Testing as a Learning Tool

The research journal Science recently reported the results of a study on how students learn and remember information.  According to their study, taking a test is not just an assessment of how much information is retained, but also a learning tool.  Students were asked to read a short passage and then were tested on the material.  A week later, these students retained 50% more of the information than students who had studied material using other methods.  One method used by students was repeated studying of the material before the test.  The other method involved the students creating diagrams to document what they learned. Both of these methods are widely used in our educational system to prepare students for testing. The researches believe these methods make students feel as though they know the material better than they do.
When asked how much of the material they would remember a week later, those who were given the test, predicted they would not do well.  However, they did better than the students who used the other methods. 
200 college students were asked to read several paragraphs.  They were then split into four groups.  One group read for five minutes.  The second studied the information in four, five minute sessions.  The third group of students used diagrams to arrange and organize the information.  The last group read the passage then wrote an essay covering what they remember.  They then reread the material and took another test.  A week later, all the students were tested to determine how much of the information they recalled.
The second experiment involved just the diagramming and testing right after reading the material.  In both experiments, the students who were required to retrieve the information right away with testing, retained more of it the following week.
The researchers believe that in the process of retrieving the information right after reading it, it is stored in a way that makes it more accessible for future recall.