School of PE Blog

Are you fully prepared for your upcoming exam?

You may have watched all your lecture videos, studied your flash cards, and reviewed your refresher notes, but what else can you do to gain confidence for exam day? Get practicing!

One of the best study tools we have to offer is our Question Bank, which contains a bank of practice problems and solutions that closely mimic the NCEES' computer-based test experience. You will be able to see and work through problems that are in the same format and style as your exam in addition to having access to detailed answers so you can cross check your work and pinpoint if and where you made errors. Here are the top three reasons our Question Bank is such a beneficial study tool:

1. Memory Test Is Best: Research in long-term content retention corroborates the importance of taking memory tests that encompass not only concepts you are already familiar with, but also topics on which you have less confidence. A 2006 study by Washington University in St. Louis found that "taking a memory test not only assesses what one knows, but also enhances later retention."¹ This concept is known as the testing effect and has been used to explain how testing is a powerful means of improving learning, not just assessing it. We developed our Question Bank to take advantage of this test-enhanced learning concept because retrieval practice is one of the most potent learning strategies².

2. A Note on Rote: It is worth noting the difference between retrieval and another strategy called rote learning, which consists of simple memorization based on repetition and is "short-lived, poorly organized and does not support the ability to transfer knowledge, make inferences, or solve new problems,"³-obviously not an educational aim. We wanted to create a resource outside the realms of rote learning with our Question Bank. Not only do the selected problems require critical thinking to work through them, but they also help you begin connecting which equations pair with certain questions, which will help with time efficiency on the exam.

3. Don't Eschew Your Review: Even if you feel completely confident in one subject area, we suggest you keep revisiting that area occasionally, as research shows that reducing study efforts toward familiar concepts can be detrimental to content retention. According to a 2009 study by Purdue University, once a student can "recall an item, they tend to believe they have 'learned' it", which "leads students to terminate practice rather than practice retrieval, a strategy choice that ultimately results in poor retention."⁴ Just because you feel confident on something doesn't mean you should completely abandon it. Instead, you should focus primarily on concepts you are having difficulty understanding, with an occasional review of known concepts.

Our goal with Question Bank was to help students study smarter, not harder using a retrieval-based learning activity. We believe our Question Bank provides a comprehensive and timesaving means of exam preparation. Our students have access either immediately or once their course starts, depending on which course format they select.

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² Karpicke, Jeffrey D. "A Powerful Way to Improve Learning and Memory." American Psychological Association. American Psychological Association, June 2016. https://www.apa.org/science/about/psa/2016/06/learning-memory.

³ Karpicke, Jeffrey D. "A Powerful Way to Improve Learning and Memory."

⁴ Karpicke, Jeffrey D. "Metacognitive Control and Strategy Selection: Deciding to Practice Retrieval During Learning." Cognition and Learning Lab. Purdue University, July 2009. http://learninglab.psych.purdue.edu/downloads/2009_Karpicke_JEPGeneral.pdf.