Note: check out the reviewer notes below before you take the results listed here too seriously. They’re good results (many highly reliable), but with important caveats.
Key Results
| Result Name | Effect Size | Reliability | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spaced Practice vs. Massed Practice (Performance) |
 Medium |
 High |
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| Spaced Practice vs. Massed Practice (Learning) |
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| Spaced vs. Massed: Simple Motor Tasks |
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| Spaced vs. Massed: Moderate Cognitive Tasks |
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| Spaced vs. Massed: Complex Motor Tasks |
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| Spaced vs. Massed: Complex Tasks (Cognitive and Motor) |
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| Spaced vs. Massed: <1 min Intertrial Interval |
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| Spaced vs. Massed: 1-10 min Intertrial Interval |
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| Spaced vs. Massed: 10 min - 1 hr Intertrial Interval |
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| Spaced vs. Massed: >1 day Intertrial Interval |
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Other Interesting Results
| Result Name | Effect Size | Reliability | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spaced vs. Massed: Complex Motor Tasks, with 10 min - 1 hr Intertrial Intervals |
 Negligible Negative |
 Unreliable |
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| Spaced vs. Massed: Highly Complex Tasks, with >1 day Intertrial Intervals |
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Study Characteristics
| Learning Domain | Declarative Learning, Procedural Learning |
| Study Topic | Massed Practice, Spaced Practice |
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| Task Studied |
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| Number of Studies |
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| Quality Score (%)* |
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* Study quality assessed using JBI Systematic Review Checklist.
Reviewer Notes
While a quick read of the abstract suggests this paper is a take-down of the spaced practice effect — particularly a critique of a previous meta-analysis (Lee, T. D. & Genovese, E. D., 1988) — a careful read reveals that it is anything but. This meta-analysis has problems of its own (first and foremost, it arguably doesn’t even discuss “spaced practice” as it’s typically defined). Yet this paper makes an interesting contribution to the literature nonetheless. That is, the results reveal details about how one should practice skills to enhance performance within a given session.