Several years ago, psychologists identified the “testing effect.” Essentially, researchers found that giving students test-like questions about new material helped them memorize content.
Most importantly, the researchers also identified that students who could answer questions about newly learned material had a better understanding of the content. Thus, we now know that re-studying material is not effective in helping us recall information through this study. Instead, we need to be able to apply it.
By taking practice questions, we learn from choosing the right answer and crossing out the wrong answers. When we can explain why an answer option is not correct, we further our understanding of the subject.