The usefulness of retrieval practice and review-only practice for answering conceptually related test questions

In a simulated last-minute test preparation scenario, the authors examined the extent to which practice can influence accuracy of self-assessment, overall test performance, and memory of a familiar knowledge domain. They simulated test preparation by exposing students to practice questions, allegedly from a study guide. The test preparation consisted of either answering questions (retrieval practice) and then checking the correctness of the answers or reviewing questions along with their answers (review-only practice). Immediately after either form of practice, students took a test with questions whose content was conceptually related to the practice test questions. In this study, both forms of practice had a beneficial effect on self-assessment prior to the test and on overall test performance. When the authors examined specific memory responses, they found practice to benefit the frequency of correct responses that students defined as experiences of remembering and knowing. The effect of practice was not modulated by the recency of the acquisition of the domain being tested (at least within the time span of an academic semester).