The Relative Value of Growth in Math Fact Skills Across Late Elementary and Middle School

Abstract

The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the importance of growth in math fact skills within the context of overall math proficiency. Data for 1,493 elementary and middle school students were included for analysis. Regression models were fit to examine the relative value of math fact fluency growth, prior state test performance, and a fall administration of a computer adaptive test for predicting performance on a year-end state math test. Across all grades, the largest effect sizes were observed for student performance on the fall computer adaptive assessment (β = .43–.56). Fact fluency growth accounted for unique variance in each regression model, with the largest effect size observed for students in Grade 4 (β = .20) and the smallest effect sizes observed for students in Grades 7 and 8 (β = .11). Results provide insight into the potential role of math fact fluency across late elementary and middle school. In particular, the observed results indicate that math facts may retain predictive value for math proficiency despite their absence from the formal curriculum in later grades.