In the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, an unseen examination is an essay test in
school
A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the Educational architecture, building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most co ...
or
college
A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary sc ...
, where the student does not know what questions are going to be asked in advance.
The student is required to answer questions based upon what they have learned over the course of their academic study.
In contrast, in a seen examination the questions have been made available to the student prior to examination.
A study by Joseph K. Wireko (2015) at Ghana Technology University College found that students felt more confident and less stressed when preparing for seen exams compared to traditional unseen exams. This reduction in anxiety led to better performance and a more positive learning experience.
The vast majority of UK undergraduate exams in all fields, such as law and psychology,
are unseen examinations. Unseen examinations are favoured for their inherent protection against plagiarism,
and their potential to develop students' ability to handle pressure and time constraints. However, they have been criticised for causing anxiety and stress in students,
for negatively impacting motivation and the depth of learning experiences,
and for unfairly favouring students who happen to be particularly skilled at unseen written exams as opposed to other assessment methods.
References
School examinations
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