12 Study Techniques Supported by Educational Research

10. Practice Testing with Timely Feedback

Practice testing pairs the benefits of retrieval with corrective feedback to close knowledge gaps. Frequent low-stakes quizzes reveal what you actually know and provide opportunities to correct errors before high-stakes exams. Effective feedback is timely, specific, and focused on how to improve—point out the exact step that went wrong and show a corrected example. Use short practice tests under realistic conditions, then review mistakes immediately. Peer quizzes and instructor review sessions both work; just ensure feedback clarifies misconceptions. Over time, this cycle of test, feedback, and re-test builds mastery faster than review alone. If you use practice tests from old exams, mix question types to promote transfer. Keep tests short and frequent to maintain momentum and reduce exam anxiety.