Retrieval Practice Consistently Benefits Student Learning: a Systematic Review of Applied Research in Schools and Classrooms

We checked this card's citation and the finding we state against the source's own page or record in October 2026.

What it found

Counting only experiments run in real classes, retrieval practice improved learning across education levels, subjects, test formats and delays, and 57% of the effect sizes were medium or large. Only 6% of the experiments were run outside Western, educated, industrialized, rich and democratic countries.

What kind of study it is

Design

Systematic review

Weight

A synthesis: it pools or weighs many studies, so it carries the most weight on the evidence meter.

Sample

50 classroom experiments, 49 effect sizes, 5,374 students, from nearly 2,000 abstracts screened

Who

Both school-age children and college students

Limits

Mixes school and college classes. Most experiments come from a narrow set of countries.

Read it

doi.org/10.1007/s10648-021-09595-9 · ERIC record EJ1319572

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Cited in the Library

• Retrieval practice