Does testing actually improve student memory better than studying?
Even when tests are given without feedback, retrieval practice enhances later retention more than restudying the material.
For definition, research often refers to retrieval practice as the ‘testing effect’, and when the word ‘testing’ is used, people outside education become concerned, and often associate any kind of ‘test’ with exams. I want you to think of testing as ‘quizzing’ for an easier way to understand the research on testing, retrieval, or memory …
Testing doesn’t just measure knowledge
In The Power of Testing Memory (Roediger III & Karpicke, 2006) research suggests that testing enhances memory better than extra studying, with lasting effects on retention.
Testing doesn’t just measure knowledge – it actively strengthens memory.
The result?
We start to get into metacognition territory, where students can self regulate their learning, use information in the future, even when it becomes subconscious and we don’t necessarily think about it.
Think of all the millions of people who criticise why we have to learn the Pythagoras theorem in our maths classrooms.
Many years later after school is complete, people rarely wonder why they can now calculate the shortest route through a forest or on a long drive navigating traffic jams on a motorway. In the latter example, people might rely on satellite navigation, but they’re still using prior knowledge to determine which is the shortest route to take.
What once might appear as an abstract concept in a math classroom, is now manifesting itself in a practical, real world problem-solving situations without them even realising.
Frequent testing significantly improves automatic, long-term decisions
Roediger and Karpicke’s research suggests that frequent retrieval practice (testing) significantly improves long-term retention. Their work highlights the “testing effect,” where testing outperforms repeated study, even when no feedback is given. It’s a paradigm shift: rather than fear tests, teachers should use them as powerful learning tools.
The reason this matters is simple: testing makes students think harder.
Students receive what they choose to pay attention to. However, students retain what the encode, organise and retrieve, and inbetween these two dichotomies, this is where great teaching can make a difference.
By actively thinking, students engage in deeper cognitive processing, which strengthens their memory connections. Frequent testing helps students retain knowledge, and the effects are long-lasting.
This interesting graphic shows that immediate testing (after a few minutes) might not reap immediate benefits, but over the medium-term (e.g. one week), information recalled is greater.
What should teachers do?
- Teachers can start small by using low-stakes quizzes, quick-fire questions.
- These don’t have to be formal, high-pressure tests!
- Using tools like retrieval practice apps, exit tickets, or mini-quizzes can turn the act of retrieval into a habit.
- Remember, retrieval should ever be associated with a grade. It’s a learning strategy, not an assessment strategy!
Reflection questions for teachers
- How often do you use low-stakes quizzes in your classroom?
- Do you use retrieval practice throughout your lessons or only before exams?
- Could you combine quizzes with feedback to further boost memory retention?
- How do you currently measure whether your students are retaining what they’ve learned?
- Could primary school teachers use verbal recall to engage younger pupils in retrieval practice?
- How can secondary school teachers embed more testing in non-graded ways?
- Are you making retrieval practice engaging enough for students?
- What opportunities do you provide for students to self-test?
- How can FE colleges use regular testing to help students prepare for exams?
- How could school leaders promote a school-wide culture of retrieval practice?
The research concludes
If teachers determine what critical knowledge and skills they want their students to know after leaving the class, these points can be emphasised in class and tested repeatedly at spaced intervals to ensure that students acquire this knowledge …
Download and read the full paper.
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