As AP tests creep around the corner, students everywhere are grabbing their notes and Princeton Review prep books, attempting to prepare for what is coming at the beginning of May.
Making sure to be completely ready for an upcoming AP test can be a difficult process. It requires a lot of time and commitment, both of which many students do not have much of because of other things they have going on, such as assigned school work or athletics. Although it might be hard to find an efficient amount of time for review, making sure to do so is vital for being able to score high, or sometimes just to even pass the exam.
Reading through an entire review book in just a few days or a week before the test might be possible, but it is an ineffective way to make sure that the material you need to know is truly understood and memorized. Briefly reading over notes and attempting to remember them is the method of studying that many students automatically resort to, but there are lots of other types that work much better for retaining information long-term. According to scientific research, the most effective studying technique is something called active recall.
Active recall is a method of studying that involves testing your knowledge and forcing your brain to search for the answer that it is looking for. In order to do it, you must question yourself to see what you know, over and over. By doing this, the neurons in your brain form new connections, become stronger and modify to a specific shape that helps you recall that specific information much quicker and easier over time. It works better than any other study method that does not require your brain to critically think, like reviewing notes or watching videos.
One of the easiest ways to implement active recall into your studying is through flashcards, especially digital ones using apps such as Quizlet or Goodnotes. On Quizlet, you can make sets for all different types of subjects, using both words and pictures. You can also look through and sort traditional flashcards, complete multiple-choice questions or type out answers. Make sure to shuffle the order of the flashcards so that you memorize every individual thing in the topic you are studying, and not just what is coming next.
In the rest of this month and the beginning of May leading up to whatever test you may be taking, try using the active recall method and see how it turns out. If it turns out well, you can surely continue to use the method throughout the rest of your life in whatever you are being tested on and it should lead you to great success.
