Public Records

Public records are something that I've seen but I guess it's value in the classroom has never been properly explained to me. Public records are evidence of learning done in the class in regards to the material/ lessons given in class. A great benefit to public records is that they are up on the walls of the classroom where students can easily find them and refer back to them whenever they needed to. Not only will students have a reference within the classroom they can take ownership of some of the records (if they were created by they students). My only hesitation is that maybe students may rely on public records during tests, would that be appropriate? Will students be able to complete the material without the public records available? Are there definite strides in success made with public records?