--- title: "US Schools Ditch Timed Maths Tests | Times Tables Games | XTables Champions" description: "Illinois and Chicago Public Schools are ditching drill-and-kill timed tests. Here's what the shift to joyful math fluency means for elementary educators." lang: en json-ld: | [ { "name": "XTables Champions", "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "WebSite", "url": "https://xtableschampions.com" }, { "name": "XTables Champions", "logo": "https://qtrypzzcjebvfcihiynt.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/base44-prod/public/68cac2c61c34894625d63273/cae3abbca_logo.png", "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Organization", "url": "https://xtableschampions.com" }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://math-magicians-academy-25d63273.base44.app/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "us schools anxiety free math fluency illinois chicago", "item": "https://math-magicians-academy-25d63273.base44.app/us-schools-anxiety-free-math-fluency-illinois-chicago" } ] }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "FAQPage", "mainEntity": [ { "@type": "Question", "name": "What is anxiety-free math fluency and why are US schools talking about it?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Anxiety-free math fluency refers to building children's ability to recall and use mathematical facts confidently, without the stress and fear that timed tests typically produce. It is gaining traction in the US because falling NAEP scores have pushed districts including Chicago Public Schools to rethink whether drill-and-kill methods are actually producing capable, confident mathematicians. The short answer is that they often are not." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "What is the Illinois math fluency mandate for 2026?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "The Illinois state guidance, informed by the National Math Improvement Project and NASBE 2026 policy updates, is moving away from timed, high-pressure fluency drills and toward conceptual, low-anxiety practice that prioritises understanding and confidence alongside recall. Districts including Chicago Public Schools are implementing this at the school level." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "How do multiplayer math games support fluency without anxiety?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Multiplayer game formats change the emotional context of maths practice. Instead of a child racing against a clock in a high-stakes test, they are playing with or alongside peers in a format that feels intrinsically motivating. The practice volume is still there, which is how fluency builds, but the fear response that blocks memory recall is removed. This is the design principle behind XTables Champions." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Are math fluency games suitable for children with SEND or maths anxiety?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Yes, and this is a core focus for platforms like XTables Champions. Children with maths anxiety, SEND needs, and neurodivergent learners are often the most harmed by traditional timed testing. Game-based fluency tools designed with these learners in mind can make a significant difference in both engagement and outcomes." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "What is the difference between math fluency and math memorisation?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Fluency means a child can retrieve and use mathematical facts flexibly and confidently across different contexts. Memorisation through repetition can support fluency, but it does not guarantee it, particularly if the practice is so stressful that the child's anxiety response interferes with recall. True fluency involves both recall and understanding." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "How does XTables Champions align with the new US math fluency guidance?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "XTables Champions was built around low-anxiety, engagement-first maths fluency practice using game formats children already enjoy and multiplayer modes that make practice feel collaborative rather than pressured. This aligns directly with what Illinois state guidance and Chicago Public Schools are now calling for: joyful, conceptual, confidence-building fluency practice." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Can US schools use XTables Champions even if they are not in Illinois or Chicago?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Absolutely. The shift toward anxiety-free, joyful maths fluency is happening across the US, and XTables Champions is designed to support any elementary school looking for a SEND-friendly, engagement-first approach to times-tables and maths fluency. Get in touch via the website to find out more." } } ] } ] --- [ XTables Champions Part of the ESSTA Kids family ](/Welcome) [About Us](/About)[Rewards ](/OurRewards) Tips & Tricks [Games](/Games)Login [ XTables Champions Part of the ESSTA Kids family ](/Welcome) [Learn](/levels-and-progression) [Games](/GamesOverview) [All Games](/GamesOverview)[Connect Four](/connect-four)[Guess Who?](/guess-who)[Times Tables Bingo](/times-tables-bingo)[Snap!](/snap)[Play with Friends](/games/play-with-friends)[Play against Champion](/games/play-against-champion) [Every