Does research on retrieval practice translate into classroom practice?

Retrieval practice is strongly supported by over 100 years of research and is one of only two learning techniques rated by Dunlosky et al. (2013) as having ‘high utility’ for classroom practice. It is also widely used in classrooms across England. So, is it even worth evaluating? Surely we already know that retrieval practice works? Well, yes and no. There is a colossal amount of research to support the use of retrieval practice. It is true that, as with most research in psychology, this evidence primarily comes from laboratory studies with North American psychology undergraduates, who get course credits for taking part. But although the majority of studies come from laboratory settings rather than classrooms (223 vs 30 respectively, according to the meta-analysis from Adesope et al., 2017), the effect sizes are similar in both (0.62 for lab studies vs 0.67 for classrooms). The small number of studies conducted in primary schools (10 effects, mean 0.64) and secondary schoo