How to help with math calculation speed/Woodcock-Johnson test

[borninthesouth]

I have a 3rd and a 5th grader that I do math with each day.  We sit and do Math Mammoth together.  My 5th grader is dyslexic and sometimes struggles remembering certain processes in math and memorization things like her multiplication tables.  That is pretty common with dyslexic kids.  My 3rd grader, however, zips through school work and usually does pretty well.  She seems to master most math concepts pretty well.  She has struggled a little with memorizing her multiplication tables and re-grouping addition and subtraction, but from my mom experience as we continue to go over those things eventually it starts to click.  I usually find that with maturity comes more understanding, even in math.  When they took the Woodcock-Johnson recently they were where I expected on everything except in Math Facts Fluency.  They were really low.  A part of me says, "they'll catch up as we continue to work on it." And a part of me says, "What the heck??!!  Why I am homeschooling if this is where we are at??"  The test administrator said that speed really hurt their scores.  Should I worry?  Is there anything else I can be doing to help or will it come with time? 

Neither of them likes math.  In fact, none of my 4 kids do!!  My husband is a bright guy but has always been better at language and writing.  My oldest rocks at writing, reading, and language, but struggles through math.  I have to sit with my 13-year-old as she does Teaching Textbooks pre-algebra.  It is tedious, but bit by bit she is getting it.  I was hoping that my younger kids would not struggle quite as much, but here we are.   I have recently started supplementing with Beast Academy, which they like much better.   I am no rocket scientist but I love fractions and find algebra somewhat enjoyable for a school subject.  So, where do we go from here?  Any other moms out there struggling with this and have some tricks I haven't tried?

[Lecka]

One, maybe they weren’t familiar with the testing format and it’s not totally accurate.

Two, are you seeing them held back by their math facts when they do their daily work?  Is it really a problem?

Three, you can add drill.  I like Reflex Math.  You could add games or look for a system to memorize math facts.  You could add 5-15 minutes a day if you think it is needed.

If you think your daughter with dyslexia does know them decent, she may know them but have more of a pause and more of a pause in going between problems when it is math facts, but still really be doing well enough for it not to hold her back, or she may do better with math facts when they are in context.  I see that with my son.  

If you haven’t done any particular effort though you might add some in.  If you have been doing it and it’s not their strength — I think if they are doing well in math overall and they aren’t being held back then it may not be a big deal.  

 

[Lecka]

Oh, my tricks are Reflex Math, not giving up, and focusing on a few facts at a time, and mixing “working with them” and “trying to memorize them.”  

And then at a certain point some kids’ fluent recall is slower than other kids’ fluent recall and I don’t think that’s a reflection of math talent at all.

If you are wanting there to be organic learning of facts without drilling, you might add in drill and memorization, though, not all kids learn as well organically.  I think go by what you are seeing with them in daily math!  If they are not stalling or getting sidetracked in their daily work then it’s probably fine.  If they are a little bogged down then I think adding in a little drill is worth a try.  You can try to find things that will appeal to them and not be too boring.  

[PeterPan]

My ds has SLD math and has faster facts than my straight ADHD, no SLDs, dd ever did. His processing speed is WAY higher than hers. Like hers was I don't know, maybe about 30th percentile, and his was around 66th percentile when we just retested. He's actually functional, nominal lag, and she's molasses. It's not your fault, not something you can cure or drill out. Sometimes super slow processing speed will go up with meds or with Interactive Metronome. Other than that, you're screwed.

So do what you want, but eventually you'll just hand 'em a calculator. I would be wrong to take credit for my son's speed and wrong to blame myself for my dd's slowness.