Abstract
Practice testing is a powerful tool to consolidate long-term retention of studied information, facilitate subsequent learning of new information, and foster knowledge transfer. However, practitioners frequently express the concern that tests are anxiety-inducing and that their employment in the classroom should be minimized. The current review integrates results across 24 studies (i.e., 25 effects based on 3,374 participants) to determine the effect of practice tests (quizzes) on test anxiety (TA) and explore potential moderators of the effect. The results show strong Bayesian evidence (BF10 > 25,000) that practice tests appreciably reduce TA to a medium extent (Hedges’ g = -0.52), with minimal evidence of publication bias. Easy practice tests tend to be more effective in mitigating TA than difficult ones. These findings support a recommendation for instructors to incorporate quizzes into their curriculum. However, instructors should be aware that quizzes themselves may be more stressful than other learning activities. Methods to make quizzes less stressful and more enjoyable are discussed. Research on the effect of practice tests on TA is still in its infancy, and future research directions are highlighted.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.
Data Availability
All data and analysis scripts are publicly available via the Open Science Framework (OSF) at https://osf.io/a7wug/.
Notes
For instance, both of these studies were conducted in a laboratory, only administered a single practice test, and measured how stressful participants perceived the practice test to be. By contrast, most (i.e., 22 out of 25) of the effects included in the meta-analysis were conducted in the classroom and all of them implemented multiple practice tests (e.g., administering a quiz each week across a whole semester) and measured participants’ TA about upcoming tests or exams. It should be noted that one of the included effects also measured anxiety experienced during practice tests (Higham et al., 2022). However, the study by Higham et al. (2022) differed from those by Hinze and Rapp (2014) and Wenzel and Reinhard (2021) in many key aspects. For instance, Higham et al.’s study was conducted in an Introduction to Psychology course across a semester, by comparison with the brief lab experiments conducted by Hinze and Rapp (2014) and Wenzel and Reinhard (2021). Higham et al. administered three practice tests (i.e., successive tests) on each weekly lecture, by comparison with the single practice test implemented by Hinze and Rapp (2014) and Wenzel and Reinhard (2021). We further review the study by Higham et al. (2022) in the General Discussion. It should be highlighted that the results do not change if Higham et al.’s (2022) results are excluded from the meta-analyses (see below for details).
For the other nine effects, the studies did not provide sufficient information to identify their test formats, and hence were excluded from the sub-group analysis.
There was minimal heterogeneity among the effects involving pretest–posttest control group, between-subjects, and within-subjects designs, Q(2) = 1.38, p = .50, I2 = 81.1%, \({\tau }^{2}\)= 0.36. Hence, below we do not further discuss experimental design issues.
Only one of the included effects assessed anxiety experienced during practice tests (Higham et al., 2022). After excluding this effect, the results again showed a robust negative effect on TA, g = -0.54, 95% CI = [-0.71, -0.37], p < .001.
After excluding the effect of Higham et al. (2022) from this meta-regression analysis, the negative relationship persisted, b = -2.22, 95% CI = [-3.35, -1.09], p < .001.
Instructors may have other negative evaluations about class quizzes. For instance, they may be concerned that quizzes squeeze time available for other teaching activities or may increase the attainment gap between students with good and poor learning abilities. Readers can consult recent reviews by Yang et al. (2021, 2023) which provide responses to several concerns that instructors may have about class quizzes.
Several platforms or techniques are available to deliver gamified quizzes, such as Kahoot, Quizlet, Edupuzzle, Quizizz, and clicker response system.
References
References marked with an asterisk indicate studies included in the meta-analysis.
Adesope, O. O., Trevisan, D. A., & Sundararajan, N. (2017). Rethinking the use of tests: A meta-analysis of practice testing. Review of Educational Research, 87, 659–701. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654316689306
Agarwal, P. K., D’Antonio, L., Roediger, H. L., McDermott, K. B., & McDaniel, M. A. (2014). Classroom-based programs of retrieval practice reduce middle school and high school students’ test anxiety. Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, 3, 131–139. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jarmac.2014.07.002
Akinsola, E. F., & Nwajei, A. D. (2013). Test anxiety, depression and academic performance: Assessment and management using relaxation and cognitive restructuring techniques. Psychology, 4, 18–24. https://doi.org/10.4236/psych.2013.46A1003
Ali, M. S., & Mohsin, M. N. (2013). Relationship of test anxiety with students’ achievement in science. International Journal of Educational Science and Research, 3, 99–106.
