Content area
Abstract
Issue Title: The complexity of learning materials as a potential boundary condition of the testing effect
The target articles in the special issue address a timely and important question concerning whether practice tests enhance learning of complex materials. The consensus conclusion from these articles is that the testing effect does not obtain for complex materials. In this commentary, I discuss why this conclusion is not warranted either by the outcomes reported in the target articles or by the available evidence from prior research. Importantly, the weight of the available evidence does not alter the prescription for teachers and students to use practice testing to enhance learning of complex materials. However, the special issue highlights the need for more empirical and theoretical work on test-enhanced learning for complex materials, to further examine when and why these effects may be limited and to inform efforts to optimize test-enhanced learning for educationally relevant materials and tasks.