‘Testing is a very effective learning tool’
Despite common opinion, regular testing of students can be a very effective learning tool. Cognitive psychologist Henry L. Roediger III found this after a study on the matter.
Roediger compared study results of students who used common methods like re-reading, highlighting and attending study groups with the results of students who were tested very often on the same material. Even when the results on the tests aren’t perfect and there’s no space for feedback, students will remember the material better.
The reason for the difference is that students have to retrieve the information from their own brain when tested. This has a positive effect on the learning process. Some of the advantages of testing that Roediger names are: testing identifies gaps in the knowledge, testing encourages to study and testing produces better organization of knowledge.
