Primary school pupils to be checked on times tables before entering secondary school
Eleven-year-olds will be checked on their times tables knowledge along with mandatory Sats tests from the next academic year
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Children in England will be made to sit a test to check they can pass their times tables before leaving primary school, the Government has announced.
Schools Minister Nick Gibb said multiplication was a “very important” part of a child’s mathematical knowledge, and confirmed the move would take place from 2019.
The plan was first proposed under the Conservatives’ election manifesto and announced by former Education Secretary Nicky Morgan in January 2016.
It was put on hold, however, when Justine Greening took over the role, announcing there would be no new national assessments introduced before the 2018-2019 academic year.
Appearing before the House of Commons Education Select Committee on Wednesday, Mr Gibb confirmed the times table check would now go ahead.
He said: “I think it is an issue of policy. It is my view that there should be a multiplication check.
”It was in our manifesto in 2015. We think times tables are a very important part of mathematical knowledge.“
If a child was trying to perform long multiplication or long division they needed to know their times tables, he added.
”It's why it was in our manifesto, it's why we are introducing a multiplication check in 2018-19.“
The check will be taken by Year 6 pupils in the spring of 2019 - the cohort currently in Year 4 - alongside national Sats tests.
The emphasis on times tables comes as part of increased efforts to improve maths teaching in UK schools.
Last summer, Mr Gibb announced half of all primary schools were to adopt the traditional Chinese method of maths teaching, proven to produce good results in Asian schools.
Latest Pisa rankings placed the UK in 27th place for maths – the country’s poorest position since first taking part in Pisa 16 years ago - leaving experts critical of the curriculum's approach towards the subject.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments