A Meta-Analytic Review of the Benefit of Spacing out Retrieval Practice Episodes on Retention

Alice Latimier, Hugo Peyre, Franck Ramus2021Educational Psychology Review, 33(3), 959–987

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

Spreading retrieval practice on the same content out over time led to much better retention than doing it all at once. Expanding gaps (short, then longer, then longer) were no better on average than equal gaps, contrary to a widely held belief.

Effect size, as the source reports it: spaced vs massed retrieval practice g = 0.74; expanding vs uniform spacing g = 0.034 (not significant).

What kind of study it is

Design: Meta-analysis
Weight: A synthesis: it pools or weighs many studies, so it carries the most weight on the evidence meter.
Sample: 29 studies; 39 effect sizes for spaced vs massed, 54 for expanding vs uniform schedules

Read it

doi.org/10.1007/s10648-020-09572-8 · ERIC record EJ1310148

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Cite this study

Latimier, A., Peyre, H., & Ramus, F. (2021). A meta-analytic review of the benefit of spacing out retrieval practice episodes on retention. Educational Psychology Review, 33(3), 959–987. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-020-09572-8

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