#BlueBook December 29
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Throughout December 2024, several of us are taking part in the 30-Day PPT Coach4aday Challenge. PPT is an acronym for People Places or Things. Each day we share our insights, thoughts, or memories about a person (living or dead), a place (we have visited or learned about) or a thing that intrigues us. Today I’m featuring a part of college exams called a BLUE BOOK.
For most people in my generation, final exams in all college courses were typically comprehensive. That often meant writing large amounts of information in response to an open-ended question in an Examination Blue Book. That was especially true for Social Science classes.
The downside of comp exams was that you could do A or B work all semester only to have your grade derailed by the final exam. Of course, the reverse was possible, but it was rare to pull off the “Hail Mary” of final exams—doing D or F work throughout the term and then acing the final.
People, Places, & Things 30-Day Challenge Guidelines
Like previous challenges there are no hard and fast rules to participate. There are a few suggested guidelines
- Each day in December 2024 write about a Person, Place or Thing-PPT
- Share at least one fact, memory, or quality about your subject choice.
- If so inclined use the hash tag #Coach4adayChallenge on social media platforms
December 29th-Blue Book
Like every aspect of a college education administering and taking final exams has seen an increase in the use of online electronic testing. Using Moodle or Canvas for many college professors has become the default way to administer end of semester exams.
I was able to locate a study on the history and prevalence of the Blue Book. It is called “The Rise and Fall of the Blue Book” and is written by a number of scholars at Utah State University. That research stated that credit is often given to Butler University in the 1920’s for introducing this tool but the authors believed it was Harvard in the 1850’s.
I took astronomy for Non-Majors in college, and as I walked into take the exam, the professor handed me blue book and, as I was walking on, he said, “You’ll need this.” and held out a sheet of logarithm tables. I said, “No, I won’t” since I had no idea what to do with it.
I did manage a B.