Spaced Repetition: Why Cramming Doesn't Work

Have you ever spent the night before an exam cramming as much content as possible, only to forget most of it within days...or even hours? You're not alone. Most students have tried this at some point, but here's the reality: cramming doesn't work for long-term retention. It's a short-term fix for a short-term gain.

Why Doesn't Content Stick?

Our brains aren't designed to retain vast amounts of information in just one session. When we cram, information is stored temporarily, quickly fading after the exam. To remember things effectively, your brain needs multiple, spaced-out reviews of the material. A lot of students never even apply spaced repetition so they don't find out how incredible their memory retention can be.

Your Learning and Spaced Repetition

Look at this image:

This is called spaced repetition. Each green peak is when you revisit material, refreshing your memory. Notice how memory retention (the green curves) improves each time you review the content? Compare this to cramming, shown by the single initial green peak that quickly declines in the red curve hitting the bottom.

How to Apply Spaced Repetition

Here's an easy approach you can follow in school: focus in class when learning a topic for the first time (literally pretend your teacher is the best expert in the world for what you're learning, be on the edge of your seat), that evening after school you need to recover the content you learnt today (teaching yourself if you have to), on the weekend take a few hours to consolidate everything you did that week and then a few weeks before your exam you begin revising.

Conclusion

Stop relying on stressful, last-minute study sessions. Implement spaced repetition to improve your grades and boost your confidence. A lot of times our confidence just comes from our competence. Student Evolution teaches students how to learn and study for themselves to make them strong, independent learners for school, uni, and beyond.