The impact of last second studying on performance

[FBaggins]

3. It depends on what gap you're trying to close.

If you've learned the concepts well, the last-minute review allows you to load information into short-term memory that you don't expect to hold long-term. For example, I would review physical constants or basic newtonian formulas just before a physics exam. You might not retain those because you can always look them up later... but you need to understand the concepts before they do you any good.

OTOH, a student who still hasn't grasped the concepts needs to actually acquire them. The night before is not exactly ideal, but would be superior to just minutes before the test (and you'll still need to load short-term memory just before the test).

A specific (but basic) example would be: If you don't know "I before E except after C..." you should study that the night before... reviewing the specific list of ten ie/ei words for a spelling quiz should happen just before the quiz.

So (IMO) it isn't a general rule (re: which is superior), nor even a case of how a particular student learns... it's the nature of what needs to be remembered (and your existing grasp of the concepts) that matter.