When writing by hand, the brain’s visual motor systems that support learning are more active, says Sophia Vinci-Booher, assistant professor of educational neuroscience at Vanderbilt University. Vinci-Booher also found that handwriting increases letter recognition more than typing.
In general, when note-taking and assessment methods coincide, a student is more likely to do better than when the modes don’t match, says Vinci-Booher. For example, if answers to a test are required to be written by hand, a student who also writes their notes by hand will likely do better on the test than a student who writes their answers.
This school year, Coupet discovered that most of her students had never taken a handwritten test in college. When he issued the blue books for the first tests of the 2024-25 school year, he had to give detailed instructions about the blue book standards, such as where you write your name.
Coupet saw an immediate difference in the test results.
Students who did not attend class often showed their lack of preparation in their test responses, and Coupet noted more variability in these students’ responses. Students who were not prepared for the test also struggled to apply reason to their answers—an important skill for future policymakers, he said. In the past, these struggles were masked by the use of technology and what the students did not actually know was hidden.
For now, Coupet will stick with the blue book tests because it fits his teaching style.
Grade in the Blue Book
Alexandra Garrett, assistant professor of history at St Michael’s College, has never known anything different. He joined the faculty at St. Michael’s College during the 2022-2023 school year, and teach private classes only. All three tests in his early American history courses were done in the blue book.
Although Garrett sees many spelling errors on written tests, he does not include grammar inconsistencies in a student’s final score. You expect students to provide test answers that are relevant to the content.
While some teachers may question handwriting, Garrett said she has to ask students to read their answers aloud, due to illegible handwriting, twice in her work.
Taking blue book exams does not seem to be a popular option these days. According to Garrett, some more experienced professors at his university expressed surprise when he said he had abandoned digital experiments. But ongoing cheating and unauthorized use of ChatGPT in student affairs has kept Garrett from digital exams, and he doesn’t see himself moving away from the blue books anytime soon.
“I’ve never done green books on exams and I have no reason to change them,” Garrett said.
