Note taking is nearly universal in classroom learning, but students use different tools, organize notes differently, and do not always agree about its immediate value. The statistics below cover surveys from 1974 through 2019, studies published through 2024, and a 2025 intervention. They show how common note taking is, how students use notes, and what measured studies found about handwritten, typed, guided, Cornell, parallel, digital, and sentence-note methods.
Contents
- How common note taking is
- Tools, devices, and formats
- How students organize and review notes
- Why students take notes
- Instruction and self-perceived skill
- What studies found about learning
How common note taking is
The available survey findings suggest that note taking has remained a widespread college habit across decades. In a 1974 survey of 223 students, 99% reported taking notes during lectures, and 96% believed note taking was essential for success in college. A later 2012–2013 survey of 435 students found that 99.6% took notes at least some of the time, while 93.8% took notes often or always. These historical results describe the surveyed groups and should not be treated as a single continuous trend.
The 2019 survey of 577 Kent State undergraduates found that 96% took notes during in-class lectures. In that same survey, 88% said note taking was necessary for effective learning in classroom lectures. These figures describe students’ reported behavior and beliefs, rather than a test of whether note taking caused better learning.
Online lectures looked different in the 2019 findings. Among 220 students enrolled in mostly or entirely online courses, 49% reported taking notes during online lectures. Even so, 58% said note taking was necessary for effective learning, and 80% said reviewing notes was necessary for effective learning. The difference between taking notes and believing that review is necessary shows that online learning behaviors and beliefs did not always match.
Tools, devices, and formats
Longhand remained the most commonly reported classroom format in the 2019 Kent State survey. Overall, 86% of students reported taking classroom notes longhand in a notebook, compared with 46% who reported using a laptop. Because respondents could report more than one tool, these percentages are not mutually exclusive: 32% said they used both a notebook and a laptop.
Students who used both tools described switching according to the lecture context. Among this group, 20% said they switched to a laptop when the instructor spoke quickly, 20% used a laptop when PowerPoint slides were available, and 20% said device choice depended on the class. The figures indicate several reported reasons for choosing a device, not a ranking of which reason was most important.
Among online-course students who took notes, 86% used a notebook, 32% used a laptop, and 2% used a tablet. These results come from the 2019 survey and apply to the surveyed online-course note takers.
| Note-taking context | Notebook or paper | Laptop or tablet | Other reported result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 classroom survey | 86% notebook | 46% laptop | 32% used both |
| 2019 online-course note takers | 86% notebook | 32% laptop; 2% tablet | Percentages may overlap |
| 2015–2016 nursing lecture study | 49.8% paper | 28.5% laptop or tablet | 5.7% used both; 16% took no notes |
A nursing-student study based on 2015–2016 lecture observations and survey responses found that 49.8% took notes on paper, 28.5% used a laptop or tablet, 5.7% used both, and 16% did not take notes. The same study reported that 90.5% had a phone during the lesson, but only 4.5% used it for note taking or other lesson-linked online work. A laptop or tablet was present for 52.5% of students. Device presence therefore did not mean that the device was used for note taking.
How students organize and review notes
In the 2019 classroom survey, 56% said they tried to organize notes rather than merely copy what the teacher said. The corresponding figure among online-course students who took notes was 70%. Within that online note-taking group, 25% said they copied what the teacher said and 5% said their approach depended on the situation.
Among online-course note takers who organized their notes, 83% used a bulleted list or outline and 42% rephrased the material. Only 1% reported using Cornell notes and 6% used mapping. These percentages describe reported approaches within a subgroup, so they should not be read as a complete distribution of all note-taking methods.
Students also took notes from sources beyond lectures. Among online-course note takers, 72% took notes on textbook readings, 46% took notes on online demonstrations, and 25% took notes on websites. The figures suggest that note taking often extends across a course’s materials rather than being limited to live lectures.
Review was common in the 2019 survey: 93% reported reviewing their notes. Among note reviewers, 92% reread their notes. Three other review activities were each reported by 56%: making flashcards, highlighting or marking notes, and testing themselves. Other reported activities included copying notes, at 36%; summarizing notes, at 29%; and adding questions, at 9%.
These results distinguish frequency from method. Rereading was the most common reported activity among reviewers, while flashcards, marking, and self-testing each appeared at the same reported level. The survey did not establish that one review activity produced a particular score increase.
