External Aids Do you allow students to use any external reference aids on exams? (For example, open book, open notes, student supplied note pages or formulas, instructor supplied note pages.)

For instructor supplied aids, please describe. For any student supplied aids, what restrictions do you enforce? (For example, number of pages, content such as not allowing worked out examples, authorship such as personally generated vs. photocopied.)

I allow students to use their text and notes during exams. I think this helps to convey to students the message that the abilities to apply what they've learned and interpret statistical information and explain statistical reasoning are what I value and what I strive to assess them on. I do not want them to spend their study time memorizing formulas or reciting definitions. I also want to reward students who do a good job of taking and organizing their notes.

I strongly advise students that they should not regard my open book/notes policy as an excuse to study less diligently. In fact, I advise them to study just as seriously as they would for a closed-book exam, but of course the focus of their studying need not include memorization. I also advise students that in my experience they typically rely on their book and notes during the exam less than they would expect. A final piece of advice that I offer, and which most but not all of them heed, is that an exam strategy that advocates reading the book and trying to figure things out during the exam itself is almost surely doomed to dismal failure.

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