The testing effect: why a quiz can be more than a knowledge test
The testing effect: why a quiz can be more than a knowledge test
A quiz is often seen as a measurement tool: you give ten questions, the employee gives ten answers, you calculate a score, done. But a quiz can be more than a measurement moment. When an employee tries to retrieve an answer from memory, the test itself can become part of the learning process. This is often called the testing effect.
What is the testing effect?
The testing effect refers to the phenomenon where retrieving information through a test or practice question can improve later recall compared with simply re-studying. It is essentially a specific application of retrieval practice: the phenomenon has been studied extensively, and literature reviews describe it as a robust effect within learning and memory research. One important nuance is that not every test is automatically a good learning activity: the design matters.
An example
Say an employee has completed a safety training. In method A, you send the key procedures again as a PDF after the training, and the employee can read the document. In method B, you send the question of which three steps someone follows when encountering situation X, after which the employee has to think and then gets feedback. Method B actively engages memory, while method A mostly produces passive recognition.
Why does feedback matter?
Research on retrieval practice shows the benefit of active retrieval is often stronger when it is followed by feedback. In practice, that means: question, answer, feedback is generally more interesting than question, score, done.
A good quiz is not an exam
For knowledge retention, you don't necessarily want employees to feel like they are being graded again. You can position the activity as 'just retrieving what you still know', which lowers the psychological barrier.
Open questions versus multiple choice
There are different ways to organise retrieval. Multiple choice is easy, fast, and scalable, but recognition can play a role and someone can guess. With an open question, the employee has to produce the answer themselves, which usually demands more active retrieval. Research shows the format of retrieval can matter, with some comparisons showing an advantage for free recall over cued recall.
On the contrary: for corporate training, multiple choice can be very practical. You can, for example, build a scenario like 'you see situation X, what do you do first?' with answer options that are all plausible. That way, you are not just testing whether someone knows a fact, but whether they can make the right call.
Make questions progressively harder
A good retention programme could start with a factual question in week 1, a procedure question in week 2, a scenario in week 4, a more complex scenario in week 6, and a combination of multiple topics in week 8. That gradually shifts from knowledge to application.
A quiz also generates data
That is interesting for Stiqqo: every question generates information. If 94% get question 1 right and 87% get question 2 right, but only 59% get question 3 right, question 3 might deserve extra attention. You could offer that question again, add an explanation, build a different scenario, or test the topic again later. That way, assessment becomes part of the learning process instead of an endpoint.
The testing effect and retention
A strong retention cycle looks like: learn, a question, an answer, feedback, ask again later, apply, measure. The main difference from a traditional evaluation is that the test is not the end. The test becomes part of learning.
Conclusion
A quiz can of course measure knowledge. But a well-designed retrieval activity can also help maintain it. So the question is not how many questions you should ask, but which knowledge you want employees to be able to retrieve and apply independently later. That is a far stronger starting point for knowledge retention.