So, I'll have another Java exam next week and was wondering one thing... What do you all think about programming exams on paper? Like you get the task and you have to write it down on paper, without usage of the computer.
I feel about it the same way I feel about most exams: it's really not a good test of your abilities, since it's not a scenario most people are going to find themselves in - how often outside of an exam are you going to be required to write a program without even so much as being able to test it? But, if there's no other way to test you on it, then that's what you have to do I guess.
I think a pen-and-paper test is more suited to writing pseudocode or analyzing a given program, since you SHOULD be able to work out an algorithm without assistance, and it's always possible you'll be in a situation where you're having to fix somebody else's code, and might not have useful comments or error messages.