Close the book and test yourself
Retrieval practice makes you try to remember before you reread. Checking mistakes adds useful feedback instead of turning the exercise into a score alone.
After studying, close the material, recall the key points and check what you missed.
Classroom quizzing improved learning by a standardized effect of g = 0.499 in the meta-analysis.
Why consider it?
The pooled comparison concerns classroom learning outcomes, not a percentage grade increase or time saved. Effects varied with the comparison method, test format, feedback and other conditions. The book pairs this evidence with a review favoring practice testing, rather than promising the same effect for every self-test.
Read the sources
Source grade A is reproduced from the original work. It does not establish suitability for everyone.
- Yang C, Luo L, Vadillo MA, Yu R, Shanks DR (2021). Testing (quizzing) boosts classroom learning: A systematic and meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin, 147(4), 399–435.
- Dunlosky J, Rawson KA, Marsh EJ, Nathan MJ, Willingham DT (2013). Improving Students' Learning With Effective Learning Techniques: Promising Directions From Cognitive and Educational Psychology. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 14(1), 4–58.
Adaptation: Rewritten in English from the locked Chinese original; retained evidence grade and study limits. Effect sizes quoted from the cited source: estimates are kept in their original comparison and population; observational associations are not described as proven personal gains.
Make space for a practical habit.
Add this idea to your local checklist.