Quiz Yourself: The Secret to Actually Remembering

Pop quiz: What's the best way to study? If you said "re-read my notes," you're in good company. And also wrong. Science has a different answer, and it might surprise you.

The Re-Reading Trap

Re-reading feels productive. You see the information, it looks familiar, and your brain goes, "Yeah, I know this." But here's the catch: recognizing something isn't the same as knowing it.

On exam day, no one asks you to recognize the right answer. They ask you to produce it from memory. And that's a completely different skill.

What Is The Testing Effect?

In 2006, researchers at Washington University did a famous study. Students read a passage, then either re-read it or took a test on it. A week later, the test group remembered 50% more than the re-readers.

This is the testing effect: the act of retrieving information from memory actually strengthens that memory. Testing isn't just measuring what you know. It's making you know it better.

Why It Works

Think of memory like a path through a forest. Every time you walk the path, it gets clearer. Re-reading is like looking at the path from a helicopter. You see it, but you're not walking it.

Testing yourself is walking the path. And the harder it is to find your way (that moment of "ugh, what was it..."), the more you're clearing that path for next time.

How To Use This

The good news: this is easy to apply. Here's how:

• Close your notes and write what you remember. Don't peek. The struggle is the point.
• Use flashcards. Classic for a reason. Question on one side, answer on the other. Test yourself, don't just flip through.
• Practice questions > highlighting. If your textbook has practice problems, do them. If not, make up questions.
• Teach someone else. Explaining forces you to retrieve and organize. Even explaining to an imaginary person works.

The key: make it harder on yourself now so the exam is easier later.

Getting The Answers Wrong Is Okay

Here's something counterintuitive: even when you get a test question wrong, you still learn better than if you'd just re-read the material. Why? Because the attempt primes your brain to absorb the correct answer.

Failed retrieval + correction = powerful learning. Don't be afraid to test yourself on stuff you're not sure about. That's exactly when testing helps most.

The Real Test

Next time you study, try this: spend half your time learning new material and half testing yourself on what you learned yesterday. It'll feel harder. That's good. That difficulty is your brain building knowledge that lasts.