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How to test yourself while you read

Active recall means that you produce an answer from memory instead of a second look at the text. You need no flashcard deck. Cover the section, say the main point aloud, then check the page. One week later that habit holds much more than a fourth read holds.

Key points

A test is a study method, and not only a measurement.
One week after study, three recall tests gave 61% recall. Four reads gave 40%.
The gain needs a delay. Five minutes after study, the four reads won: 81% to 75%.
A card deck is optional. A covered page does the same work.

What is active recall?

Active recall: A study method. The learner produces an answer from memory, with the source out of view. Researchers also call it retrieval practice or practice testing.

The important word is "produce". A learner who looks at a sentence and nods has recognised it. A learner who says the sentence with the book shut has retrieved it. Only the second act strengthens the memory.

In 2013 a review of ten study techniques put practice testing in the top group, together with distributed practice. The authors chose that rating because the benefit holds across ages, across materials and across test types.

How do you do it with no card deck?

A card deck suits a long list of small facts. Most reading is not a list. These four methods work on a normal page, and each one costs less than a minute.

Four ways to retrieve, from the fastest to the most thorough.
Method	What you do	Best for
The cover	Cover the paragraph with your hand. Say its point aloud. Uncover and check.	Any text, on any device.
The margin question	Write the question that a paragraph answers. Answer it the next day.	A book or a printed paper that you keep.
The blank page	After a section, write everything you remember on an empty page. Then compare.	A chapter, or a lecture.
The explanation	Explain the idea aloud to an imagined beginner. Note each point you cannot say.	A concept with several connected parts.

A worked example, in five steps

Read one section of about 300 words. Read it once.
Cover the text completely. A hand or another window is enough.
Say the main point aloud in one sentence. Then say one supporting detail.
Uncover the text. Mark every point that you failed to say.
Move to the next section. Return to the marks tomorrow.

How often do you test, and how much?

Test after every section, and not after every chapter. A section of 200 to 400 words is a good unit. Longer units hide the gaps, because you remember the start and the end.

Three retrievals of one fact are enough for the first day. More retrievals on the same day add little. The next gain comes from a gap, not from a repetition. The guide on when to review what you read gives the schedule.

Which mistakes make a self-test useless?

You keep the text in view. A glance turns the test back into a read. Cover it.
You accept a partial answer. Say the answer in full sentences. A vague feeling is not an answer.
You test only what you know. Start with the part that felt difficult.
You skip the check. A retrieval without a correction can fix an error.
You test immediately and stop there. The one-day gap does most of the work.

What does the research show?

The core experiment

Roediger and Karpicke published "Test-Enhanced Learning" in 2006. Students read a prose passage. One group then took three free-recall tests. Another group read the passage four times. On a test one week later, the test group recalled 61% and the repeated-read group recalled 40%.

The same study shows when a test does not win. Five minutes after study, the repeated-read group scored 81% and the test group scored 75%. So a repeated read prepares you for the next few minutes. A test prepares you for the next week.

Retrieval against a more active method

Karpicke and Blunt (2011) compared retrieval practice against concept maps in Science. A concept map is far more active than a highlighter, so this is a hard test for retrieval. One week later, on a short-answer test, the retrieval group scored 0.67 and the concept-map group scored 0.45. The effect size was large (d = 1.50).

Why the method feels worse than it is

A retrieval is effortful, and effort feels like failure. Robert Bjork named this class of method a "desirable difficulty" in 1994. The condition lowers your performance during practice, and it raises your memory later. One limit matters: a difficulty helps only when you can meet it. If you can recall nothing at all, read a shorter piece first.

Sources

Roediger, H. L., III, & Karpicke, J. D. (2006). Test-Enhanced Learning. Psychological Science, 17(3), 249–255. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2006.01693.x
Karpicke, J. D., & Blunt, J. R. (2011). Retrieval Practice Produces More Learning than Elaborative Studying with Concept Mapping. Science, 331(6018), 772–775. doi:10.1126/science.1199327
Dunlosky, J., Rawson, K. A., Marsh, E. J., Nathan, M. J., & Willingham, D. T. (2013). Improving Students' Learning With Effective Learning Techniques. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 14(1), 4–58. doi:10.1177/1529100612453266
Bjork, R. A. (1994). Memory and metamemory considerations in the training of human beings. In Metacognition: Knowing about knowing (pp. 185–205). MIT Press.

Common questions

Is active recall the same as a flashcard?

A flashcard is one tool for active recall. The method is the act of retrieval. A covered page, a blank sheet or a spoken explanation all count.

What do I do when I remember nothing?

Shorten the piece. Read 100 words instead of 400. A retrieval that returns nothing gives you no correction to work with.

Does it work for a mathematical subject?

Yes, with one change. Retrieve the method and not the result. Cover a solved example, then produce the steps. Then solve a new problem of the same type.

Should I write the answer or say it?

Both force retrieval. Writing is slower and it gives you a record to check. Speech is faster and it suits a short section. Choose the one that you will actually do.

Where do you go next?

When to review what you read — the gaps that make a retrieval last.
What to use instead of a highlighter — the habit that this method replaces.

Start with a topic

Test the method on a topic that is new to you. Read one short step, cover it, and say the point aloud.

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