Highlighting and re-reading barely help — testing yourself and spacing do
A review rating ten common study techniques by evidence quality
Reviewed by Sian Trombley, CCCFounder, Thrive Family Company
Strong confidence
Source citation
Dunlosky J., Rawson K. A., Marsh E. J., Nathan M. J., Willingham D. T. (2013). Improving Students' Learning With Effective Learning Techniques: Promising Directions From Cognitive and Educational Psychology. Psychological Science in the Public Interest. https://doi.org/10.1177/1529100612453266
Published 1 January 2013 · Added to Thrive 26 July 2026 · Reviewed 26 July 2026
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Most children study in ways that feel productive and produce very little. This review sorted the techniques by evidence.
Published research findings
The study
Dunlosky and colleagues evaluated ten widely used study techniques against learning research across ages and subjects.
What researchers examined
Which techniques improved durable learning and generalised across materials and learners.
What they found
Practice testing and distributed practice received high utility ratings. Highlighting, re-reading, summarising and keyword mnemonics received low ratings.
Thrive editorial interpretation
What this may mean for families
Homework routines should be built around retrieval and spacing, not around time spent reading notes.
What this doesn't tell us
Important limitations
Much of the evidence comes from laboratory and university settings rather than school classrooms.
Evidence confidence describes how much weight this study's design can carry — not how strongly the finding applies to any individual child or family.
Therapist perspective — Thrive interpretation, not a finding of the study
Therapist Perspective
Shut the book and ask the question. It feels worse and works better.
Practical family considerations
Self-testing in short, spaced sessions beats re-reading.
This research summary is educational and does not replace individualized medical, psychological or therapeutic advice.
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Reading to children and teaching them to read do different jobs
2002 · Longitudinal study
Strong confidence
Why it matters
Both matter, and they are not interchangeable. Stories build meaning; explicit teaching builds mechanics.