Hi Grergorydc,
Unlike public school with its rules and testing, studying God's manual for life allows open book study and copying from the papers of other students. There is no competition with other students, we all study together and after 12 years of school we get a passing grade (just kidding).
The purpose is to GROW in grace and knowledge.
We do not have to reach any certain level of understanding.
We do not have to compare ourselves with others.
2Cor 10:12We are not in competition.
We each have to build upon the gifts that God has given to us.
What I have done for example is to read Romans and just mark the passages that got my attention at that time. Then I make notes on separate papers and when I have a thought I can pull out my study notes and refer to them.
I have found that certain problems in life keep reoccuring with regular frequency and so I don't have to know the whole Bible in order to answer questions in my own mind. In this way I can refer to one of my papers or study notes consisting of perhaps 2 or 3 pages rather than having to begin in Matthew and leaf through the whole new testament hoping to stumble upon the verse I am seeking.
In this regard then a computer program such as e-sword or a bible site like "biblegateway.com" becomes much easier and faster to use effectively.
Although it is good to truly KNOW your Bible it is also a good plan to use the Bible as reference and just know where to look for the passage of interest.
A science professor with whom I worked several years past, used to send his teen age children to live in Mexico with a family in that Nation and they sent their child to live with him in order to learn each foreign language. The secret to learning a new language and many other skills is
complete immersion. So when each child arrived at the sponsoring home they had to speak only the new foreign language for the entire eight weeks. When they returned to their own home they had a much better grasp of the second language than they ever would have gotten in the classroom environment or from studying audio tapes.
Birds of a feather, flock together.
Please let me know if this was of any help. Indiana Bob