Joyce Stillman-Myers Ithaca, N.Y., Jan. 24, 2011, Take a Test to Really Learn, Research Suggests. Research reveals that taking a test can help with this too. But I was disappointed to read that “why retrieval testing helps is still unknown.”. In my experience, more tests do not help me learn information. Does Test-Taking Help Students Learn? I personally would like to avoid as many tests as possible, especially with my grade on the line. I have found that it is often the retrieval of acquired knowledge, rather than the acquisition of that knowledge, that causes students to fail. Butler later gave students a test on a different but related topic that they hadn’t studied – submarine sonar – and found that students in the repeat testing group answered more questions correctly than those in the re-study group. We use tests and exams to measure students’ ability, but can tests themselves improve learning? The existing research certainly doesn’t seem to suggest that students would only benefit if testing took place solely in high stakes, exam settings. A phenomenon known as the ‘testing effect’ shows that taking a test improves people’s later recall of information they have studied. But learning is more than just remembering facts. Carpenter, S. K., Pashler, H., & Cepeda, N. J. Karpicke, J. D., Butler, A. C., & Roediger, H. L. (2009). Standardized Tests Have an Indirect, but Important Impact on Students. ... write a free-form essay for 10 minutes. Testing, particularly standardized testing, does nothing to enhance knowledge and hinders the development of an appreciation for learning that should begin in school and last a lifetime. Another use of tests at the school level is to … The obvious reason is that retrieval testing and practice tests provide interactive learning. It completely ignores neurodiverse students. Thank goodness I can still do that, because at 68, I need all the help I can get. We and our partners will store and/or access information on your device through the use of cookies and similar technologies, to display personalised ads and content, for ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. In my experience, more tests do not help me learn information. Essay One Standardized tests have been around for a very long time, and they are probably going to be around for a long time to come. This ‘learning transfer’ is one of the most important aspects of education. Information about your device and internet connection, including your IP address, Browsing and search activity while using Verizon Media websites and apps. The testing effect Students may be reluctant to self-test because immediately after studying one can often only recall a few things correctly, and ‘failing’ a self-imposed test may make students feel discouraged or that the approach isn’t working. The writer is a professor and director of learning assessment in the Lubin School of Business at Pace University. This is an important lesson for administrators to remember when they subject children to endless educational assessments aimed at measuring student success. John Taylor Gatto New York, Jan. 21, 2011, The writer is the author of “Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling.”. Unfortunately, most students tend to spend time re-studying material rather than testing themselves. Standardized tests help principals and other school leaders figure out which groups of students are struggling and gives them the evidence they need to push for changes. Studying, not test taking, is the key to learning. Why, even Howard Gardner, an esteemed and enlightened educator, is quoted as saying that this research “throws down the gauntlet” to progressive educators who put the cognitive growth of children at the center of their lessons. Also the poor argument that parents don’t need to help with homework, and that students can do it on their own, is wishful thinking at best. “Take a Test to Really Learn, Research Suggests” (news article, Jan. 21): What a boon this piece of research seems to be for those who believe that the primary mission of classrooms is test preparation. So what? Measuring knowledge of subject matter or level of skill attainment can be successful without subjecting students to the potentially damaging effects of an all-or-nothing test that does more to glorify school administrators than to enhance the quality of education. I have been using retrieval testing and practice tests, successfully, as teaching tools, for decades and was thus delighted to see your article. Trying to learn in a stressful environment is no way to help retain information. For example, in a study by Henry L. Roediger and Jeffrey Karpicke, students had to either re-read a passage (the ‘study’ group) or recall what they could remember from the passage (the ‘test’ group). Why put more stress and anxiety on students who already have a lot on their plates? The majority of questions in tests are auto-graded. It has been stressed a lot that tests put a great effect on language learners who take the tests and teachers who try to help them in preparing and taking these tests. More studies with school-age pupils rather than undergraduate students would also be useful, and under realistic classroom conditions rather than controlled lab-based settings. Once we have more readily applicable research findings, we’ll be able to see whether the testing effect survives in the real world. The testing effect suggests that it would be helpful to encourage students to test themselves during revision sessions. Yet, as one reads the article, this “testing” turns out to be what the researchers term “retrieval practice tests,” which are actually timed writing exercises in which students, after reading the assigned text, write a free-form essay for 10 minutes. (2009). Jump to the "Ultra" help about grades and feedback for tests. Do Tests Really Help Students Learn or Was a New Study Misreported? Real learning is measured only by utility, by application. As a matter of fact, I need to go back to the article to find the name of that study! Students then took the same test five minutes, two days or one week later. 