A key part—though surely not the only part—of early-grades math is ensuring students get the basic arithmetic functions down and, beyond that, making sure they’re able to swiftly and automatically ...

“Because we do so much multi-step problem solving, and we’re doing two-step word problems, if they’re spending 10-15 minutes trying to figure out what 9x7 is, they’re doing a lot of extra work, or ...

April 16, 2026 - EdSource Editor-at-Large John Fensterwald explains how this election could reshape California schools. Math facts are single-digit calculations like 4+5=9 and 7×8=56 (“the times ...