Testing effects are stronger when practice and final test formats are identical (g = 0.63) than dissimilar (g = 0.53), supporting transfer-appropriate processing¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · quant-synthesis r3 · q4 · i2 medium
Currency · newest study 2017 · checked against its sources 2026-10-19 (automated, 1 of 1 entry) · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q4 i2 Transfer-appropriate processing moderated the testing effect: identical practice and final test formats yielded significantly higher effects than dissimilar formats. → 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 · r3

Moderator analysis of transfer-appropriate processing (Table 2): identical formats k = 175 (g = 0.63), dissimilar k = 69 (g = 0.53), mixed k = 28 (g = 0.75). Post hoc analysis confirmed the identical-versus-dissimilar difference was significant.

"This indicates that testing effects were stronger when the practice and final test formats were identical (g = 0.63) compared to when the practice and final test formats were dissimilar (g = 0.53). The between-levels variance was statistically significant, QΒ(3) = 15.73, p < .001."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Evidence on whether initial short-answer questions produce more learning than initial multiple-choice questions is mixed, with recent studies finding little or no difference — the general claim this finding bears on, with the studies behind it
• Practice tests benefit retention (g = 0.63) and transfer (g = 0.53) outcomes without a significant difference between them — related
• The classroom testing effect transfers to mismatched test formats, but consistent quiz–exam formats yield a significantly larger effect (g = 0.531 vs. g = 0.399). — possibly the same claim (merge candidate)
• Retrieval Practice Improves Transfer — related
• Short-answer (production) and multiple-choice (recognition) retrieval practice produce no statistically significant difference in undergraduates' reading comprehension on a final MCQ test — related
• Spoken–written advantages are larger for retention outcomes and multiple-choice test formats than for transfer or mixed formats — related
• Practice test format moderates the testing effect: mixed-format (g = 0.80) and multiple-choice (g = 0.70) practice tests produced larger effects than short-answer tests (g = 0.48) — related
• The benefits of retrieval practice do not depend on an exact match between initial retrieval practice conditions and the final test format — reports the opposite
• The Kansas Reading Tests' use of arithmetical, physical and practical problems taps mental processes scarcely comparable to ordinary reading comprehension — related