A 2014 study by Smith and Karpicke further confirms these findings. Smith and Karpicke (2014) investigated whether short answer, multiple choice, and hybrid test formats were equally effective in enhancing learning. They found that students who took intervening tests got nearly twice as many questions correct on the final test as those students who did not take intervening tests. And like McDermott et al., they found no significant difference between the posttest gains of students in different tests format conditions (Smith & Karpicke, 2014).
This and other studies suggest that multiple question formats can provide the benefit associated with testing. multiple choice and short answer tests appear to offer equivalent benefits, and both can enhance student learning.