Reading

PART II Message 18 Faster Isn’t Smarter 1
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1

M E S S A G E

18
I

t’s a widespread belief that to be good at math
means to be fast at computation. But this belief may
in fact do more harm as good. Some of the world’s

greatest thinkers, scientists, and mathematicians have
not been fast at arithmetic, even though they were
tremendously successful in working with higher-level
mathematics. Dr. Emma King has noted her poor per-
formance on rote arithmetic computation, in spite of
her highly recognized work in the scientific field of cos-
mology. Numerous scientists and scholars from around
the world could tell similar stories.

Certainly as part of a complete and balanced
mathematics program it is useful to be able to add,
subtract, multiply, and divide quickly, and it is impor-
tant to know basic addition and multiplication facts
without having to figure them out or count on your
fingers. But asking students to demonstrate this
knowledge within an arbitrary time limit may actually
interfere with their learning. While computational
recall is important, it is only part of a comprehensive
mathematical background that includes more complex
computation, an understanding of mathematical con-
cepts, and the ability to think and reason to solve
problems. Measuring this one aspect of mathemat-
ics—fact recall—using timed tests is both flawed as an
assessment approach and damaging to many students’
confidence and willingness to tackle new problems.

A Classroom Story
The pressure and potential damage of timed tests
became especially evident to me several years ago
when a seventh-grade teacher invited me to visit her
class. It was September, and the teacher was spending
two weeks reviewing multiplication facts before
going on to seventh-grade material. The teacher
explained to me that each day she was testing a dif-
ferent set of facts. The day I visited, the class was tak-
ing a timed test on the “four timeses.” The students
became increasingly anxious as the teacher passed

out short fact tests face down on their desks. All eyes
were watching the second hand on the clock; students
knew that until it reached 12, they were safe. Then
the second hand hit 12 and the teacher said, “Begin!”
The boy I was sitting next to ground out a few
answers. He was gripping his pencil so hard that it
broke in the process. It seemed an eternity, but finally
the three minutes were up. I looked at the boy’s
paper. He had not come close to finishing, and the
few answers he had so painstakingly attempted to
write were wrong. If his performance was similar to
others in the class, I had to conclude (as the teacher
had) that these seventh graders did not know their
facts.

The teacher collected the papers and handed out a
puzzle-type worksheet for the students to complete
while she graded the tests. The puzzle worksheet was
on the same facts the students had just seen on the test.
I sat quietly as the same boy now used his broken pen-
cil to calmly and correctly complete all the facts on the
worksheet. He got the correct answer to the puzzle,
put down his pencil, and got out a book to read. A few
minutes later, the teacher read the names of the stu-
dents who had passed the timed test. Of course, the
boy seated next to me was not on the list.

The lessons from this story are obvious. Some stu-
dents respond well to competitive and timed situa-
tions, thriving on the pressure to bring out their best;
others have quite a different reaction. This particular
boy received a clear message that some students are
good at math and some are not—and he knew which
group he was in. He also was prevented from finishing
the test, something that causes some students tremen-
dous frustration. Furthermore, the teacher was led to
believe, incorrectly, that this student did not know his
multiplication facts. Consequently, and perhaps worst
of all, the boy was placed in a special group to receive
remediation on low-level arithmetic, robbing him of
the opportunity to move into more interesting prob-
lems and engaging work involving seventh-grade
mathematics.

Faster Isn’t Smarter
THE TRAP OF TIMED TESTS

2 CATHY L. SEELEY Faster Isn’t Smarter
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Alternative Scenarios
When I tell this story, sometimes teachers share other
approaches to helping students develop speed in com-
putation. For example, if a teacher or school chooses to
include speed as a mathematics priority, the teacher
might offer students the option to work toward their
best time during a six- or nine-week grading period,
designating a specified block of time one day a week for
this type of work. When a student is ready to try to
improve his previous time, he can request to take the
test. Students record their starting and ending times,
doing their best to complete the test quickly and beat
their best time, but always finishing and competing
against only themselves. This type of self-administered
assessment carries much less stress and allows each stu-
dent to complete the test without competing against
other students.

