Effects of Frequent Classroom Testing

Abstract

The educational effects of frequent classroom testing have been studied and discussed since the early part of this century. Testing advocates have suggested that more frequent classroom testing stimulates practice and review, gives students more opportunities for feedback on their work, and has a positive influence on student study time. Reviewers of relevant research and evaluation literature, however, have expressed uncertainty about whether such benefits are actually realized in classrooms. The present review distinguishes research on frequent classroom testing from research in two related areas, research on adjunct questions and research on mastery testing, and provides results from a meta-analysis of findings on frequency of classroom testing. The meta-analysis showed that students who took at least one test during a 15-week term scored about one half of a standard deviation higher on criterion examinations than did students who took no tests. Better criterion performance was associated with more frequent testing, but the amount of improvement in achievement diminished as the number of tests increased.

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