Going Green and Using Less Paper to Print Exams: Student Performance, Completion Time, and Preference

Two studies measured the impact on student exam performance and exam completion time of strategies aimed to reduce the amount of paper used for printing multiple-choice course exams. Study 1 compared single-sided to double-sided printed exams. Study 2 compared a single-column arrangement of multiple-choice answer options to a space (and paper) saving alternative arrangement formatted into two-by-two columns and rows. Findings support the use of these simple paper reduction strategies as they had no effect on exam performance or exam completion time and were partially aligned with students' self-reported preferences.