Quizzes Help Students Learn Better
The research is in! Quizzes improve academic performance.
Don’t believe us? Read on!
Did you know that if you quiz students once a week, they perform better on midterms and final exams? That’s right, quizzed students tend to outperform students who aren’t quizzed. Weekly quizzes, on top of instant teacher feedback, have a positive impact on students.
Not All Quizzes Are Bad
The most helpful kind of quizzes are the ones that are the least time-consuming. This is why quick and easy practice quizzes on recently taught content are the most beneficial. If quizzes are frequent and provide students with immediate feedback, this helps students to improve. It’s called retrieval practice.
What is Retrieval Practice?
Retrieval practice is as simple as asking students to write down facts from the previous day. It is often easier to give students a brief quiz on a prior class lesson.
Retrieval practice works because it helps students retain information better than studying material. Students become more familiar with the topic when reviewing the concept. Students who aren’t quizzed quickly forget content without this learning strategy.
There is a fear that quizzing students often will lead to anxiety. However, if quizzing with low-stakes (minor to no grades), students are shown to have a grade point 3x higher on their final. This effort’s shown to be most effective.
Quizzes Prevent Students From Losing Focus
We all know what it’s like to be sitting in class and have our minds drift off. Even when the lecture is about something we’re interested in. Sometimes it seems inevitable that, at some point, we will lose focus. As a consequence, not retain the information that’s taught.
A recent study suggests that including more tests and quizzes during lectures may prevent students from losing focus.
Quizzing students on material as they learn could be a great way to grab their attention. Quizzing students also helps their comprehension levels and helps them retain information better. Yet, teachers may also be concerned. They worry that the constant testing will add extra stress that would hurt student learning.
Studying Is More Efficient After a Quiz
Quizzes give teachers feedback.
Frequent quizzes give the teacher an idea of how well the class grasps the concepts. Quizzes help students identify what students know and what they don’t know. This helps teachers to understand where students need help.
After a quiz, students have a better idea of how well they grasp the material. This will (hopefully) motivate them to study more. Their results will also help them divide their study time more effectively by focusing on the information that needs improvement.
Quizzes and tests help students to learn because these tasks involve retrieval practice or thinking back to information before learning and bringing it to mind.
Oxford Learning Can Help
Contact your local centre today to learn more about how Oxford Learning can help your child to develop impressive studying skills and get the most out of their education!
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