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Using tests to enhance 8th grade students' retention of U.S. history facts
Author(s) -
Carpenter Shana K.,
Pashler Harold,
Cepeda Nicholas J.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
applied cognitive psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.719
H-Index - 100
eISSN - 1099-0720
pISSN - 0888-4080
DOI - 10.1002/acp.1507
Subject(s) - psychology , test (biology) , developmental psychology , paleontology , biology
Abstract Laboratory studies show that retention of information can be powerfully enhanced through testing, but evidence for their utility to promote long‐term retention of course information is limited. We assessed 8th grade students' retention of U.S. history facts. Facts were reviewed after 1 week, 16 weeks or not reviewed at all. Some facts were reviewed by testing (Who assassinated president Abraham Lincoln?) followed by feedback (John Wilkes Booth), while others were re‐studied. Nine months later, all students received a test covering all of the facts. Facts reviewed through testing were retained significantly better than facts reviewed through re‐studying, and nearly twice as well as those given no review. The best retention occurred for facts that were reviewed by testing after a 16‐week time interval. Although the gain in item was numerically small, due to floor effects, these results support the notion that testing can enhance long‐term retention of course knowledge. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.