UK 11-year-olds to be barred from using calculators in tests

Richard Garner, via a kind reader's email:

Children are to be barred from using calculators in the maths national curriculum tests for 11-year-olds.

Schools Minister Elizabeth Truss is announcing the move today in a bid to encourage pupils to master mental arithmetic skills whilst in primary school.

Research shows 10-year-olds from England are amongst the highest users of calculators in the world - with 98 per cent resorting to them in lessons compared with an international average of 46 per cent.

Ms Truss said children were too reliant on calculators at present, adding that there was a need to get more rigour into maths lessons. Calculators should omnly be introduced when pupils were confident in their mental and written arithmetic and knew their times tables.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at November 10, 2012 2:43 AM
Subscribe to this site via RSS/Atom: Newsletter signup | Send us your ideas