Students of ABU

I prefer paper-based assessments because steps are marked, not just the final answer

• By ZALIHA Zakari @Samaru Campus
• 200L BSc Polymer and Textile Engineering


• Category/Theme: Pros and Cons of CBT Examinations


• Published OCT 04, 2019 @4:21:56PM


• 4,100 Views
• 0 Comment(s)

Looking at the CBT vs PBT versions of exams... I personally prefer the PBT method because as an Engineering student you need to show [in your exams] your working steps before arriving at an answer. And the way they mark scripts in Engineering... they mark step-by-step you know. It’s mostly about calculations and as such, it is not just about the final answer. So I prefer the PBT (Paper-Based Test) approach than the CBT because looking at the CBT method, it is just your answer and you could just get the answer or miss it at a go. But with PBT, you may not get the final answer alright, but by showing your working steps, you could still earn marks from that if they are correct, and only lose a small mark if you miss the final answer.

One other thing about the CBT approach here is the logistics challenges. Like this test we are here for now was supposed to start by 8am but now it is some minutes to 11 and we are yet to enter the exam hall. I’m sure if it was PBT, we would’ve just entered the exam hall, settled down and get it done in an hour or two. But with this, we’ve been here since eight o’clock but we’ve not even gotten in yet. So you see, it could be quite time-consuming like that. We have other things to do, you know... we missed classes because of this particular test… so those are challenges that need to be seriously looked into.