MYTH: "Re-reading and highlighting are effective primary study methods." Verdict?

DEBUNKED as primary methods. Dunlosky et al. (2013) rate both LOW utility — they build fluency, not durable memory.

In Dunlosky et al.'s (2013) review of ten learning techniques, re-reading and highlighting both scored "low utility." They're easy and popular, and they make material feel familiar, but that familiarity is the illusion of competence, not durable learning.

They're not worthless: fine as a first pass to get the lay of the land, or to mark items you'll later self-test. The error is making them the main event. Reserve your real effort for retrieval, spacing, and interleaving — the high-utility techniques.