Bangert-Drowns, R. L., Kulik, J. A., & Kulik, C.-L.C. (1991). Effects of frequent classroom testing. The Journal of Educational Research, 85, 89–99. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220671.1991.10702818
Bartoš, F., Maier, M., Quintana, D. S., & Wagenmakers, E.-J. (2022). Adjusting for publication bias in JASP and R: Selection models, PET-PEESE, and robust Bayesian meta-analysis. Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological Science, 5, 25152459221109260. https://doi.org/10.1177/25152459221109259
Bates, L. E. (2019). Mastery quizzing: Assessing a novel testing technique in the classroom and the laboratory. (Ph.D.). Colorado State University, Ann Arbor. Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/2378111550?accountid=8554
Bjork, E. L., & Bjork, R. A. (2011). Making things hard on yourself, but in a good way: Creating desirable difficulties to enhance learning. In M. A. Gernsbacher, R. W. Pew, L. M. Hough, & J. R. Pomerantz (Eds.), Psychology and the real world: Essays illustrating fundamental contributions to society (pp. 56–64). Worth.
Bjork, E. L., Little, J. L., & Storm, B. C. (2014). Multiple-choice testing as a desirable difficulty in the classroom. Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, 3, 165–170. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jarmac.2014.03.002
Borenstein, M., Hedges, L. V., Higgins, J. P. T., & Rothstein, H. R. (2009). Introduction to meta-analysis. Wiley.
*Brown, M. J., & Tallon, J. (2015). The effects of pre-lecture quizzes on test anxiety and performance in a statistics course. Education, 135, 346–350. Retrieved from https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/prin/ed/2015/00000135/00000003/art00011
*Cardozo, L. T., Ramos de Azevedo, M. A., Morais Carvalho, M. S., Costa, R., de Lima, P. O., & Marcondes, F. K. (2020). Effect of an active learning methodology combined with formative assessments on performance, test anxiety, and stress of university students. Advances in Physiology Education, 44, 744–751. https://doi.org/10.1152/advan.00075.2020
Carpenter, S. K. (2012). Testing enhances the transfer of learning. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 21, 279–283. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721412452728
Carpenter, S. K., Pan, S. C., & Butler, A. C. (2022). The science of effective learning with spacing and retrieval practice. Nature Reviews Psychology, 1, 496–511. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44159-022-00089-1
Cassady, J. C. (2004). The influence of cognitive test anxiety across the learning–testing cycle. Learning and Instruction, 14, 569–592. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2004.09.002
Chan, J. C., Meissner, C. A., & Davis, S. D. (2018). Retrieval potentiates new learning: A theoretical and meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin, 144, 1111–1146. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000166
Connor-Greene, P. A. (2000). Assessing and promoting student learning: Blurring the line between teaching and testing. Teaching of Psychology, 27, 84–88. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15328023TOP2702_01
Davis, D., & Winston, C. (2022). Decreasing student stress through multi-attempt digital engineering assessments with rotating questions. Paper presented at the 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition.
*Denny, T., Paterson, J., & Feldhusen, J. (1964). Anxiety and achievement as functions of daily testing. Journal of Educational Measurement, 1, 143–147. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/1433684
Depaolo, C., & Wilkinson, K. (2014). Recurrent online quizzes: Ubiquitous tools for promoting student presence, participation and performance. Interdisciplinary Journal of e-Skills and Lifelong Learning, 10, 075–091. https://doi.org/10.28945/2057
Downing, V. R., Cooper, K. M., Cala, J. M., Gin, L. E., & Brownell, S. E. (2020). Fear of negative evaluation and student anxiety in community college active-learning science courses. CBE—Life Sciences Education, 19, ar20. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.19-09-0186
*Dustin, D. S. (1971). Some effects of exam frequency. The Psychological Record, 21, 409–414. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03394033
Egger, M., Smith, G. D., Schneider, M., & Minder, C. (1997). Bias in meta-analysis detected by a simple, graphical test. BMJ, 315, 629–634. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.315.7109.629
*Elskamp, F. (2020). The effects of quizzing in recorded lectures on test-anxiety and delayed learning outcomes. (Master's thesis). University of Twente. Retrieved from https://essay.utwente.nl/80610/
Every Student Succeeds Act (2015). Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Pub. L. 114-95 C.F.R.
