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+--- Thread: Low retention rate (/thread-10682.html)
Low retention rate - Hirakana - 2013-04-05
I am on frame 252, and I am using this site for reviews. My normal retention rate for Kanji is 85 - 90 percent, but with this last batch, I had a 75 percent retention rate. Should I lower the number of cards I do a day? (around 40)
Low retention rate - zurisu - 2013-04-05
As long as the amount of time you're spending on RTK isn't becoming overwhelming, then I see no reason for you to slow your pace. If you fail a chunk of your kanji, you're just going to have to accept the consequence that they will pop up again the next day (or however you space out your studying.) That isn't something to be afraid of; it's just the SRS doing its job and working for you.
Just be sure to review the story of every kanji you fail (and change it if you need to.) This means that the more kanji you fail, the more time you're going to spend doing reps (because you'll be looking at and evaluating old stories), and if that isn't a big deal, then I don't think there's anything wrong with continuing to add new kanji.
As long as the daily rep strain doesn't become stressful, you're doing it right, no matter how fast you go. Trust the SRS, that's what I'd say.
That said, be sure that you're really working hard on those stories. They are worth the while and make the amount of time you spend doing reps shorter in the long run! ^^
Low retention rate - Hirakana - 2013-04-05
Thanks
Low retention rate - daevil - 2013-04-05
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Low retention rate - erlog - 2013-04-05
That new batch of kanji might just be a particularly obtuse bunch for you. It's difficult to draw conclusions based on just one day of results. Also, your retention from before was actually higher than what is considered optimal.
Most people are targeting 80% retention scores overall. That's what Anki tries to maintain internally, and it's a good balance. The reason the target isn't higher is because the amount of time and repetitions required for 90% or 95% retention is just impractical.
So taking that into account I would just keep moving forward. If you're getting <75% for a number of days in a row, and the reviews are starting to have more and more cards every day without you adding any new ones then you would have cause to worry. Right now it seems like everything is working as intended. Don't fret over it.
There's definitely a progression of kanji throughout the lessons, but they're definitely not in any sort of order from easy to hard. Some of the ones that took the longest to stick for me were closer to the beginning of the book. I found especially that the simpler kanji from the beginning didn't have a lot of elements in them with which to create a story, and I confused the kanji with other ones that contained similar elements. The same thing might be happening to you.
Low retention rate - Stansfield123 - 2013-04-06
Hirakana Wrote:I am on frame 252, and I am using this site for reviews. My normal retention rate for Kanji is 85 - 90 percent, but with this last batch, I had a 75 percent retention rate. Should I lower the number of cards I do a day? (around 40)If you're not giving enough attention to understanding the method (by carefully reading and applying Heisig's advice), or if you're rushing with the stories when you first encounter a character, then you will start having trouble as the volume of Kanji goes up (you'll start confusing them, forgetting them, etc.).
But the solution isn't to do fewer Kanji per day. That won't change the fact that there are 2042 Kanji to go through, and that eventually you will have to know most of them. If anything, the longer it takes, the more time you have to forget stuff.
If you want a higher retention rate, focus more on the stories, as you initially learn the Kanji. Don't slow down your pace, that will just cause you to take longer. The only valid reason to add less than 40 Kanji a day is lack of time due to other commitments. Otherwise, it's best to just do RtK as fast as possible, get it over with.