What Can We Do?
Even if we use other practices to evaluate speed, we need
to weigh the importance of this aspect of mathematics
within the entire program. Overemphasizing fast fact
recall at the expense of problem solving and conceptual
experiences gives students a distorted idea of the nature

of mathematics and of their ability to do mathematics.
Some students never survive this experience and they
turn away from mathematics for years, sometimes for-
ever. Having experienced timed tests when they were
students, many adults believe that accurate, fast compu-
tation is the most significant part of mathematics. When
pressed, many of these adults who dislike or fear math-
ematics attribute these negative feelings to experiences
from their school years, especially the use of timed tests.
In determining how much to value speed in arithmetic,
we must consider the costs and benefits: If teachers
highly value speed in mathematics, what are the poten-
tial gains for student learning? The potential barriers?

For some students, their success at being fast at
computation opens doors to allow them access to
higher-level mathematics. But as Marilyn Burns has
stated, “Speed with arithmetic skills has little, if any-
thing, to do with mathematical power” (1989). We are
now discovering that being good mathematical thinkers
or problem solvers is at least as important as being good
at computation and can also pave the way to higher-
level mathematics. At a time when we want to help
every student learn challenging, rigorous, and relevant
mathematics, we must look for ways to tap into each
student’s strengths, not fall into the trap of believing
that timed tests are the way we identify our good math-
ematics students.

Reflection and Discussion
FOR TEACHERS

• What issues or challenges does this message raise for
you? In what ways do you agree with or disagree
with the main points of the message?

• What value do you put on speed in your classroom,
and how can you evaluate speed in positive ways
that support student learning?

• If your school or district mandates timed tests, and if
you disagree with this mandate, how can you work
aggressively to change this practice?

• How can you use a variety of assessments that
go beyond timed computation or fact recall in
order to find out how well students are learning
mathematics?

• What questions or issues does this message raise for
you to discuss with your son or daughter, the
teacher, or school leaders?

• How can you help your daughter or son understand
that it is useful to be able to perform mathematical
procedures efficiently, but that this is not the only
measure of success in mathematics?

• Realizing that support at home can be tremendously
useful in fact recall, how can you help your son
or daughter learn, practice, and reinforce basic
facts and mental procedures so that these become
automatic, without using timed tests or sending
negative messages about mathematics that could
affect his or her developing confidence as a learner
of mathematics?

FOR FAMILIES

PART II Message 18 Faster Isn’t Smarter 3
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• How does this message reinforce or challenge policies
and decisions you have made or are considering?

• In particular, if your school or district endorses,
encourages, or mandates the use of timed computa-
tion or fact recall tests, how might you redirect this
policy?

• How can you find out whether teachers support the
use of timed tests? How can you make teachers aware

of the potential negative consequences of using timed
tests?

• How can you help teachers develop a robust set of
assessment tools and strategies to inform their teach-
ing and to find out what mathematics students
know?

FOR LEADERS AND POLICY MAKERS

RELATED MESSAGES

• Message 16, “Hard Arithmetic Isn’t Deep
Mathematics,” discusses what rigorous mathemat-
ics looks like.

• Message 24, “Do It in Your Head,” makes a case
for including the teaching of mental math as part of
a balanced mathematics program.

• Message 35, “Putting Testing in Perspective,”
looks at the types of assessments teachers can use
in support of student learning.

FURTHER READING

• “The Need for Speed in Mathematics” (Gilliland
2001) looks at why timed skills tests may not be
helpful for students.

• About Teaching Mathematics: A K–8 Resource
(Burns 2007a) covers many aspects of school
mathematics, including a discussion on
misconceptions about the value of timed tests.

• Overcoming Math Anxiety (Tobias 1995) looks at
the role of negative school experiences, including
timed tests, in the development of math anxiety in
adults.

• The Family Resources page of the National
Council of Teachers of Mathematics
(www.nctm.org/resources/families) includes,
among other resources, links to documents that
answer questions about the changing nature of
mathematics today and the use of timed skills
tests.

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