Testing Effect
Practice Testing
Long-term memory is improved when some of the learning period is devoted to retrieving the information.
Origin
Psychologists Henry L. Roediger III and Jeffrey D. Karpicke demonstrated the testing effect in their landmark 2006 study "The Power of Testing Memory," published in Psychological Science. Participants studied prose passages and took one or three immediate free-recall tests without feedback, or restudied the material. On 5-minute final tests, repeated studying improved recall. However, on delayed tests (2 days, 1 week), prior testing produced substantially greater retention than studying. Repeated-study subjects forgot 56%, test/re-presentation forgot 26%, and repeated-test forgot only 13%. Retrieval practice through testing produces superior long-term retention compared to passive restudying.