Weekly addition timed tests

[Loobylou3]

Just after opinions/experience.

My dd is starting Y1 in sept. They then start weekly timed mental maths test. 3 minutes to complete 10 questions. Get them right move on to level 2 and get certificate, any wrong stay on that level.

I feel very uncomfortable about it and worry about the effects on her self esteem and enjoyment of maths. I will be raising it at the transition meeting in couple weeks but wondered what other people think or if they have experience of it.

Thanks

3 minutes in a week? and they will, I assume, start with 4+1 type questions? and when they get to the level which is right for them, they get practice at that level until they are ready to move on? No issue with it here.

My class get 30 seconds to answer 17 addition facts they compete against their self to improve their previous week's score or for the children getting all correct to complete all 17 correctly in less than 30 seconds.

Mental maths, times table challenge, rapid recall addition/subtraction all timed tests. Plus Big Maths Clic not timed....weekly.
Certificates also given out in front of whole school.
Resilience and perseverance...two qualities that are essential for getting the most out of school.

My lot have all had this throughout primary school, it's helped their recall, perseverance, and knowing basic arithmetical functions makes more complex maths easier as you're not having to work at times tables type thinking, it becomes instinctive.

I don't have a problem with it.

There is a huge focus on mental maths skills in the new national curriculum. This sounds like a good idea to me. It gives the teacher a very clear idea of how to target intervention to ensure all pupils make progress in this area.

All types of tests like these at dc's school. Speed and accuracy at basic maths addition and multiplication form the basis of maths going forward so essential to practice at this level.

I think it's a good thing unless your child isn't adding yet so needs a more ability appropriate mental maths challenge.
Eg How many eyes do we have? Answer 2
Being good at mental maths is IMO the best way to get confident at using maths in real life - working out change, if I invite 3 friends to sit in mum's car can we all fit in, can I afford X, if I share this with a sibling how much should be both get etc.

so no one has a problem with a child potentially being on level one while rest of class moves on, getting certificates and the ones who don't know they have failed. How do the teachers address the errors in each individuals test?
obviously I am in the minority but for me this is not developing the love of maths in a 5 year old it is putting pressure and stress on them. I know as an adult how I would feel in this situation.
well I am sure time will tell and thank you for sharing your opinions and experiences.

yes, I agree beong strong in mental maths is crucial but from what I have read it is being able to problem solve and use and apply it that is what lets children down. being able to answer 4+1=, is not quite the same as a word problem that requires a child to work out what they actually need to do.

But they will get that practice as well. It's all very well if you can work out the word problem is asking you to add 4+1, but you then either can't do it, or you have to work it out. I've just asked YR DD 4+1 and she immediately said '5' - that is what this is aiming for - quick recall or quick methods to work it out.

And because each child is on their appropriate level they can progress at their own pace. I'd be more worried if they were all being given the same questions. This is personalised learning for every child!

At DD's school they have brought in 'maths passports' - each continent has a certain range of maths facts to know - counting, knowing 1 more and 1 less than a number to 10, halving and doubling, counting up and back in 2, 5 and 10s, knowing tables, knowing pairs of numbers that add to 10, etc. They have split the first continent into countries and town, so the very lowest is 'Know the numbers 1-5 and count up to 4 objects'.

Each child works at their level with other children their level, on a Fri afternoon, playing maths games, etc, aiming to master the skills for their town/country/continent.

If you're at a state school you realise that the class is probably set for maths and phonics right? In y1 there will probably sets for literacy and numeracy and your daughter may already be aware that other children may read/write/be better at maths/run faster/skip better than her/be taller or whatever than her? Spelling tests are the norm in y1 and mental maths is the maths equivalent.

A weekly 3 minute arithmetic practice like this isn't going to detract from the numeracy curriculum, in terms of tackling wordy problems. And it may well help reinforce basic number bonds etc which make the rest of maths much easier.

And as the children are essentially 'competing' against themselves, it should not lead to self esteem problems. Indeed I'd have said the opposite, as each child stands to see their own progress, and the teacher will be getting additional evidence of who might need support at any particular point (which should lead to the help/practice that means they do get it cracked, which is good for a sense of achievement).

Unless of course you have doubts about the teacher's competency, which is a whole different question. Most teachers are just fine, though. And if you don't have evidence to the contrary, worrying about this is I think misplaced.

Sums are considerably easier than word problems. 6-5 is easier for kids than 6 children can sit at a table. If 5 seats are taken how many are free? Over the year I would expect word problems to start creeping into a good mental maths test.

DD does mental maths tests every Friday (and loves it) but they don't get a certificate though (which they do if they get all their spellings correct).

