Does active recall actually work better than rereading notes?

Answer

Yes — decades of learning-science research consistently favor retrieval practice over passive review. Rereading creates fluency illusion: text feels familiar, so you believe you know it. Active recall — answering questions, explaining mechanisms aloud, self-testing with flashcards — strengthens the memory pathways you will need inside the exam hall. The practical stack most students converge on: learn a topic briefly, test immediately with questions, revisit errors via spaced repetition, and reserve rereading only for repairing specific identified gaps.