The Science Behind RI9
THE MISSION OF RI9
RI9 is an exam preparation app that gets students ready for their tests in just 9 minutes a day. We've eliminated the overwhelm of traditional studying and replaced it with high-intensity, gamified practice challenges that actually work. We believe students can achieve better results in less time when learning is designed around how the brain actually works—not how textbooks think it should work. Many of the approaches we adopt such as bite sized learning, gamification and mock tests are practiced across ministries of education such as Singapore.
OUR GUIDING BELIEFS
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Traditional studying is broken. Hours of passive reading and note-taking create the illusion of learning while delivering poor results. Students feel busy but aren't actually prepared.
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Speed + accuracy = mastery. When you can answer correctly under pressure, you truly know the material. If you need to think for minutes, you're still guessing.
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Games work better than guilt. Students don't need more pressure—they need more motivation. When learning feels like winning, students show up consistently.
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Small, intense beats long and boring. Nine focused minutes outperform an hour of distracted studying. Always.
FEATURES DEVELOPED FROM SCIENCE
RI structures its Drill session into 9 minutes sessions. No more, no less. High intensity, maximum focus, zero burnout. Science here is to break learning & practice into bite-sized, spaced out & repetitive learning.
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OUR GUIDING BELIEFS
TIME PRESSURE DRILLS
Research by Dunning & Perretta (2002) identified a critical "time boundary" for accurate recall:
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Students who answered within 10-12 seconds were 90% accurate
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Students who deliberated longer dropped to 50% accuracy
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Fast answers aren't guesses—they're indicators of true mastery
The study concluded: "Accurate identifications are more likely to be automatic in nature... made quickly, without conscious effort, strategy, or awareness."
Benjamin & Bjork (1996) demonstrated that the speed of recall directly correlates with depth of learning:
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"Well-learned information is retrieved faster and with greater accuracy than less well-learned information"
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Retrieval fluency (how fast you answer) predicts confidence and future performance
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Students who can answer quickly have genuinely mastered the material
OUR GUIDING BELIEFS
BITE-SIZE LEARNING
Koh, Gottipati & Shankararaman (2018) compared traditional 1-hour lectures against bite-sized 15-20 minute segments with 45 adult learners:
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Statistically significant improvement in test scores (p < 0.0001)
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Higher performance on complex cognitive tasks (Understanding & Analyzing levels)
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Students answered questions without needing notes after bite-sized sessions
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87.5% found bite-sized format useful for applying concepts
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85% found it helpful for analyzing problems
Velamakanni & Saha (2025) surveyed 279 undergraduates on video length preferences:
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90% rated short videos as "very effective" for exam prep
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86.8% found short content more engaging than full lectures
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48% reported significantly better retention with short-form content
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67% would choose short videos over full lectures when time is limited
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Micro-learning improved retention by 22% by preventing cognitive overload
OUR GUIDING BELIEFS
GAMIFIED LEARNING
A comprehensive meta-analysis of 5,071 students across 49 independent studies revealed:
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Gamification produces a large effect size (g=0.822) on academic achievement
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When combining rewards, points, and rankings together: effect size jumps to g=1.285
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The study provided "strong evidence to support the use of gamification as an instructional approach"
Among all outcomes measured, motivation showed the largest effect size (g=2.206). Gamification creates a "sense of accomplishment and progress" that drives continued effort.
OUR GUIDING BELIEFS
CREATING STREAKS
Peru Math Platform (60,000 students, randomized trial)
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Highlighting streaks improved math scores by 0.13-0.17 standard deviations
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Students in the streak group were significantly more likely to maintain 4, 5, or 6 consecutive weeks of practice
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No discouragement effect: Breaking a streak didn't demotivate students from reconnecting
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Streak group had 17% achieve six-week streaks vs. only 6% in control group
OUR GUIDING BELIEFS
MOCK-TEST PRACTICE
Roediger & Karpicke's landmark "Test-Enhanced Learning" study compared three groups:
Group 1: Studied material 4 times (SSSS)
Group 2: Studied 3 times, tested once (SSST)
Group 3: Studied once, tested 3 times (STTT)
Results after one week:
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Repeated testing group recalled 61% of material
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Repeated studying group recalled only 40% of material
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Repeated studying group forgot 52% vs. only 14% for the testing group
The study revealed "the illusion of competence"—passive studying made students feel more confident, but they performed worse on actual tests.
Niessen et al. studied 851 undergraduate applicants using "trial-studying tests" (mock exams simulating actual coursework):
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Mock tests were the best predictor of first-year academic performance
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Correlation between mock test scores and final grades: r = .49 (large effect)
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Mock tests measure both ability AND motivation to perform under pressure
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When mock tests match real exam conditions (point-to-point correspondence), they become highly valid predictors
USE THE SCIENCE. GET YOUR CHILD EXAM READY TODAY.
You have given your child workbooks, extra classes and countless hours of effort. All of that matters. All of that counts. Now give them the one thing that makes sure none of it goes to waste — daily practice that drills, conditions and prepares them for the exam hall in just 9 minutes a day.
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