Understanding The Forgetting Curve

At this point in the school year, tests and quizzes are probably starting to ramp up. You're learning lessons, getting assessed, and hopefully doing well. But, it wouldn't be unreasonable if you've had a few memory flubs, whether this year or any year. And that's because our memory works in a curve—a forgetting curve. Keep reading, because we're going to show you what that means and how you can combat it. ⬇️

What is the forgetting curve?

The forgetting curve was theorized by German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus in the late 1800s to show how quickly our brains forget information after learning it. Ebbinghaus conducted various experiments and tests and concluded these statistics:

• After day 1, you've already forgotten half of what you learned.

• By day 3, you're remembering just over 20% of what you learned.

• On day 5, you're likely only remembering 15% of what you learned.

Why do I care?

To put it simply, you care because you, like millions of kids around the world, have studied for a test before. And, at that, you've probably crammed for a test before. And then, you've probably regretted not studying for longer after taking the test. This curve is the reason why. If you crammed the night before, you would've been lucky to remember half of that content. Alternatively, if you didn't study for a test on, let's say, Friday, and you were taught the lesson on Monday, you are holding onto less than 20% of the info. This graph is the science behind why every teacher has told you to study in advance, and, why they're right.

How should I keep my brain full?

At school, not only are you studying for one class, or for two, or even for three. You're studying for somewhere between 6 and 8 at a time. So, it makes sense that you might forget a few things along the way. But, you can still massively flatten that curve. The best way to do this is with spaced repetition.

After learning a concept in school, go home and review it for just 10 minutes. The next day, spend another 10-20 minutes reviewing it. Then the next day, commit to 20 minutes again. Keep doing this up until your quiz or test so that you keep remembering pieces of information.

Keep learning fun

Just because you're in middle or high school doesn't mean learning has to lose its fun. And, the best part of spaced repetition is that you don't need to (frankly, you shouldn't) do the same thing every day. Mix it up with review games, Quizlets, music, or other active recall methods.

No matter your method, you can't learn to forget. So, before we forget, we want to take a moment to celebrate our 50th blog post! You kept reading and we kept writing, and that's why we could reach this milestone, so thank you! Now, back to the conclusion... Understanding the forgetting curve will help you combat its effects. Keep your brain full, your notes substantive, your repetition spaced, and your memory sharp. And, after all that, feel free to check out our other posts below or on the Blog page.