Ferguson, R. D. (1986). Abstraction anxiety: A factor of mathematics anxiety. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 17, 145–150. https://doi.org/10.5951/jresematheduc.17.2.0145
Franco, A., Malhotra, N., & Simonovits, G. (2014). Publication bias in the social sciences: Unlocking the file drawer. Science, 345, 1502. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1255484
*Fulkerson, F. E., & Martin, G. (1981). Effects of exam frequency on student performance, evaluations of instructor, and test anxiety. Teaching of Psychology, 8, 90–93. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15328023top0802_7
*Haleem, B., & Saeed, M. (2021). Effect of frequent testing on students’ test anxiety at university level. Perennial Journal of History, 2, 163–171. https://doi.org/10.52700/pjh.v2i2.69
Har, F. (2022). English language learning in response to the COVID-19 pandemic: Hong Kong English as a Second Language students’ perceptions of Badaboom! Frontiers in Education, 7. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2022.966059
Heiner, C. E., Banet, A. I., & Wieman, C. (2014). Preparing students for class: How to get 80% of students reading the textbook before class. American Journal of Physics, 82, 989–996. https://doi.org/10.1119/1.4895008
Heitmann, S., Grund, A., Berthold, K., Fries, S., & Roelle, J. (2018). Testing is more desirable when it is adaptive and still desirable when compared to note-taking. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 2596–2596. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02596
*Higham, P. A., Zengel, B., Bartlett, L. K., & Hadwin, J. A. (2022). The benefits of successive relearning on multiple learning outcomes. Journal of Educational Psychology, 114, 928–944. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000693
Hinze, S. R., & Rapp, D. N. (2014). Retrieval (sometimes) enhances learning: Performance pressure reduces the benefits of retrieval practice. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 28(4), 597–606. https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.3032
Jerrell, C. C., & Betty, E. G. (2005). The effects of online formative and summative assessment on test anxiety and performance. The Journal of Technology, Learning and Assessment, 4. Retrieved from https://ejournals.bc.edu/index.php/jtla/article/view/1648
Kang, S. H. K., & Pashler, H. (2014). Is the benefit of retrieval practice modulated by motivation? Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, 3, 183–188. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jarmac.2014.05.006
Karpicke, J. D., & Blunt, J. R. (2011). Retrieval practice produces more learning than elaborative studying with concept mapping. Science, 331, 772–775. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1199327
Khanna, M. M. (2015). Ungraded pop quizzes: Test-enhanced learning without all the anxiety. Teaching of Psychology, 42, 174–178. https://doi.org/10.1177/0098628315573144
Kilickaya, F. (2017). The effects of pre-lecture online quizzes on language students' perceived preparation and academic performance. PASAA: Journal of Language Teaching and Learning, 53, 59–84. Retrieved from http://www.culi.chula.ac.th/publicationsonline/home_p1.php
Kolagari, S., Modanloo, M., Rahmati, R., Sabzi, Z., & Ataee, A. J. (2018). The effect of computer-based tests on nursing students’ test anxiety: A quasi-experimental study. Acta Informatica Medica, 26, 115–118. https://doi.org/10.5455/aim.2018.26.115-118
Larsen, D. P., Butler, A. C., & Roediger, H. L. (2013). Comparative effects of test-enhanced learning and self-explanation on long-term retention. Medical Education, 47, 674–682. https://doi.org/10.1111/medu.12141
Leeming, F. C. (2002). The Exam-A-Day procedure improves performance in psychology classes. Teaching of Psychology, 29, 210–212. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15328023TOP2903_06
Maier, M., Bartoš, F., & Wagenmakers, E.-J. (2023). Robust Bayesian meta-analysis: Addressing publication bias with model-averaging. Psychological Methods, 28, 107–122. https://doi.org/10.1037/met0000405.
