Bring back blue books?

Bring back blue books?

Not likely.

When I told a professor friend of mine who had recently retired that I was going back to teach a course after being retired for the past 13 years, he said “Are you out of your flipping mind?” But he didn’t say “flipping.” My answer was “apparently.” He then told me that my written assignments that were legend – a bi-weekly news report and a term paper – were now useless because the students did not do their own work. He said that AI and ChaptGPT were now writing the students’ papers. Also everything was multiple choice/ true false and machine graded. No more blue books. No more written exams with only essays, short answers and problems. Since I had never given a multiple choice/true false exams in all my years, I wasn’t about to start now. He said that I might have a revolt on my hands.

Sure enough when I announced what type of exams I gave, six students dropped immediately. Then students asked if they could take the exams on their computers. I said no and a couple more dropped. I was shocked when they handed in the first exam – 8 pages long – and every exam was printed! I was told that cursive is no longer taught. How do they sign their names? One student told me that my tests were unfair in that they had never had a test other than multiple choice in their four years at the university and they were not prepared to write out their answers. Yet another thanked me because she was “sick and tired of multiple choice exams.”  Technology had made it easy to move questions from the teacher’s test bank to an exam template, have the computer administer the exam (it even checks for cheating somehow), grade the exams and post the grades to the students’ ledgers. Why would anyone waste their time spending an entire weekend grading exams? Why indeed? Yet I did. I also took off for misspelled words and was roundly criticized for it. One student said that “this was not a spelling bee.” Au contraire. I would not let them use a calculator either. However, after half the class could not answer a question that involved 5% of 10,000, I gave up using problems.

There was an article in the Wall Street Journal that blue books were making a comeback because of AI. I don’t see it. I can’t imagine today’s professors testing using blue books. Not when you can let the technology do it all for you. I was stunned when the class of senior finance majors could not write the present value formula. I was not as surprised when they could not explain why the equation made logical sense. I wonder what skill sets today’s college graduates bring to the job. I would not be surprised if employers have to teach basic skills that once upon a time were expected to be already possessed by new employees.

I personally find all this sad. There were some really smart students in my class. I have little doubt that some of them will become intellectually curious and will be amongst the minority that advances our society come the future. Or at least, that is what I hope.