Impact of different practice testing methods on learning outcomes

The testing effect refers to the gains in learning and retention that result from taking practice tests before the final test. Understanding the conditions under which practice tests improve learning is crucial, so four experiments were conducted with a total of 438 undergraduate students in Turkey. In the first study, students who took graded practice tests outperformed those who took them as ungraded practice. In the second study, students who took short-answer questions before the first exam and multiple-choice questions before the second exam scored higher on the second exam. In the third study, multiple-choice, short-answer and hybrid questions produced similar learning gains. In the fourth study, students who received detailed feedback immediately after class performed similarly to those who received feedback at the beginning of the next class. The results suggested the contribution of graded practice tests in general; however, the type of questions or the timing of feedback did not predict learning outcomes.