Self-Testing

Element · All elements
Evidence · 14 claims (11 for, 2 mixed, 1 against) · 16 studies (7 review, 5 causal, 4 quant-synthesis), q2–q4 · 9 of 16 report an effect size · 10 claims rest on one study

Description

Self-testing is the element in which learners quiz themselves or otherwise attempt to retrieve knowledge without immediate external prompting. It is useful when the goal is to strengthen retention and help learners gauge what they actually know.

Design Implications

Context

Requirements

• Prompts that require recall
• A way to check or correct the answer

Constraints

• Self-testing without correction can reinforce errors

Target Learning Goals

• Improve retention and support self-monitoring of knowledge.

Affordances

• Retrieval Practice
• Self-Regulation

Claims

• Retrieval practice improves long-term retention [+S]
• Spaced Retrieval Improves Retention [+M]
• The same quizzing or concept-mapping activity produces more learning when done without viewing the material, as retrieval, than while viewing it [+M]
• 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 [+W]
• Feedback Enhances Retrieval Practice [+M]
• Pretesting enhances learning [+M]
• Rereading is less effective than retrieval practice [+S]
• Retrieval Failure Reduces Benefit [+M]
• Both preclass (g = 0.186) and postclass (g = 0.536) quizzes enhance learning, with postclass quizzes more effective; benefits increase with treatment duration. [+W]
• Retrieval practice mostly increases susceptibility to misinformation (retrieval-enhanced suggestibility) [-W]
• Higher-level quiz questions engage learners in generative activities as well as retrieval [~W]
• Closed-book generative tasks can outperform open-book ones when learners can later reinspect the material [+W]
• Learning-outcome effects of open- versus closed-book generative tasks are mixed [~W]

The evidence by question

• Does retrieving material (quizzes, practice tests, recall) improve later retention more than restudying it? Retrieval practice improves long-term retention [+S]
• Does feedback after retrieval add to the benefit? Feedback Enhances Retrieval Practice [+S]
• Will learners choose to test themselves on their own, and can they be taught to? Learners underuse effective learning strategies such as spacing and retrieval practice [+M]

Related Elements

• Retrieval Practice
• Formative Assessment
• Self-Assessment

Patterns That Use This Element

• Flipped Learning
• Traditional Lecture-Based Instruction

Examples

• Learners answer quick checks on their own before class discussion or review.

Key Sources

• Roediger, H. L., & Karpicke, J. D. (2006). Test-enhanced learning: Taking memory tests improves long-term retention. Psychological Science, 17(3), 249-255. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2006.01693.x

Page metadata

Field	Value
type	element
id	self-testing
title	Self-Testing
description	Self-testing is the element in which learners quiz themselves or otherwise attempt to retrieve knowledge without immediate external prompting.
status	review
canonical	True
generated	by codex/unspecified on 2026-04-08
trust	unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content
sources	1 — roediger-2006

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