Mandler, G., & Sarason, S. B. (1952). A study of anxiety and learning. The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 47, 166–173. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0062855
*Mayers, M. F. (2004). Relationships among test anxiety, state anxiety, and academic performance as a function of academic assessment frequency. (Ph.D.). University of Connecticut, Ann Arbor. Retrieved from https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/relationships-among-test-anxiety-state-academic/docview/305211848/se-2?accountid=8554
McDaniel, M. A., Anderson, J. L., Derbish, M. H., & Morrisette, N. (2007). Testing the testing effect in the classroom. European Journal of Cognitive Psychology, 19, 494–513. https://doi.org/10.1080/09541440701326154
McDonald, A. S. (2001). The prevalence and effects of test anxiety in school children. Educational Psychology, 21, 89–101. https://doi.org/10.1080/01443410020019867
*McKenzie, G. R., & Henry, M. (1979). Effects of testlike events on on-task behavior, test anxiety, and achievement in a classroom rule-learning task. Journal of Educational Psychology, 71, 370–374. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.71.3.370
*Molin, F., Cabus, S., Haelermans, C., & Groot, W. (2021). Toward reducing anxiety and increasing performance in physics education: Evidence from a randomized experiment. Research in Science Education, 51, 233–249. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-019-9845-9
*Moradi, S., Maraghi, E., Babaahmadi, A., & Younespour, S. (2021). Application of pop quiz method in teaching biostatistics to postgraduate midwifery students and its effect on their statistics anxiety, test anxiety and academic achievement: A quasi experimental study with control group. Journal of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, 7, 181–188. https://doi.org/10.18502/jbe.v7i2.6736
Morris, S. B. (2007). Estimating effect sizes from pretest-posttest-control group designs. Organizational Research Methods, 11, 364–386. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094428106291059
Murphy, D. P., & Stanga, K. G. (1994). The effects of frequent testing in an income tax course: An experiment. Journal of Accounting Education, 12, 27-41. https://doi.org/10.1016/0748-5751(94)90017-5.
*Naseem, A. (2021). Effect of quizzes on anxiety and performance in mathematics at middle level. Bulletin of Education and Research, 43, 59–75. Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1320239
O’Neil, H. F., Jr., Spielberger, C. D., & Hansen, D. N. (1969). Effects of state anxiety and task difficulty on computer-assisted learning. Journal of Educational Psychology, 60, 343–350. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0028323
Pan, S. C., & Rickard, T. C. (2018). Transfer of test-enhanced learning: Meta-analytic review and synthesis. Psychological Bulletin, 144, 710–756. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000151
Pan, S. C., Sana, F., Schmitt, A. G., & Bjork, E. L. (2020). Pretesting reduces mind wandering and enhances learning during online lectures. Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, 9, 542–554. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jarmac.2020.07.004
Pastor, D. A., & Lazowski, R. A. (2018). On the multilevel nature of meta-analysis: A tutorial, comparison of software programs, and discussion of analytic choices. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 53, 74-89. https://doi.org/10.1080/00273171.2017.1365684.
Pastötter, B., & Bäuml, K. H. (2014). Retrieval practice enhances new learning: The forward effect of testing. Frontiers in Psychology, 5, 286. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00286
*Piroozmanesh, A., & Imanipour, M. (2018). The effect of formative assessment on test anxiety of nursing students. Journal of Medical Education Development, 10, 18–26. https://doi.org/10.29252/edcj.10.28.18
*Powell, N. L. (2002). A study of writing to learn, frequent quizzes, and learning styles in a developmental algebra course. (Ph.D.). Auburn University, Ann Arbor. Retrieved from https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/study-writing-learn-frequent-quizzes-learning/docview/304799893/se-2?accountid=8554
Prashanti, E., & Ramnarayan, K. (2019). Ten maxims of formative assessment. Advances in Physiology Education, 43(2), 99–102. https://doi.org/10.1152/advan.00173.2018
Rawson, K. A., & Dunlosky, J. (2022). Successive relearning: An underexplored but potent technique for obtaining and maintaining knowledge. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 31, 362–368. https://doi.org/10.1177/09637214221100484