Loobylou3

As you can see from the other posts - this kind of quiz is very common. The maths passport thing is increasingly common - just type in maths passport and see examples - e.g. www.st-pauls.wilts.sch.uk/math.html

Now having had a DD1 who was dire at maths in KS1 (finishing NC L1 on KS1 SATs) I handled these quizzes in several ways:

First - I made it clear I was relaxed about how she did - as long as she tried.

Second - I made it clear that it didn't matter how anyone else was doing - what mattered was that she could see a steady improvement

Third - I used the tests (which only came home when I formally requested it from the HT) - as a guide to what my DD1 could and couldn't do.

Now in our case - the school handled it badly - they gave the same exact test over and over again every week. I think what is preferable is to give the same level of test but slightly different problems week after week - in this way the skill (maybe adding to 20) is being tested, not the memorization of last week's test.

In Y2 this was going on - but the school didn't make it clear it was going on - we were only told about the 11s club/ 22 club/ etc... - but nobody explained it was about solving x many problems in so many minutes. By Y3 - I kind of lost patience and wrote requesting to see what the tests were and how they were differentiated - so that I could understand what the 'building blocks' were (as the school had never prepared a numeracy policy and/or explained the 11s club system to parents). As I suspected it was when addition/ subtraction involved carrying or borrowing that DD1 fell to pieces.

Armed with that information (finally - although highly suspected) - I was then able to make a concerted effort in Y3 to help DD1 add numbers up to 100. In fact once she got it - she could go well beyond that. Because she was so mixed up. Because she was regularly using more than one method at once. Because she confused estimation with addition (long story) - there was a lot of work to do - but we got there.

So my view is don't object to quizzes - the reality is that as your child gets older these will become a fact of life - instead instill in your child a positive attitude toward quizzes - view them as a chance to learn what she knows and what she needs to work on (both equally important!).

HTH

I would have no problem with my Y1 daughter doing these tests- in fact I wish her school did them! They do need to be at an appropriate level, but I imagine they would be good for building self-esteem, provided they start at a very basic level and work up slowly.

DD's school have started doing similar work 'Big Maths' this academic year. I have seen a big improvement in her maths skills. I don't think she is particularly aware of what levels others are on, I certainly don't ask her.

They don't do public certificates though.

I think you will be surprised about how much the children realise their position in the class regardless of how it is hidden. My DD knew from the first day of year 1 exactly which table she was on and what that meant.

I can see where lots of you are coming from and it is making me think a little different.
I think probably what I am less keen on is the awarding of certificates in front of the whole class/school

I think it's important as parents not to be overly sensitive about these things,as it can be passed onto the children. Saying 'oh poor you didn't get a certificate' isn't helpful.
Everyone will get certificates at different points and get to celebrate. It is possible to say 'X did well this week' about someone else, without it meaning yours have failed. Seeing other people achieve something you hope to achieve can become motivating if we let it. And the fact that the tests are so frequent, means each one in itself is not a big deal.

We need to build resilience in our children. One way we do this is allow them to face minor disappointments rather than protecting them from them. Then we celebrate with them when they do achieve and when they learn how to respond to disappointment.
Some people complaint that there is a lack of celebrating achievement, whilst for others there is too much.
The fact these mental tests are so common shows they cannot be causing long term emotional damage to children, but are beneficial.

ChocolateWombat I do agree, celebrate effort, the pride of classmates in their peers achievements and the boost to self esteem is amazing, they mean so much more to those children who have really put the effort in to crack the next step certificate.
As they are all levelled individually the brightest as well as those who find maths a challenge will all get times when they are having to work their socks off to attain three weeks of perfect score to "pass" that level...I liken it to a particularly frustrating level of candy crush...give up or beat the bugger eventually. (leave out swearing in the analogy when talking to live children)
The break through to the next level is hard work and rightly cheered, as handled in an extremely positive "we can all achieve" ethos in my experience helps determination, motivation and self-confidence.
Happy, motivated kids who know what they are working for and why learn much faster!!!

I would be completely against these in yr 1. I've taught yr 1 and all the classes I had would have really struggled with this kind of timed test when they are so little. One year I was asked to do something similar at the end of yr 1 and there were 3 children crying and 2 who couldn't understand not telling everyone else the answer. I refused to do the test the following yr as it was just not appropriate for 5 and 6 year olds. There are much more effective ways of teaching mental maths to small children than going back to timed tests.

Higher up the school I have less of a problem but what the children who make slow progress and get low marks week after week? How is that good for their self esteem? It just confirms to them what they already know by year 3 and 4 - that they are not good at maths and everyone else is better than them at it.

Totally disagree ... Many schools use a weekly timed test from reception. I know the first question I'll get asked tomorrow is "are we doing Beat That?" kids love it whatever their age