App-Supported Spaced Retrieval Practice: Effects on Academic Performance

The present study examines the effects on high-school students’ achievement of an intervention involving a mobile app designed to support distributed retrieval practice in the subject of History of Philosophy over an entire academic year. Data on the effects of app usage in two different schools are consistent with greater academic improvement between pre-test and post-test scores among the experimental groups, compared with the control groups who did not use the app, even after controlling for cognitive ability. In addition, app usage, quantified as the number of questions answered by students, showed a statistically significant association with post-test performance after controlling for prior performance and cognitive ability.