The testing effect is largest at a retention interval of 1–6 days (g = 0.82) and robust across all intervals¶
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Evidence · 1 study · quant-synthesisr2·q4·i2medium
Currency · newest study 2017 · checked against its sources 2026-10-19 (automated, 1 of 1 entry) · not reviewed by a person
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q4 i2 Practice tests were effective regardless of the time lag between practice and final tests, with the highest effect at 1–6 days, significantly higher than under 1 day. → Adesope 2017
Evidence¶
Adesope 2017¶
Adesope, O. O., Trevisan, D. A., & Sundararajan, N. (2017). Rethinking the Use of Tests: A Meta-Analysis of Practice Testing. Review of Educational Research. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654316689306
q4 · i2 · quant-synthesis · r2
Moderator analysis of retention interval (Table 4): <1 day k = 117 (g = 0.56), 1–6 days k = 58 (g = 0.82), 7–42 days k = 52 (g = 0.69), mixed k = 35 (g = 0.51). Post hoc analysis confirmed 1–6 days significantly exceeded less than 1 day.
"Results also show that the highest weighted effect size was obtained with a time lag of 1 to 6 days (g = 0.82; k = 58). The between-levels difference was statistically significant, QΒ(4) = 69.07, p < .001."
Discussion¶
Related Claims¶
- ISI effects on recall are nonmonotonic and depend jointly on retention interval — related
- Retrieval practice effects are larger at retention intervals greater than 1 day (g = 0.69) than at intervals less than 1 day (g = 0.41) in Rowland's (2014) meta-analysis — related
- Retrieval practice produces reliable positive effects at short delays, although some forgetting must set in so that the final test is not at ceiling — related
- Retention interval moderates the testing effect: effects are larger after a day or more than at shorter intervals, where individual studies vary from reliable to null or reversed — related
- Learning-technique effects do not shrink across test delays from the same day to six months — reports the opposite
- The optimal interstudy interval increases as the retention interval increases — related
- Retrieval interval length may moderate the testing effect in mathematics: restricting to intervals over one day raises the effect to g = 0.378 (exploratory). — related
- Longer retention intervals between pre- and post-test weaken the effect of mental simulation — related
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
claim |
id |
retention-interval-one-to-six-days-largest |
title |
The testing effect is largest at a retention interval of 1–6 days (g = 0.82) and robust across all intervals |
description |
The testing effect is largest at a retention interval of 1–6 days (g = 0.82) and robust across all intervals |
status |
review |
evidence_strength |
moderate |
newest_evidence |
2017 |
source_checked |
2026-10-19 |
generated |
by process:wiki-ingest on 2026-10-13 |
trust |
unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content |
sources |
1 — adesope-2017 |
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