Rhodes, M. G., & Castel, A. D. (2008). Memory predictions are influenced by perceptual information: Evidence for metacognitive illusions. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 137, 615–625. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0013684
Rhodes, M. G., & Castel, A. D. (2009). Metacognitive illusions for auditory information: Effects on monitoring and control. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 16, 550–554. https://doi.org/10.3758/PBR.16.3.550
Roediger, H. L., & Butler, A. C. (2011). The critical role of retrieval practice in long-term retention. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 15, 20–27. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2010.09.003
Roediger, H. L., & Karpicke, J. D. (2006a). The power of testing memory: Basic research and implications for educational practice. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 17, 249–255. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-6916.2006.00012.x
Roediger, H. L., & Karpicke, J. D. (2006b). Test-enhanced learning: Taking memory tests improves long-term retention. Psychological Science, 17, 249–255. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2006.01693.x
Rowland, C. A. (2014). The effect of testing versus restudy on retention: A meta-analytic review of the testing effect. Psychological Bulletin, 140, 1432–1463. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0037559
Rummer, R., Schweppe, J., Gerst, K., & Wagner, S. (2017). Is testing a more effective learning strategy than note-taking? Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 23, 293–300. https://doi.org/10.1037/xap0000134
*Sanaeifar, S. H., & Nafari, F. N. (2018). The effects of formative and dynamic assessments of reading comprehensions on intermediate EFL learners' test anxiety. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 8, 533–540. https://doi.org/10.17507/tpls.0805.12
Sax, G., & Collet, L. S. (1968). An empirical comparison of the effects of recall and multiple-choice tests on student achievement. Journal of Educational Measurement, 5, 169–173. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/1434415
Schrank, Z. (2016). An assessment of student perceptions and responses to frequent low-stakes testing in introductory sociology classes. Teaching Sociology, 44, 118–127. https://doi.org/10.1177/0092055X15624745
*Seeley, E. L., Andrade, M., & Miller, R. M. (2018). Exam anxiety: Using paired adaptive tests to reduce stress in business classes. e-Journal of Business Education and Scholarship of Teaching, 12, 1–13.
Seipp, B. (1991). Anxiety and academic performance: A meta-analysis of findings. Anxiety Research, 4, 27–41. https://doi.org/10.1080/08917779108248762
Shanks, D. R., Don, H. J., Boustani, S., & Yang, C. (2023). Test-enhanced learning. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190236557.013.908
Spada, M. M., & Moneta, G. B. (2014). Metacognitive and motivational predictors of surface approach to studying and academic examination performance. Educational Psychology, 34, 512–523. https://doi.org/10.1080/01443410.2013.814196
Spielberger, C. D. (1980). Test anxiety inventory. Consulting Psychologists Press.
Stanley, T. D., & Doucouliagos, H. (2014). Meta-regression approximations to reduce publication selection bias. Research Synthesis Methods, 5, 60–78. https://doi.org/10.1002/jrsm.1095
Steele, D. (2011). Does test-taking help students learn? (p. A24). New York Times (Letter to the editor).
Steinmayr, R., Crede, J., McElvany, N., & Wirthwein, L. (2016). Subjective well-being, test anxiety, academic achievement: Testing for reciprocal effects. Frontiers in Psychology, 6. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01994
Sullivan, D. (2017). Mediating test anxiety through the testing effect in asynchronous, objective, online assessments at the university level. Journal of Education and Training, 4, 106–123. https://doi.org/10.5296/jet.v4i2.10777
*Szpunar, K. K., Khan, N. Y., & Schacter, D. L. (2013). Interpolated memory tests reduce mind wandering and improve learning of online lectures. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 110, 6313–6317. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1221764110
Tahoon, R. (2021). Effects of test anxiety, distance education on general anxiety and life satisfaction of university students. Psycho-Educational Research Reviews, 10, 107–17. https://journals.lapub.co.uk/index.php/perr/article/view/1601.