01/28/2011 05:26 pm ET Updated May 25, 2011 The relationship between educational policies and educational research is both fascinating and disturbing. Time marches on. After five minutes, the study group could recall slightly more than those in the test group. Students who repeatedly tested themselves had better recall on this topic than those who simply re-read the passage. Testing Identifies Student Strengths and Weaknesses. Essay, File … Critics have denounced regular exams and classroom testing as encouraging ‘teaching-to-the-test’ and shallow, rote learning. We also don’t know whether the effect holds true for high stakes tests like GCSEs, or is more relevant in classroom settings to encourage students’ progress during the year. That method is teaching. Heidi Reichel Huntington, N.Y., Jan. 21, 2011. Hardly a teacher alive would be surprised to learn that students make better sense of what they read, and thus better retain the information, when they write about what they have just read. As a college student, I will not let one article affect my classroom routines. Andrew Butler gave students a one thousand word passage about how bats use sound waves to navigate and hunt their prey. According to research from psychological science, it’s both (a) and (b) – while testing can be useful as an assessment tool, the actual process of taking a test can also help us to learn and retain new information over the long term and apply it across different contexts. Testing students does provide information about a school district, student, and teacher, but it is definitely not the entire picture. Now students in the test group could remember more than those in the study group (see the graph below). Retrieval practice works not because it is helping students remember information better but rather because it is helping them learn to retrieve information better. For the sake of our fractured education system, for the sake of our stressed schools and beleaguered teachers, for the sake — especially — of the children we are charged to educate, let us not confuse “writing” with “testing.”, Dorothy S. Strang Jamestown, R.I., Jan. 21, 2011, The apparently compelling possibility suggested by an article in the journal Science that retrieval practice testing is more effective than other familiar ways of reinforcing learning can be shown as untrue by asking a second question about the meaning of “really learn.”. Pashler, H., Rohrer, D., Cepeda, N. J., & Carpenter, S. K. (2007). Every student learns differently and needs to do things in the way that is best for him or her. Find out more about how we use your information in our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy. Danielle Steele Bemidji, Minn., Jan. 21, 2011. Roediger, H. L., & Karpicke, J. D. (2006). That is why good teachers routinely include informal writing with every reading assignment. But there is a second reason that has largely escaped the education system as a whole. Teaching requires retrieval and understanding of material. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Your Privacy Controls. Our children cannot do much of anything anymore, and the monopolization of their time by dysfunctional schooling grounded in testing is a big part of the reason for that. Illusions of competence in monitoring one's knowledge during study, Enhancing learning and retarding forgetting: Choices and consequences, Test-Enhanced Learning: Taking Memory Tests Improves Long-Term Retention. Students in poverty aren’t magically going to find a space to do homework, a friend’s or siblings to help them do it, and snacks to eat. Critics have denounced regular exams and classroom testing as encouraging ‘teaching-to-the-test’ and shallow, rote learning. Future research comparing testing with other learning strategies, such as making revision notes or completing practice problems, would be helpful in establishing the most effective way to learn. To enable Verizon Media and our partners to process your personal data select 'I agree', or select 'Manage settings' for more information and to manage your choices. Terms and conditions Privacy statement Feedback, Results from Roediger and Karpicke’s study of the testing effect, Repeated testing produces superior transfer of learning relative to repeated studying, Testing beyond words: Using tests to enhance visuospatial map learning, Using tests to enhance 8th grade students' retention of US history facts. I find that when I try to create analogies, define concepts and remember facts to relay and justify information to someone else, that information becomes clearer and more memorable to me. However, as Roediger and Karpicke’s study illustrates, testing can lead to better recall in the longer-term. Metacognitive strategies in student learning: Do students practise retrieval when they study on their own? The system validates your answers and assigns the score. Your instructor defines the correct answers and assigns points to each question. Nobody should care whether memorization is enhanced by practice testing or not. The testing effect has been found when learning all kinds of information: words from another language, locations on a map, events from US history. But there is mounting evidence that taking tests can in fact improve recall, and help students apply existing knowledge to new contexts and situations. In the case of this research, the success claimed for practice testing is being measured by further testing — not by any real-world application. The same was true when students re-took the test after a week. From my own experience teaching many subjects on all grade and college levels, I have come to rely on another method of learning that was not covered by the study covering testing as learning, but one that should be explored. HuffPost is part of Verizon Media. Re-reading tends to make students feel more familiar with a text and gives the illusion of improved learning and recall, when in fact they are losing out on the benefits that the testing effect seems to offer. The students in the testing group were more able to correctly recall information they had learnt about sound waves and apply it to a related topic. But two days later, this had reversed. While the testing effect has implications for approaches to learning, most studies have compared testing with either no study or with students re-studying material. Experience has shown me that there are two main reasons retrieval testing and practice tests help students learn. But there is mounting evidence that taking tests can in fact improve recall, and help students apply existing knowledge to new contexts and situations. I believe that tests should be used to review what has been taught and not as a way to learn. It also involves applying what you have learnt to new situations, often outside the classroom.

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