Math facts—Are they really THAT important?

Math facts. Are they really THAT important?!

This is the biggest and most important question that I get from parents. And I never know how to answer it. I always go back and forward between “math facts are ridiculously important and all students must absolutely know them before they can study math,” and “do children really absolutely need to learn math facts in order to study math?” And I’m not quite sure if I know the answer to that question but I’d like to give you both sides of the argument.

Meet Blake

Let’s take the example of a student named Blake. Blake’s parents did everything that they could to help Blake remember all of his math facts in elementary school. They used flashcards, they got him a tutor, they even quizzed him during the summer. However, sweet Blake could not remember his math facts. So when Blake entered middle school he started to have a really hard time solving problems quickly.

Blake would look around the room as his peers finished math problems quickly and progressed to the next level without him. Blake’s confidence started to diminish. Eventually, Blake decided that he was not good at math. He then began to shut down in the classroom. And eventually said that he hates math.

Blake is a fictional character. Most teachers and parents would notice the spiraling trajectory and do something to help Blake feel more confident about his abilities in math class. However, let’s say Blake did not have observant parents and teachers starting in middle school. Let’s say that by the time Blake was getting ready to move on to high school, Blake still did not know his math facts. So we have to ask ourselves, is it worth it to force Blake to continue to memorize his math facts?

My answer is generally this. If Blake were an elementary school student, I would say absolutely it is worth it! There is still so much time for Blake to acquire number sense through memorizing his math facts. So many doors open up when Blake has his math facts memorized, his number sense will be greater he will be able to solve equations and expressions faster, and he will generally know if his answers are reasonable or not.

Math Facts Are Important, On the Otherhand…

However, since our fictional character Blake is almost done with middle school and heading onto high school I wonder if it makes sense for Blake to spend more time memorizing his math facts. Yes, the same will still hold true for high school as it will for middle school. So many more doors will open up for Blake once he has his math facts memorized. He will be able to solve problems faster and he will generally know whether his answers are reasonable or not. This will generally allow Blake to have more confidence in himself. But is it worth the time and energy for Blake to memorize math facts on a daily basis? Or is his time better spent doing something else for math class.

• When is it a good time for students, parents, and teachers to just say, use a calculator?
• When is it a good time to use a multiplication table instead of spending countless hours with flashcards?
• When is it a good time to stop the drill and kill method of memorizing math facts?
• When will it be a good time for Blake to feel confident with math because he actually understands the concepts and performs higher-level thinking on math problems?

I may not share the popular opinion, but I do know that at some point children will become adults and all adults will end up with some sort of device next to them or in their possession that will allow them to calculate solutions to everyday problems. Sometimes I think that we should put more emphasis on whether or not students know how to solve a problem, than whether or not students can calculate the quotient of $24.95 divided by 15 lbs. Is it not more important that students know that they need to divide to find the unit rate than it is to actually be able to do the math?

As an adult, I generally go shopping at the grocery store and take out my phone to find a better deal on pantry items. If I don’t know that I need to use division in order to find the unit rate, then I am like a sitting duck. I can always use my phone calculator to calculate $24.95 divided by 15 pounds, but I actually need to know that division is the proper math operation for me to use.

For students like Blake who have a difficult time retaining math facts in their heads, maybe it’s time that we focus on whether or not they know which math operation to use in which situation instead of “does Blake know his seven times tables?”