For students, teachers and administrators alike, the start of finals marks the start of organized chaos. New schedules, classes and curricula loom in the distance. But with it brings the inevitable last-minute planning. One problem tends to emerge from the deadline set by finals week. In many classrooms, students have little time to review.

There are many reasons why reviewing may not be a high priority. The curriculum is demanding and the amount of material teachers must cover makes every hour of class time critical. Four extra class periods may just provide the time to elaborate on a complex topic or cover material that was hard to fit into the rest of the semester. A student who has graduated is expected to know the material outlined in the curriculum, and a topic cut from the course due to a time-crunch may hurt his scores on the SATs and in college courses. To not fill class time with new concepts and theories would be irresponsible and most teachers recognize the necessity of thorough, in-depth study. What they do not realize, however, is that if they do not review material with students, much of the information will be forgotten.

Research shows that repetition is critical to any student’s learning. The repetition principle, a theory used in areas from education to marketing, confirms that familiarity is a byproduct of repetition. In other words, the more an idea is repeated, the more likely it is to be transferred to long-term memory. Researchers like Jeroen G. W. Raaijmakers at the University of Amsterdam have studied repetition and its effect on information retention. “Spaced repetition,” the practice Raaijmakers advocates, gives specific time quantities that help people retain information. These studies suggest that one review of a subject is not sufficient for retention. Multiple repetitions are recommended for maximum performance, but at least one review still significantly improves retention.

While many would argue that reviewing material is a matter that students should do on their own, science also suggests that in-class lectures may still be the most effective technique. While re-reading the textbook and going over notes at home is valuable, studies suggest that some students do not learn this way. While some learn from visual representations best, many students, known as “auditory learners,” learn best by listening. While some students may not need a lecture to review for tests, others find it extremely useful. To appeal to all students equally, verbal repetition should be emphasized just as much as book work.

Allowing the fact that the state curriculum is demanding and that students benefit from a broad and thorough lesson plan, too much information in too little time just does not work. Reviewing for tests as an in-class activity is invaluable to students’ learning and should be a part of every class.