Why students take notes
The 2019 survey found that students most often connected note taking with later review and learning. Eighty-five percent said they took notes so they could review them later, and 79% said they took notes to aid learning. Another 63% said writing notes helped them learn.
Assessment and attention were also prominent reasons. Sixty-three percent said they took notes because they had to take exams, while 62% said they took notes to pay attention during the lecture. Twenty-one percent said they took notes because it was expected of them. These responses could overlap because students could identify multiple reasons.
Students also described tensions in the process. Sixty-seven percent said note taking sometimes interfered with their immediate understanding of the lecture. Fifty-two percent said they would not take notes if they did not have to take exams, and 46% said they took notes so they would not have to read the textbook. The survey also reported that 28% often doodled instead of taking notes, while 22% were often on the internet or playing games instead.
Taken together, these figures show why a simple “take notes” instruction can conceal different motivations. Some students linked notes to future review, learning, or attention; others linked them to exams, expectations, or avoiding another reading task. The findings report students’ perceptions and behaviors during the 2019 survey period.
Instruction and self-perceived skill
In 2019, 58% of surveyed students wished they had better note-taking skills, while 48% said they had been taught note-taking skills. Among those who reported instruction, 76% said it occurred in high school, 65% in middle school, and 26% in elementary school. Eighteen percent said instruction occurred in college.
The reported instructors were usually teachers: 96% identified a teacher, 18% identified a professor, and 23% identified a parent or guardian. The instruction was often brief. Among students reporting instruction, 45% said it lasted a few class periods, 31% said it lasted part of one class period, and 18% said it lasted an entire class period. Smaller shares reported a semester, at 13%, or a month, at 4%.
Self-assessments also differed by respondent group. In the 2019 survey, 92% of female respondents and 82% of male respondents said they took good notes. This is a self-reported comparison within that survey; it does not measure note quality independently or explain why the responses differed.
What studies found about learning
Survey popularity does not by itself establish an achievement benefit. Experimental and review evidence gives a more specific, but still method-dependent, picture.
A 2024 meta-analysis of college-student studies found a positive handwritten-note achievement effect compared with typed notes, with Hedges’ g = 0.248 and p < 0.001. The same meta-analysis found a typed-note advantage for note-taking volume, with Hedges’ g = 0.919 and p < 0.001. In practical terms, the findings point in different directions for achievement and the amount written: typed notes were associated with greater volume in the analyzed studies, while handwritten notes had the positive achievement effect reported by the meta-analysis. The analysis covered studies published through 2024. Typed Versus Handwritten Lecture Notes and College Student Achievement: A Meta-Analysis
A 2004–2005 academic study compared guided notes with completed notes during college lectures. The combined mean quiz-score increase was 3.5 points with guided notes and 3.1 points with completed notes. Results varied by class section: the afternoon section increased by 3.1 points with guided notes versus 3.4 with completed notes, while the evening section increased by 3.9 versus 2.9. For analysis-level questions, 13% of points were missed with guided notes versus 40% with completed notes. For knowledge-level questions, the figures were 19% versus 15%; for comprehension, 16% versus 14%; and for application, 14% versus 18%. Fifty-nine percent of students preferred guided notes. Effects of Guided Notes Versus Completed Notes during Lectures on College Students’ Quiz Performance
A 2025 randomized five-week note-taking-method study reported mean retention scores of 15.0 for Cornell notes, 14.7 for Parallel notes, 12.7 for Digital notes, and 12.4 for Sentence notes. Retention fell by 0.9 points from post-test to retention for both Cornell and Parallel notes, by 1.2 points for Digital notes, and by 1.6 points for Sentence notes. These are results for that intervention and should not be generalized to every course or student. The effects of note-taking methods on lasting learning: the role of motivation and cognitive load
Study habits surrounding notes also varied in a 2025 report using 2015–2016 pre-course surveys of 1,326 STEM students. Some students reported condensing notes as a regular study strategy, at 31.29%; 9.80% reported recopying notes, and 6.18% reported recopying notes from memory. Spacing study sessions across multiple days or weeks was reported by 56.71%, while 43.29% were classified as cramming. How do students study in STEM courses? Findings from a light-touch intervention and its relevance for underrepresented students
The overall evidence supports a measured view of note taking. It is common, often reviewed, and associated with strong student beliefs about learning, but the learning outcome depends on the method, the task, and the study design. Note-taking habits of 21st Century college students: implications for student learning, memory, and achievement