 5-6 exams, you could easily knock them all out in a night.

[Lemurian_Spirit]

Thanks much. However, if I do that, will I still be able to pass the final? Any idea which parts of the book I'll need to read?

[ironheadjack]

(With the exception of a few courses) these are open books tests, of course you can pass the final. You seem to be overestimating the difficulty of these courses.

If you want to read the book and learn everything you can about the subject, you can obviously do that. But if you want to quickly finish the course to meet your deadline, you simply open test 1, read the question, search the book for the answer, repeat until complete.