The interactions of three factors that may be involved with the memory for pattern or sequence in visual materials were investigated in this study: (1) arbitrariness of representation; (2) task; and (3) ability of students. The subjects, who were 29 graduate students in education, were pretested for general ability and randomly assigned to four…

This meta-analysis of 49 comparative studies shows that mastery testing has positive effects on student learning, but the size of effect depends on the stringency of the criterion used and the degree of experimental control. The effects of instructional time, student attitudes, and differences in ability levels are also addressed. (Author/LRW)