Slashdot Mirror
Ask Slashdot: Should Coding Exams Be Given on Paper?
Slashdot reader Qbertino is pursuing a comp sci degree -- and got a surprise during the last exam: being asked to write code on paper.
Not that I'd expect an IDE -- it's an exam after all -- but being able to use a screen and a keyboard with a very simple editor should be standard at universities these days... I find this patently absurd in 2018...
What do you think and what are your recent experiences with exams at universities? Is this still standard? What's the point besides annoying students? Did I miss something?
A similar question was asked on Slashdot 16 years ago -- but apparently nothing has changed since 2002.
Leave your best answers in the comments. Should coding exams be given on paper?
What do you think and what are your recent experiences with exams at universities? Is this still standard? What's the point besides annoying students? Did I miss something?
A similar question was asked on Slashdot 16 years ago -- but apparently nothing has changed since 2002.
Leave your best answers in the comments. Should coding exams be given on paper?
I have a computer science degree - obtained circa 2001.
None of my exams during the pursuit of my degree used a computer - all exams were done on paper. Demonstrating understanding of data structures, algorithms, complexity analysis and other CS topics is not coding.
Coding is the implementation work of computer science, much like construction is the implementation work of Civil Engineering.
Would you test a Civil Engineering student by asking him/her to build you a bridge?