Grading

Last modified: 13/02/2026

How grading works

After you reveal a card, you grade recall quality. That grade is passed to FSRS, which updates difficulty and next review timing.

Sprout offers two grading modes, configurable in Settings → Study → Grading buttons:

Two-button mode works as a simple pass / fail system:

Button	Shortcut	When to use
Again (Fail)	`1`	Your answer is incorrect, or you couldn't recall it. If your answer is only partially correct, be strict with yourself — if it would count as wrong in a real-life context, press Again.
Good (Pass)	`2`	Your answer is correct.

This mode is simpler and faster, and is recommended for most users.

Button	Shortcut	When to use
Again	`1`	Your answer is incorrect or you couldn't recall it. If your answer is partially correct, be strict with yourself — if it would count as a fail in a real-life context, press Again. You'll typically use this button about 5–20% of the time.
Hard	`2`	Your answer is correct, but you had doubts about it or it took a long time to recall.
Good	`3`	Your answer is correct, but it took some mental effort to recall. When used properly, this should be the most commonly used button — roughly 80–95% of the time.
Easy	`4`	Your answer is correct and it took no mental effort to recall.

This mode gives finer control, but it is slower and easier to overthink.

TIP

Use four buttons only if you want extra grading granularity. Otherwise, keep two-button mode.

Some card types are graded automatically based on your interaction — you don't press a separate grade button:

Card type	How it's graded
Multiple Choice	Correct option → Good. Incorrect → Again.
Ordered Questions	Correct sequence → Good. Any item wrong → Again.

For these types, your response applies the grade directly.

Each grade feeds into the FSRS algorithm, which updates three values for the card:

Value	Updated how
Stability	Increases with Good/Easy grades, decreases with Again
Difficulty	Increases when you press Again, decreases with Easy
Next interval	Calculated so your recall probability equals your target retention on the due date

See Scheduling for a deeper explanation of FSRS.