[Waterluvian]

Being hand written would be silly theatre that excludes perfectly capable people (like me) who cannot sustain writing more than a few minutes.

Edit: I think we’re actually all agreeing. That a typed exam as an option is perfectly cromulent. I’m just saying the idea that it must be written is silly.

[glimshe]

I don't want to dismiss your limitation, but it's better to create an acommodation for your particular case than to prevent the system from being implemented for everybody else.

[Waterluvian]

Yeah, that’s the way it worked in undergrad for me. People would have hand written exams and the ones that had essay portions I’d do under more careful scrutiny in a different location using their hardware.

[shermantanktop]

Writing by hand for extended periods is a capability.

It was mandatory in an earlier age. Now it has become optional, but it could become mandatory again.

Presumably someone who is unable would get an accommodation of some kind.

[notreallyauser]

Gen Xer here: we coped with hand written exams just fine. Accommodations (extra time and/or a scribe) were available for those who needed them.

[recursivedoubts]

We have a testing center set up for people who require accommodations, another piece of legacy functionality I never expected to use back when I gave my tests online.

[woodruffw]

I don't think it's theatre, in the sense that it is effective for the advertised purpose (preempting AI-based cheating). But it seems to me like there are also plenty of ways to make reasonable accommodations for people who can't do a pen-and-paper exam, such as an offline computer.