A few more tests help you remember better

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A few more tests help you remember better

13 November 2006
by Richard Conan-Davies

Having a few more tests helps you remember study material better. This is according to a study published in the American Psychological Association.

The study, by psychologists at Washington University in St. Louis, showed that testing enhanced long-term recall for material that was not tested initially.

In one of the experiments 84 undergrads were given 25 minutes to study an article about a toucan bird

The students were then split into 3 groups.

The test group answered 22 questions about the material straight after.

an "extra study" students read 22 additional statements about toucans, essentially giving them a head start – though they did not take a test.

Students in a control group were immediately dismissed.

Then a day later the students were tested again with new questions about the study material.

Doctoral student Jason Chan, who led the study, discovered that the group that were tested did much better than the other groups.

study hard

According to the study...The results "imply that as long as students have retrieved a concept, other related concepts should also receive a boost." The authors may soon hear from their own students for suggesting that, "educators might consider increasing the frequency of testing to enhance long-term retention for both the tested and the related, non-tested material."

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Original press release from EurekAlert

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