When writing by handthe visual motor systems in the brain that support reading are more active, said Sophia Vinci-Bucher, assistant professor of educational neuroscience at Vanderbilt University. Vinci-Booher also found that handwriting increased letter recognition more than typing.
In general, when note-taking and testing modes are consistent, a student is more likely to perform better than when the modes are inconsistent, Vinci-Bucher said. For example, if the answers to the exam are required to be written by hand, a student who also writes their notes by hand will be more likely to do better on the exam than if the same student were to write their answers.
This school year, Coupe learned that the vast majority of his students had never taken a written exam in college. When he took out the blue notebooks for the first exam for the 2024-25 school year, he had to give detailed instructions about the blue notebook standards, such as where to write your name.
Coupet noticed an immediate difference in the test results.
Students who didn’t come to class often showed a lack of preparation in their answers on the exam, and Coupe noticed more variation in those students’ answers. Students who weren’t prepared for the exam also struggled to apply reason to their answers, an important skill for future politicians to master, he said. Previously, these struggles were masked by the use of technology and what students didn’t really know was hidden.
For now, Coupe will stick with blue book exams because that fits his teaching style.
Blue Book Rating
Alexandra GarrettAssistant Professor of History at St Michael’s College, has never known anything different. She joined the faculty at St. Michael’s College in the 2022-2023 academic year. and only taught face-to-face classes. All three exams in her Early American History course are taken in a blue notebook.
Although Garrett sees many spelling mistakes in the written exams, she does not consider grammatical inconsistencies in the student’s final score. She really expects students to give in-depth and content-oriented answers on the exam.
While some educators may wonder about reading handwriting, Garrett said she has only had to ask students to read their answers aloud due to illegible handwriting twice in her career.
However, administering blue book exams doesn’t seem to be such a popular choice these days. According to Garrett, some more experienced professors at her university expressed surprise when she said she had abandoned digital exams. But constant plagiarism and the unauthorized use of ChatGPT in student essays have deterred Gareth from taking digital exams, and she doesn’t think she’ll be giving up the blue books anytime soon.
“I’ve never done blue notebooks for exams and I have no incentive to change that,” Garrett said.
