How many minutes a day does spaced repetition take?

It depends on how many cards you have. Versper shows how many cards are ready each day, and you choose how many new cards you start per day.

What happens if I skip a day?

In Versper, the cards that were due wait for you and are shown next time. Nothing is lost; the next sessions are a little longer.

Can I change the scheduling settings in Versper?

No. Versper sets the intervals itself. You choose the exam date and how many new cards you start each day.

Is testing yourself better than rereading?

Yes, in one experiment (Roediger and Karpicke, 2006): students who read a text once and then tested themselves three times recalled 61% of it a week later; students who read it four times recalled 40%.

Spaced repetition, explained

Spaced repetition is a way of studying in which you review each fact at growing intervals, just before you would forget it. Instead of rereading everything the night before, you see a card again after a day, then a few days, then a week.

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Published by Deep IT Consulting · Updated October 13, 2026

Does spaced repetition work?

Yes, according to decades of research. A review of ten study techniques (Dunlosky and colleagues, 2013) rated spreading your reviews over time and testing yourself as the two most useful, and rereading and highlighting among the least useful. A separate review of 839 assessments in 317 experiments (Cepeda and colleagues, 2006) found that spaced reviews improve recall compared with reviews packed together.

How is spaced repetition different from cramming?

Cramming packs every review into one session just before the exam. It can work for the next morning and fades quickly after. Spaced repetition uses less time per day over more days, and what you learn lasts longer.

How does Versper schedule the reviews?

Versper schedules each flashcard with FSRS, the open-source scheduler also available in Anki. You answer with “Didn't know” or “Got it”, and Versper sets the next date. If you set an exam date, the reviews are spread over the days you have left.

why it works

Testing yourself beats rereading

A review of ten study techniques (Dunlosky and colleagues, 2013) rated two of them the most useful: testing yourself, and spreading your reviews over time. Rereading and highlighting, which most students rely on, were rated among the least useful. Versper is built around the first two.

A review of 839 assessments in 317 experiments (Cepeda and colleagues, 2006) found that spacing reviews over time improves recall.

These studies tested the methods, not Versper.

What students remembered a week later

61%

read once, then tested three times

40%

read four times

One experiment on a text: Roediger and Karpicke, 2006.

Sources

Improving Students' Learning With Effective Learning Techniques. Dunlosky, Rawson, Marsh, Nathan & Willingham (2013). Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 14(1), 4–58.
Test-Enhanced Learning: Taking Memory Tests Improves Long-Term Retention. Roediger & Karpicke (2006). Psychological Science, 17(3), 249–255.
Distributed Practice in Verbal Recall Tasks: A Review and Quantitative Synthesis. Cepeda, Pashler, Vul, Wixted & Rohrer (2006). Psychological Bulletin, 132(3), 354–380.