How to Study for a Test (the Way That Actually Works)
Rereading and highlighting feel productive but barely work. A day-by-day study plan with the two methods research rates highest, plus the night before.
In this guide
You read your notes three times, highlighted half the textbook and still blanked on the test. It’s not that you didn’t study. It’s that the most popular ways of studying don’t work very well.
Here’s what does, and a simple plan for your next test.
What research says actually works
A team of psychologists led by John Dunlosky reviewed the evidence on ten common study techniques. According to the Association for Psychological Science, two got the highest rating:
- Practice testing: quizzing yourself with flashcards, practice questions or by explaining things from memory.
- Distributed practice: spreading your studying over several days instead of cramming it into one night.
Five techniques got a low rating, including some of the most common: highlighting and underlining, rereading and summarizing. They feel productive because the material starts to look familiar, but recognizing something isn’t the same as remembering it on a test.
Your 5-day study plan
| When | What to do | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 5 days before | Find out what’s on the test. Gather notes, homework and old quizzes. Make flashcards or a list of questions. | 30 min |
| 4 days before | Quiz yourself on everything. Mark what you got wrong. | 30 min |
| 3 days before | Study only what you got wrong, then quiz yourself again. | 30 min |
| 2 days before | Do practice problems or a practice test without your notes. | 30-45 min |
| 1 day before | Quick quiz on everything, focus on your weakest topics, then stop and sleep. | 30 min |
Only found out about the test two days ahead? Same idea, squeezed: quiz yourself, focus on mistakes, repeat, sleep. Several exams in one week? Use this 3-week plan for finals.
How to quiz yourself
- Flashcards: question on one side, answer on the other. Say the answer out loud before you flip.
- Cover and recall: cover your notes and write down everything you remember about a topic. Then check what you missed.
- Teach it: explain the topic to a friend, a sibling or even your dog. If you get stuck, that’s what to study.
- Do the problems: for math and science, work through practice problems without looking at the examples.
- Make your own test: write the questions you think the teacher will ask, then answer them a day later.
Set up your study session
- Phone in another room, or at least face down on silent. Our tips on how to stop doomscrolling help if that’s hard.
- Short blocks: 25 to 30 minutes of focus, then a 5-minute break.
- Mix topics instead of doing one thing for two hours.
- Ask for help early. If something makes no sense, ask your teacher before the test, not after. Not sure how? Here’s how to email a teacher.
The night before and the morning of
Sleep beats cramming. The CDC says teens need 8 to 10 hours of sleep a night and lists trouble concentrating as one effect of too little sleep. An all-nighter trades the focus you need on test day for a few extra facts.
- Do a short final quiz, then pack your bag and stop.
- Eat breakfast. A good morning routine for school makes test mornings calmer.
- Bring what you need: pencils, calculator, water.
- During the test, start with questions you know to build momentum, and come back to the hard ones.
