Note: I just got back from vacation. While I catch up with my reading and gather my thoughts for new posts, here are some excerpts from earlier posts, followed by an update.
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“Using practice tests as a teaching tool has been criticized for emphasizing memorization over reasoning and for being narrowly focused on knowledge goals rather than the learning process. No doubt practice tests can be misused, overused, or poorly designed. But they are also one of the most effective ways to reinforce knowledge and improve our ability to think about that knowledge. “ - Tests help us remember. What we remember helps us think./ Exploring the Problem Space (2016)
The inspiration for my 2016 post on practice tests was “Retrieval Practice Produces More Learning than Elaborative Studying with Concept Mapping” (Karpicke & Blunt, 2011). As noted in a subsequent post, the Karpicke and Blunt paper had garnered 1187 citations by June 29, 2022. Three of the citations were meta-analyses, all of which confirmed the benefits of “test-enhanced” and “retrieval-based” learning. To wit:
1. Pan, S. C., & Rickard, T. C. (2018). Transfer of test-enhanced learning: Meta-analytic review and synthesis. Psychological Bulletin, 144(7), 710–756. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000151
“Attempting recall of information from memory, as occurs when taking a practice test, is one of the most potent training techniques known to learning science. However, does testing yield learning that transfers to different contexts? In the present article, we report the findings of the first comprehensive meta-analytic review into that question. Our review encompassed 192 transfer effect sizes extracted from 122 experiments and 67 published and unpublished articles (N = 10,382) that together comprise more than 40 years of research. [The results] revealed that testing can yield transferable learning as measured relative to a control condition. Transfer of learning is greatest across test formats, to application and inference questions…”
2. Rowland, C. A. (2014). The effect of testing versus restudy on retention: A meta-analytic review of the testing effect. Psychological Bulletin, 140(6), 1432–1463. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0037559
“Engaging in a test over previously studied information can serve as a potent learning event, a phenomenon referred to as the testing effect. Despite a surge of research in the past decade, existing theories have not yet provided a cohesive account of testing phenomena. The present study uses meta-analysis to examine the effects of testing versus restudy on retention. Key results indicate support for the role of effortful processing as a contributor to the testing effect, with initial recall tests yielding larger testing benefits than recognition tests.”
3. Yang, C., Luo, L., Vadillo, M. A., Yu, R., & Shanks, D. R. (2021). Testing (quizzing) boosts classroom learning: A systematic and meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin, 147(4), 399–435. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000309
“Over the last century hundreds of studies have demonstrated that testing is an effective intervention to enhance long-term retention of studied knowledge and facilitate mastery of new information, compared with restudying and many other learning strategies (e.g., concept mapping), a phenomenon termed the testing effect. How robust is this effect in applied settings beyond the laboratory? The current review integrated 48,478 students’ data, extracted from 222 independent studies, to investigate the magnitude, boundary conditions, and psychological underpinnings of test-enhanced learning in the classroom. The results show that overall testing (quizzing) raises student academic achievement….”
December 2025 Update:
Per Google Scholar, the Karpicke and Blunt paper has garnered 1755 citations as of December 30, 2025, up from 1187 in mid-2022.
Here’s an AI Overview research summary explaining why memorizing key facts for tests (what used to be call “regurgitation” and “rote learning” by the skeptics) can produce meaningful, long-term learning:
“Retrieval practice strengthens cognitive skills by forcing your brain to actively reconstruct knowledge, which strengthens neural pathways, making information more accessible and improving long-term memory, understanding, and even higher-order thinking like problem-solving, moving learning from passive review to active, effortful engagement that builds deeper comprehension and metacognitive awareness.”
Reference:
J. D. Karpicke, J. R. Blunt Retrieval Practice Produces More Learning than Elaborative Studying with Concept Mapping Published Online20 Jan 2011 DOI: 10.1126/science.1199327 DOI: 10.1126/science.1199327