Test-Enhanced Learning

@article{Roediger2006TestEnhancedL,
  title={Test-Enhanced Learning},
  author={Henry L. Roediger and Jeffrey D. Karpicke},
  journal={Psychological Science},
  year={2006},
  volume={17},
  pages={249 - 255}
}
Taking a memory test not only assesses what one knows, but also enhances later retention, a phenomenon known as the testing effect. We studied this effect with educationally relevant materials and investigated whether testing facilitates learning only because tests offer an opportunity to restudy material. In two experiments, students studied prose passages and took one or three immediate free-recall tests, without feedback, or restudied the material the same number of times as the students who… 
View on SAGE
apps.weber.edu
1,733 Citations
Highly Influential Citations
89
Background Citations
512
Methods Citations
111
Results Citations
89

Figures and Tables from this paper

1,733 Citations

When does the test-study-test sequence optimize learning and retention?
TLDR
Possible critical aspects regarding test feedback and the availability of previous tests for helping students to optimize their restudy efforts after low- or no-stakes quizzes are suggested.
Testing the testing effect in the classroom
Laboratory studies show that taking a test on studied material promotes subsequent learning and retention of that material on a final test (termed the testing effect). Educational research has…
Tests improve memory – no matter if you feel good or bad while taking them
TLDR
The present results suggest that testing seems to benefit long-term retention independently of the learner's affective state.
Partial Testing can Potentiate Learning of Tested and Untested Material From Multimedia Lessons
Test-potentiated learning occurs when testing renders a subsequent study period more effective than it would have been without an intervening test. We examined whether testing only a subset of…
How crucial is the response format for the testing effect?
TLDR
To conclude, overt testing was more beneficial for later retention than covert testing, but the effect size was small.
Retrieval-induced facilitation: initially nontested material can benefit from prior testing of related material.
TLDR
Three experiments examined how taking an initial test affects later memory for prose materials not initially tested, showing that testing enhanced recall 24 hr later for the initially nontested material.
The pretesting effect: do unsuccessful retrieval attempts enhance learning?
TLDR
The authors examined the effect of unsuccessful retrieval attempts on learning by reading an essay about vision and found that posttest performance was better in the test condition than in the extended study condition in all experiments--a pretesting effect.
Does pre-testing promote better retention than post-testing?
TLDR
The results suggest that it may be more fruitful to test students after than before exposure to learning content, as post-testing promoted knowledge transfer to previously untested questions, whereas pre-testing did not.
Cognitive Load Theory, Resource Depletion and the Delayed Testing Effect
The testing effect occurs when students, given information to learn and then practice during a test, perform better on a subsequent content post-test than students who restudy the information as a…
Testing improves long-term retention in a simulated classroom setting
The benefits of testing on long-term retention of lecture material were examined in a simulated classroom setting. Participants viewed a series of three lectures on consecutive days and engaged in a…
...
...

References

SHOWING 1-10 OF 56 REFERENCES
Tests and test feedback as learning sources
Untangling the benefits of multiple study opportunities and repeated testing for cued recall
Spacing multiple study opportunities apart from one another is known by psychologists to be a highly effective study method (see Dempster, 1996). This study examines whether including tests during…
When does feedback facilitate learning of words?
TLDR
Supplying the correct answer after an incorrect response not only improved performance during the initial learning session--it also increased final retention by 494% and made little difference either immediately or at a delay, regardless of whether the subject was confident in the response.
Effects of Frequent Classroom Testing.
ABSTRACT The educational effects of frequent classroom testing have been studied and discussed since the early part of this century. Testing advocates have suggested that more frequent classroom…
Rereading Effects Depend on Time of Test.
Previous research has shown better text learning after rereading versus 1 reading of a text. However, rereading effects have only been explored using immediate tests, whereas most students face…
The "Testing" Phenomenon: Not Gone but Nearly Forgotten
The "testing" phenomenon refers to the finding that students who take a test on material between the time they first study and the time they take a final test remember more of the material than…
Different rates of forgetting following study versus test trials
TLDR
It is concluded that study and test Trials have different effects upon memory, with study trials promoting memory acquisition, and test trials enhancing the retrieval process itself, which protects against subsequent forgetting.
The influence of retrieval on retention
TLDR
The results reject the hypothesis that a successful retrieval is beneficial only to the extent that it provides another study experience, as performing a memory retrieval (TTST condition) led to better performance than pure study (pure ST condition).
The effects of presentation and recall of material in free-recall learning
Studies in retention.
The importance of retention is shown by the fact that growth or improvement in skills, knowledges, and attitudes is dependent upon the learner's retention of the effects of previous experience. The…
...
...