The Forward Effect of Testing on Comprehending Complex Texts

Abstract

Research on the forward effect of testing has indicated that taking a test over prior material can improve one’s ability to memorize new material. However, no research has yet indicated whether such testing can improve one’s ability to understand or comprehend new complex prose material. Theory and data from the comprehension literature, testing effect literature, and metacomprehension literature suggest that test-taking may have this forward effect on one’s ability to understand complex prose material. A series of experiments are conducted that tested this possibility. In each experiment, participants (1) read a text, (2) reprocessed that first text in some way, (3) read a second text that was related to the first text, (4) took an inference test over the second text, which was used to assess their comprehension of it. It was hypothesized that answering inference questions over an initial text would better enable one to understand a subsequent, related text than would rereading the initial text (Experiments 1 and 2) or answering memory questions over the initial text (Experiment 3). It was also hypothesized that answering these inference questions would be more effective if the answer-choices were accompanied by arguments than if they were not (Experiment 4). Ultimately, only the hypothesis of Experiment 4 was supported. Ps likely must have a certain degree of motivation to learn in order for there to be a forward effect of testing on comprehension. Nonetheless, it is argued that inference questions should be used more frequently in education.