Do You Know Your Child’s Maths Age?
Why is knowing your child’s maths age important?
Your child’s maths age is another way of showing what maths level your child is working at. You may have an idea of whether your child finds maths easy or difficult, but knowing your child’s maths age can give you a more precise way of seeing your child’s mathematical strengths and weaknesses.
photo credit: PetitPlat Food Art – Stephanie Kilgast
4 ways to find your child’s maths age
Here are 4 different ways of finding out your child’s maths age:
- Ask your child’s teacher – Teachers keep records of your child’s class work and test scores. Ask the teachers what the grades mean in relation to your child’s age. Your child’s teacher watches your child doing maths every day so will have information about your child’s ability beyond what the tests say.
- Take a test – Math Mammon has printable placement tests (with answers) for 5-11 year olds. If your child can score 80% at a particular grade level, they are ready for the next level. This is a useful test for your child to take towards the end of the school year.
- Look at a curriculum document - The Mathematics Benchmarks K-12(US) and the UK National Curriculum and a UK summary. These are detailed documents which break down every skill that your child needs at each grade/level. This is the most difficult but most detailed method.
- Take an online assessment – Sign up for a free trial of the online programs Ten Marks (US Grades 3-10) and Maths-Whizz (UK and US Ages 5-12)). Both offer free online assessments. This is the easiest method. Get your child to answer some maths questions and the Maths-Whizz and Ten Marks computers analyse the results and give you a report. An example Ten Marks report is shown below:
Ten Marks Report
Your child’s maths age is a useful measure, but their maths age or level is still an average of their abilities. Your child may have a maths age of 11 for algebra topics but an age of 9 for geometry, giving a maths age of 10 years old. Some of the tools mentioned above give a detailed breakdown by topic. Use this valuable information to see what topics your child needs support with.
Do you know your child’s maths age? Have you tried any of these “maths age” tools? Tell me in the comments below.
4 Responses to “Do You Know Your Child’s Maths Age?”
Mary Smith on May 4, 2011
We use Maths Whizz and the Maths Age has been a great motivational marker for my DS. When he did the assessment (a few times) he deliberately selected that he wasnt good at maths to see how different the questions would be and when registering we selected the sign in user name with the lowest maths age, so it wasnt much higher than his actual age. The first assessment showed his maths age was very high but the lessons were too hard to continue with it.
After using the package for about 8 months now, he is working at 2 years above his actual age, and has extended two years from the starting maths age which has been fantastic. Ultimately it means he is working at a curriculum level two years above his class level on Whizz.
By starting with a lower maths age, it has meant he has revised, reviewed, and has been taught all topics for the last two curriculum years which has ensured any gaps, lack of knowledge or understanding have been filled.
You cant speed up the process to improve the maths age. The only way to improve it is to pass the lessons and this takes a lot of time.
Whilst Whizz is great for promoting Maths Age, I would strongly recommend underplaying your ability in the assessment so that the lessons start easy. This helps with confidence and speed and the programme progresses on a nice easy path and suddenly they are covering hard topics but dont realise it. If a child starts straight away and the lessons are challenging they will switch off and it wont be successful.
We have tried lots of different maths packages but I believe, for primary students, that Whizz is the best one around for maintaining an interest and keeping kids motivated throughout the year. It is a fantastic teaching programme and also a great benefit to parents to understand how the curriculum is taught.
Caroline Mukisa on May 13, 2011
Thanks for sharing your experiences of Maths Whizz and in particular the “Maths Age”. You’re right – it really is a great feature of the program and acts as a great motivator for kids and reassurer for parents! That’s a great piece of advice to get your child to “underplay” their ability in the initial assessment. I can see that starting with material that is easy for your child would make for a smoother transition. It’s nice to see your child is doing so well on the program, it’s definitely a program I feel completely happy in promoting here on Maths Insider. Thanks once again for sharing, I’m sure your experiences will help other parents who are considering online maths programs.
Melanie on May 5, 2011
Great tip! I would love for you to come link up at my new “Encouragement is Contagious!” linky party! You can share your favorite posts from someone else’s blog to encourage them, and share your favorite from your own blog and get lots of visits :)
Have a great day!
Melanie :)
Melanie recently posted..Encouragement is Contagious! Linky Party
Find your child's maths age with Maths-Whizz | Maths-Whizz-The Whizz on May 12, 2011
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