Recall Readiness — FAQ for Admins
Recall Readiness measures how likely a learner is to recall what they've studied right now. It's calculated from each learner's memory strength — based on when they last studied and how well the memory has been reinforced over time — and updates continuously as memories naturally decay and are refreshed through study. For sets, Recall Readiness also factors in how much of the content a learner has started. A score of 75% means the learner has roughly a 75% chance of recalling the material if tested at that moment.
What changed?
The "Readiness" score is being renamed to Recall Readiness and the underlying calculation has been simplified. You may briefly see the label "Knowledge Retention" — this will be updated to "Recall Readiness" in the next release. The score now reflects activation — the learner's current memory strength — directly, rather than running it through an additional predictive model with multiple modifiers.
Why do scores look different?
The old Readiness Score applied a polynomial transformation with modifiers for review rate and item difficulty on top of the raw activation value. The new Knowledge Retention score removes that layer and returns activation directly.
In practice this means:
- Scores that were previously compressed toward the middle will now spread out more. The old sigmoid-based formula tended to moderate extreme values; the new score can show lower lows and higher highs.
- Time decay is more visible. If a learner hasn't studied recently, their Recall Readiness will drop more noticeably than the old Readiness score would have.
- Recent study shows more immediate impact. After a study session, scores will reflect the refreshed memory strength right away.
How is Knowledge Retention calculated?
For individual items: Recall Readiness = the learner's current retention (activation) for that item, based on their memory half-life and time since last study.
For sets: Recall Readiness = activation x percent started. A learner who has started 60% of a set and has 80% activation on studied items would show 48% Recall Readiness.
Are learners affected?
Learners will see the updated label in their dashboard. The study experience itself — scheduling, item selection, review timing — has not changed. Only the reported score is different.
Will scores go back up?
Yes. Recall Readiness responds directly to study activity. When learners study, their scores will reflect the refreshed memory strength immediately. The score is a real-time measure, not a historical one.
What about exported reports and CSV files?
The CSV column header will change from "Readiness" to "Recall Readiness" (temporarily labeled "Knowledge Retention" until the next release). If you have any downstream processes that reference the old header name, you'll need to update them.
Is the tooltip / help text updated?
The tooltip currently reads "Knowledge Retention Score" and will be updated to "Recall Readiness" in the next release. The description remains: "continuously updated to reflect the current availability of knowledge. Instead of showing what people have done, it shows what they know right now."
Who should I contact with questions?
Reach out to your Cerego account contact or support as usual.
Document Information
- Category
- Product Updates
- Published
- March 23, 2026