If you work with elementary students who struggle in math, I want to say something plainly at the start: the method most commonly used to build math fluency is almost certainly making things worse for your most vulnerable learners. The good news is there is a better way, and it does not require children to suffer through it.
I have been looking into the growing conversation in North America around "drill and kill" math practice, and what I am seeing is a real shift happening. Research highlighted by the EdWeek Research Center points to more than one in five elementary educators reporting that their students experience severe math anxiety. That is not a minor concern tucked away in a corner of special education. That is a significant portion of every classroom, every school, every district.
What 'Drill and Kill' Actually Does to Kids
The term "drill and kill" refers to the traditional approach of having children repeat math facts, timed, over and over, until they either memorise them or give up. For neurotypical students who happen to perform well under pressure, it can look like it works. But for children with SEND, learning differences, or any existing anxiety around numbers, it does something very specific: it teaches them that math is a place where they fail publicly and repeatedly.
The damage is not just emotional. When a child's brain is in a stress response, it is not in a state to form lasting memories. Timed drills, in particular, activate anxiety pathways that actively block the kind of deep processing needed for genuine fluency. You do not get fluency through fear. You get avoidance.
When I looked into the research on math anxiety in elementary-age children, what stood out was how early it sets in. We are talking about children in Year 3 and 4 (or Grade 3 and 4 in the US) already developing a fixed identity around math: "I'm just not a math person." Once that story takes hold, it is extremely hard to shift.
Why SPED Classrooms Are Bearing the Brunt
For students in special education, the traditional drill model is not just unhelpful. It is often actively harmful. Neurodivergent learners, whether they have dyscalculia, ADHD, dyslexia, or processing differences, may already feel heightened self-consciousness in academic settings. Putting them in front of a timed worksheet or a pressured online drill tool amplifies every anxiety they already carry.
Here is what I keep hearing from the schools and educators we speak to as we build XTables Champions: the children who need the most support are the ones being failed hardest by existing methods. Teachers know this. SENCOs know this. But the alternatives have often felt either too light (pure entertainment with no learning structure) or too clinical (intervention software that still feels like a test).
As our founder Gal Darrash puts it, "We built XTables Champions because we kept seeing the same thing: kids who were written off as 'bad at maths' were actually just kids who had learned to be scared of it. Take away the fear, and something completely different happens."
The Shift Toward Game-Based and Peer-Supported Learning
The educational backlash against drill-and-kill in North America is not just a philosophical argument. Educators are actively seeking alternatives, and the trend is moving clearly toward game-based learning and peer-supported practice. What the research and the conversations in classrooms are both pointing to is this: children learn better when they are engaged, when the stakes feel manageable, and when they are learning alongside others rather than being judged alone.
Multiplayer math games sit at exactly that intersection. When a child is playing against or alongside their classmates in a game they actually enjoy, several things happen at once. The social element reduces isolation. The game context lowers the perceived stakes. And because the child is focused on playing rather than on performing, math practice becomes something that happens within fun rather than instead of it.
This is not a soft compromise on rigour. It is a smarter delivery mechanism for the same learning goals.
How XTables Champions Is Built Around This
At XTables Champions, our whole curriculum model works through a sequence: Learn, then Apply, then Play. Children are introduced to a concept, given space to apply it, and then invited into multiplayer games built around math fluency. Critically, we have removed timers from the practice experience. There is no pressure countdown. No flash of red when time runs out. Just the game, the learning, and the other kids.
We use games that children already recognise and love, which matters more than it might sound. When a child walks into a familiar game context, their guard is already lower. They are in play mode, not performance mode. That distinction is everything for an anxious learner.
What we are seeing in our early work is that children who previously disengaged from math practice entirely are willing to come back to the screen for another round. Not because we tricked them, but because the experience does not hurt.
For schools in New York, Texas, and across the US that are actively navigating SPED funding decisions and looking for math fluency interventions that genuinely serve their most at-risk learners, this model is worth understanding in detail. The conversation is shifting. The question now is whether the tools schools are investing in are actually keeping up with what the research and the classroom reality are both demanding.
Want to See How This Works for Your Students?
If you are a teacher, SENCO, or school leader working with elementary students who show signs of math anxiety or who are currently being served by traditional drill-based programs, I would genuinely love for you to see what XTables Champions looks like in practice.
Visit xtableschampions.com to learn more, or get in touch directly to talk through how the program supports SPED and neurodivergent learners. We are a small, founder-led team and we have real conversations, not automated sales funnels. If you are curious, just reach out.