One study, published in Psychological Science, was based on two experiments in which students read passages on scientific topics. In the first experiment, students were assigned to one of two groups. Students in the first group took a test on the material, those in the second group re-read it, then both groups took a test five minutes, two days or one week later. In the second experiment, students read the material and then either (a) took three tests, (b) re-read the material three times and took one test, or (c) read the material four times.
The study's authors found that the students who were directed to review the material reported greater confidence in their ability to remember the material (and, indeed, they performed better on the retention test given five minutes later). However, on the tests taken days later, "prior testing produced substantially greater retention than studying."
References
Glenn, David. (2007, June 8). You will be tested on this.
The Chronicle of Higher Education
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Roediger III, H.L., & Karpicke, J.D. (2006). Test-enhanced learning
Psychological Science, 17 (3), 249-255. -DPU-
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