1. The Use and Benefits of a Take Home Exam in Accounting Education
Suzanne Maloney

2. Are take home exams used in accounting education? Are they useful?
Purpose
Are take home exams used in accounting education?
Are they useful?

3. Motivation Assessment drives learning
Need to find the assessment types that help develop the skills and knowledge desired

4. Assessment Measures a student’s knowledge and skill
Shapes student’s beliefs about learning
Influences what students learn
Creates opportunities for student learning

5. Evolution of Assessment (Boud, 1995)
Conventional (assessment follows teaching)
Assessment needs to be rational and defensible (reliable and valid)
Authentic Assessment and Competency (norm-referenced versus criteria-referenced)
Holistic Assessment (includes assessment itself and assessment process)

6. Learning, knowledge and skills
Deep
Surface
Strategic
Knowledge and skills
Greater emphasis
Mapping across courses
Private and government accreditation

7. Assessment Types Quizzes Assignment Invigilated exam Take home exam
variety of tasks could be assigned
Access to course leader and other students
Greater time period to complete
Invigilated exam
Short time period
Limited in tasks can assign
Can encourage rote and surface learning
Take home exam
Hybrid of invigilated exam and assignment
Time of the essence
Independent work
Access to all resources available in real world
More meaningful and authentic task

8. Take Home Exam Use in Accounting
Limited use in post graduate and honours courses
Acknowledgement that a take home exam would develop different skills and knowledge than an assignment and invigilated exam
More likely to develop critical thinking, deep rather than surface learning, time management and use of real time resources

9. Main Impediments to Use
Authentication of student submissions
University process, policies and resources

10. Future Research
Understand more fully the skills developed when undertaking a take home exam compared to an assignment or invigilated exam
Understand that university impediments (process, policy, resource) to the use of a take home exam
Explore the authenticity issue (how is it different to assignments? What is being done in the assignment area to maximise integrity?)