14 DAY TRIAL // Even if most students do not like school tests and consider them needless, a recent study showed that school tests are actually very effective in helping students to remember all the information they have learned throughout a certain period of time.
The new study has been carried out by a team of researchers at the Washington University, St. Louis who investigated how school tests work on learning ability and brought to light the fact that students who are periodically tested on the information they have been taught by teachers are more likely to recall all the material studied even after a longer period of time from the test.
The study involved 3 experiments conducted on 54 to 84 undergraduate students and overall results of all experiments showed that those who had to face written tests while being taught a certain material had increased chances of remembering all the information previously learned and bear it in mind for longer periods of time. On the other hand, their peers who had been taught a particular material, but did not have to take tests, had a hard time with long-time recalling of information even when they were given extra-time to review their paper.
In their report, published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, the team concluded that students should not be so reluctant when it comes to taking school tests, as these are very beneficial for their future, as school tests help them 'bury' a large amount of information on their minds and recall it whenever they need it. The Washington University team said that typical classroom tests boost long-term recall of information and material taught during classes and characterize these tests as a 'powerful memory enhancer.'