Math facts are to math as phonics is to reading.

California’s Math Content Standards, the math students are expected to learn, are explicit about math fact fluency: By the end of second grade, students should “know from memory” all sums of two one-digit numbers (Standard 2.OA.2); by the end of third grade, they should “know from memory” all products of two one-digit numbers (Standard 3.OA.7). The authors of the standards define fluency as “fast and accurate” recall.

Math fact fluency means these simple single-digit facts are memorized.

Does this fluency matter?

In a Monterey County school district where 17% of students scored proficient in math, students were assessed on whether they’d memorized their times tables. By the end of fourth grade, a full year after mastery is expected, only 25% had achieved mastery. The consequences showed up in fifth grade state test results: Among fluent students, 63% scored at or near grade level; among nonfluent students, only 7% did. Math fact fluency isn’t a small detail; it can determine outcomes.

Research explains this result with the concept of limited working memory. Think of performing a precision task, like measuring out ingredients during cooking or entering an intricate password, while simultaneously attempting a conversation. This is nearly impossible because working memory is limited.

In the classroom, I routinely see nonfluent students interrupting their problem-solving to calculate needed simple math facts, like 7×9. When they return to the problem, they’ve forgotten their place because the calculation consumed their limited working memory.

When students aren’t fluent, every encounter with a basic math fact becomes a separate problem, an added burden imposed upon them.

A fluent student, in contrast, recalls these facts instantaneously and effortlessly. That frees working memory for reasoning, explaining, connecting concepts and problem-solving — the very things students should do.

Nationally convened expert panels on math instruction agree. The Institute for Educational Sciences’ practice guides and the National Mathematics Advisory Panel’s final report, both based on extensive literature reviews, emphasize the need for “automatic recall” of math facts.

When students aren’t fluent, every encounter with a basic math fact becomes a separate problem, an added burden imposed upon them: They reach for a calculator, count on fingers, consult a times table chart or run some strategy. These work, but they consume limited working memory, which can inhibit problem-solving with fractions, percentages, rates, factoring and more.

Teachers across California tell me that this problem is ubiquitous and that this Monterey County district is a microcosm. Elementary school teachers told me that if students began fourth grade with math fact fluency, then learning math, participating in math discussions and the teacher’s ability to instruct would become “exponentially easier.”

England now screens all students for multiplication fact fluency. England’s minister for schools attributes this screening as the reason for England’s rise in international student achievement rankings. Screening has “mobilized the entire teaching workforce in primary schools around times tables and fact fluency” having “huge ripple effects” on students’ math conceptual understanding, with children having “much more rounded knowledge,” with even unintended “spillover into addition.”

Fluency practice does not mean incessant drilling; interventions are only five to 10 minutes per day. Think of practicing scales for learning a musical instrument, dribbling drills for basketball, or footwork drills for soccer. Aren’t these necessary? Isn’t “know from memory … fast and accurate” the goal for those?

Senate Bill 1067 should ensure three things:

1. Screen second graders for addition fact fluency; add third grade screening for multiplication fact fluency.
2. Let California’s Math Standards (the requirements) drive the screening, not the non-mandatory guidance of California’s Math Framework.
3. Use a timed measure for fluency. The goal is automatic recall. Claims that timed tests cause math anxiety, repeated in the California’s Math Framework, have been shown to be not based on evidence.

Math fact fluency may be the single most important skill students should acquire in third grade. Understanding addition and multiplication is essential, but learning these skills to automaticity facilitates student success. As one education analyst put it, “Math facts are to math as phonics is to reading.” By screening for math fact fluency, as literacy screeners screen for phonics fluency, California would spotlight this skill and lead the nation in math education.

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David Margulies is a classroom volunteer at Elkhorn Elementary School in Monterey County. He holds a Ph.D. in materials science from UC San Diego and spent his career as a research staff member at IBM, where he co-authored many peer-reviewed scientific publications and 34 U.S. patents.

Rahim Nathwani is an operating partner at a family office focused on tech and artificial intelligence. Before moving to San Francisco and working on startups, he spent nine years in Beijing and Shanghai as a product manager at Google and Amazon.

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Published by EdSource: https://edsource.org/2026/math-fact-fluency-the-key-to-unlocking-student-success-in-california/754324