Fact: Talking Crabs Improve Math Fact Fluency

It's true.  Read on and find out why.

Math fact fluency is a key skill that all late elementary and middle school students must possess in order to succeed in mathematics. Siegler et al (2012) found that understanding of fractions and division at age 10 strongly predicted students' high school success in algebra at ages 15 - 17.

Let me repeat that finding - how well a 5th grader knows division and fractions predicts high school success in math 5 - 7 years later.  Getting those basic skills in place for all of our students is a crucial aspect of my job.

The picture above shows the current fact fluency of a relatively high achieving middle student here at Kazoo School from a report I generated using Reflex Math.  One of the reasons I like Reflex Math is access to detailed progress reports including usage and current levels of fluency.  I can see how much students are practicing and how they are progressing.

As you can see from the report above Reflex Math's initial assessment of middle school and late elementary students indicates a low level of math fact fluency.    Even our best students have a lot of room to grow!

Unfortunately this is a fairly typical situation in today's schools.  But don't worry. I have a plan to address this issue and it's a fun one.  

Hello Mon, Crabby here!

Perhaps you have noticed a new addition to homework assignment namely time allotted to Reflex Math.  Students love the games and feel of the program.  Crabby is the tour guide for tutorial and the creature students see when they log on.  I think he's pretty funny.  Who doesn't like a crab that has a Jamaican accent?  I encourage you to sit down with your child for a few moments just to see how the program works for yourself.

My sense is that this will be a very effective program for increasing fact fluency and that by the end of this year students will be much better at knowing their math facts.  I can't wait to see the results!

I am determined that all Kazoo School students leave knowing their fractions and are fluent with multiplication and division.  Making sure that all Kazoo School students are prepared to succeed in high school math is my goal.

It's fun and amusing to me that we have a friendly talking crab helping us meet one important aspect of that goal - math fact fluency.