Spaced repetition is one of the most effective techniques for moving knowledge from short-term to long-term memory. By reviewing material at increasing intervals, students retain information much longer than with traditional study methods. PressPrimer Quiz tracks per-question mastery for each student using a scheduling algorithm of your choice: the classic SM-2 (the default) or the modern FSRS. See Spaced Repetition Schedulers for the differences and how to switch.

The Spaced Repetition report is also available on the Reports screen of the front-end Teacher Dashboard when the Educator add-on is on version 3.1 or higher.

How It Works

When a student answers a question in a spaced repetition-enabled quiz, the system calculates when they should see that question again based on their performance:

• Incorrect answers: The question is scheduled for review sooner
• Correct answers with hesitation: The question is scheduled for moderate review
• Confident correct answers: The question is scheduled for later review

Each question-student pair progresses through three mastery statuses:

• Learning: Initial stage, short review intervals
• Reviewing: Demonstrated recall, longer intervals
• Mastered: Consistent performance over 30+ days

Enabling Spaced Repetition

Spaced repetition is enabled per quiz. To turn it on:

1. Navigate to PressPrimer Quiz > Quizzes and edit a quiz.
2. Go to the Settings tab.
3. Toggle Enable Spaced Repetition to on.
4. Save the quiz.

Once enabled, every completed attempt on that quiz updates the mastery state for each question the student answered.

The Student Review Dashboard

Students access their spaced repetition progress through a review dashboard. To add the dashboard to a page:

1. Create a new page or edit an existing one.
2. Add the PPQ Spaced Repetition Review block or use the [pressprimer_quiz_sr_review] shortcode.
3. Publish the page.

The dashboard shows students:

• Overall mastery percentage: How much of their question pool they’ve mastered
• Status counts: Questions in Learning, Reviewing, and Mastered states
• Due questions alert: How many questions need review now
• Category progress: Mastery breakdown by question category

Review Quizzes

When questions are due for review, students see a Start Review Quiz button on the dashboard. Clicking it opens the student’s personal review quiz, refreshed with their current due questions (up to 20 by default). Each student has one review quiz that is reused for every session; a new quiz is not created each time. The review quiz:

• Uses Tutorial Mode so students get immediate feedback
• Shows correct answers after each question
• Updates mastery state when completed

After completing the review quiz, students return to the dashboard to see their updated progress.

Review quizzes are internal housekeeping, not content you manage. They are hidden from the Quizzes list, quiz pickers, and quiz counts so they never clutter your admin screens.

If your site ran spaced repetition on an earlier version of the School add-on, review quizzes accumulated over time. After updating, a one-time cleanup runs automatically in the background, consolidating the old review quizzes into each student’s single review quiz while keeping every past result viewable. You can watch its progress, and start the next batch manually, from the status card under PressPrimer Quiz > Settings > Spaced Repetition. No action is required.

Review Reminder Emails

Optional email reminders help students remember to complete their reviews. When enabled, students receive an email when they have questions due for review. To configure reminders:

1. Navigate to PressPrimer Quiz > Settings > Email.
2. Scroll to the Spaced Repetition Reminders section.
3. Toggle Enable Review Reminders to on.
4. Configure the reminder frequency and email template.

Instructor Reporting

Instructors can view student mastery progress through a dedicated report:

1. Navigate to PressPrimer Quiz > Reports.
2. Click the Mastery Progress report card.
3. Filter by group, quiz, or individual student.

The report shows mastery percentages, status distributions, and trends over time.

Best Practices

• Start with practice quizzes: Spaced repetition works best when students take quizzes multiple times with intent to learn, not just for assessment.
• Encourage regular review: The algorithm works best when students review due questions promptly rather than letting them accumulate.
• Use categories: Assigning questions to categories gives students better insight into which topics need more attention.
• Enable reminders: Email reminders significantly improve review completion rates.