*Ugodulunwa, C., & Okolo, P. U. (2015). Effects of formative assessment on mathematics test anxiety and performance of senior secondary school students in Jos, Nigeria. Journal of Research and Method in Education, 5, 38–47. https://doi.org/10.9790/7388-05223847
Van Den Noortgate, W., & Onghena, P. (2003). Multilevel meta-analysis: A comparison with traditional metaanalytical procedures. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 63, 765–790. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013164403251027
Vevea, J. L., & Hedges, L. V. (1995). A general linear model for estimating effect size in the presence of publication bias. Psychometrika, 60, 419–435. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02294384
von der Embse, N., Jester, D., Roy, D., & Post, J. (2018). Test anxiety effects, predictors, and correlates: A 30-year meta-analytic review. Journal of Affective Disorders, 227, 483–493. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2017.11.048
Wenzel, K., & Reinhard, M.-A. (2021). Does the end justify the means? Learning tests lead to more negative evaluations and to more stress experiences. Learning and Motivation, 73, 101706. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lmot.2020.101706
*Wilson, M. (2018). The impact of formative computer-based testing on learners’ anxiety and performance on the American registry for diagnostic medical sonography examination. Journal of Diagnostic Medical Sonography, 34, 425–433. https://doi.org/10.1177/8756479318799338
*Wong, S. S. H., & Lim, S. W. H. (2021). A mind-wandering account of the testing effect: Does context variation matter? Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 29, 220–229. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13423-021-01989-8
*Yamin, S. B. (1988). Frequency of testing and its effects on achievement, test anxiety and attitudes toward science of students at University Technology of Malaysia. (Ph.D.). Oregon State University, Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/1957/28982
Yang, C., Huang, T. S. T., & Shanks, D. R. (2018a). Perceptual fluency affects judgments of learning: The font size effect. Journal of Memory and Language, 99, 99–110. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jml.2017.11.005
Yang, C., Potts, R., & Shanks, D. R. (2018b). Enhancing learning and retrieval of new information: A review of the forward testing effect. npj Science of Learning, 3, 8. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41539-018-0024-y
Yang, C., Potts, R., & Shanks, D. R. (2017a). The forward testing effect on self-regulated study time allocation and metamemory monitoring. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 23, 263–277. https://doi.org/10.1037/xap0000122
Yang, C., Potts, R., & Shanks, D. R. (2017b). Metacognitive unawareness of the errorful generation benefit and its effects on self-regulated learning. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 43, 1073–1092. https://doi.org/10.1037/xlm0000363
Yang, C., Luo, L., Vadillo, M. A., Yu, R., & Shanks, D. R. (2021). Testing (quizzing) boosts classroom learning: A systematic and meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin, 147, 399–435. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000309
Yang, C., Shanks, D. R., Zhao, W., Fan, T., & Luo, L. (2023). Frequent quizzing accelerates classroom learning. In C. E. Overson, M. C. Hakala, L. L. Kordonowy, & V. A. Benassi (Eds.), In their own words: What scholars and teachers want you to know about why and how to apply the science of learning in your academic setting (pp. 190–199). Society for the Teaching of Psychology.
*Yang, C., Sun, B., Potts, R., Yu, R., Luo, L., & Shanks, D. R. (2020). Do working memory capacity and test anxiety modulate the beneficial effects of testing on new learning? Journal of experimental Psychology: Applied, 26, 724–738. https://doi.org/10.1037/xap0000278
Yusefzadeh, H., Iranagh, J. A., & Nabilou, B. (2019). The effect of study preparation on test anxiety and performance: A quasi-experimental study. Advances in Medical Education and Practice, 10, 245–251. https://doi.org/10.2147/amep.S192053
Zeidner, M. (1998). Test anxiety: The state of the art. Plenum Press.
Zeidner, M. (2007). Test anxiety in educational contexts: Concepts, findings, and future directions. In P. A. Schutz & R. Pekrun (Eds.), Emotion in education (pp. 165–184). Academic Press.
Zernike, K. (2015). Obama administration calls for limits on testing in schools. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/25/us/obama-administration-calls-for-limits-on-testing-in-schools.html
Acknowledgements
This research was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China (32000742; 31671130; 32171045), the Research Program Funds of the Collaborative Innovation Center of Assessment toward Basic Education Quality at Beijing Normal University (2021-01-132-BZK01), and the UK Economic and Social Research Council (ES/S014616/1).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
All data and analysis scripts have been made publicly available via the Open Science Framework (OSF) at https://osf.io/a7wug/.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Yang, C., Li, J., Zhao, W. et al. Do Practice Tests (Quizzes) Reduce or Provoke Test Anxiety? A Meta-Analytic Review. Educ Psychol Rev 35, 87 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-023-09801-w
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-023-09801-w