Learner](/times-tables-for-every-learner) [Adaptive Learning](/adaptive-times-tables-learning) [Schools](/ForSchools) [Lunchtime Clubs](/LunchtimeClubs)[SENCO Support](/SchoolSencoInfo)[Homework Setting](/SchoolHomeworkSetting)[Whole-Class Games](/SchoolWholeClassGames)[Level Matching](/SchoolLevelMatching) [Wellbeing](/wellbeing-and-safeguarding) [Pricing](/pricing) Log In / Sign Up [Back to all articles](/Blog) # US Schools Ditch Timed Maths Tests | Times Tables Games 27 June 2026 The shift is real, it is accelerating, and it is being written into policy. US districts, including Chicago Public Schools, and state-level guidance from Illinois, are explicitly moving away from timed, high-pressure maths drills and toward what educators are now calling anxiety-free math fluency. If you work with elementary students and you have watched a child freeze during a timed times-tables test, this moment in US education policy may be the most important thing you read this week. ## What Is Actually Changing in Illinois and Chicago Schools When I looked into the latest from the National Math Improvement Project and the NASBE 2026 policy updates, what stood out immediately was the language being used at the policy level. These are not just suggestions from progressive teachers on social media. This is state and district guidance that is pushing back hard against what researchers have long called "drill-and-kill" practice. The new direction calls for conceptual math fluency, confidence-building, and what some documents describe outright as joyful learning. Chicago Public Schools, one of the largest school districts in the country, is part of this broader Illinois push. The backdrop is falling NAEP math scores, which have prompted serious reflection about whether the old model of timed tests and rote repetition is actually producing fluent, confident mathematicians. The answer, increasingly, is no. **The key takeaway from the new guidance is this: fluency and speed are not the same thing.** A child who can recall 7x8 quickly under pressure is not necessarily a child who understands multiplication. And a child who cannot recall it quickly under pressure may understand it perfectly well, but has been taught to associate maths with fear. ## Why Timed Tests Cause Real Harm This is not new research, but it is newly influential. For years, educators working with children with maths anxiety, SEND needs, and neurodivergent learners have known that the stopwatch is often the enemy of understanding. When I speak to teachers and SENCOs, the stories are consistent: a bright child who genuinely grasps mathematical concepts but shuts down the moment a timer appears. The physiological stress response that timed tests trigger can actually block memory recall, which means these tests are measuring anxiety as much as they are measuring knowledge. What the Illinois and Chicago policy shifts acknowledge is that this is not a niche problem affecting a small number of struggling students. It is widespread, and it is holding children back. ## What Joyful Math Fluency Actually Looks Like in Practice Here is where it gets practical, because "joyful learning" can sound vague when you are planning a real lesson for a real class of thirty children. What the research and the new policy direction point toward is practice that is: 1. Low-stakes and repeatable, so children build fluency through volume of practice rather than pressure of performance. 2. Conceptually grounded, connecting multiplication facts to genuine understanding rather than pure memorisation. 3. Engaging enough that children want to return to it, which is where the design of the practice matters enormously. Multiplayer game formats are increasingly recognised as one of the most effective ways to achieve this. When children are playing together rather than competing against a clock, the emotional context of the practice changes entirely. Collaboration, friendly rivalry, and the intrinsic motivation of a game format replace the dread of the timed test. As our founder Gal Darrash puts it, \*"We built XTables Champions around the games kids already love because we knew that if a child is having fun, they are not anxious, and if they are not anxious, they can actually learn."\* ## How This Maps to XTables Champions At XTables Champions, this is precisely the problem we set out to address. Our maths fluency app was designed from the start for children with maths anxiety, SEND needs, and neurodivergent learners, and the core design principle is that engagement comes before everything else. We use popular game formats that children are already drawn to, and multiplayer modes that make practice feel social rather than isolating. What we keep hearing from the schools and families we speak to is that the difference is not just in results. It is in attitude. Children who previously avoided maths practice are asking to play. That is the shift that the Illinois and Chicago guidance is calling for, and it is the shift we are genuinely seeing happen when children use our platform. We are a young company and I will not pretend we have decades of outcome data to cite. What we do have is a clear design philosophy that is aligned with where the research and the policy are pointing, and early conversations with educators that give us real confidence we are on the right track. ## What This Means for Elementary Educators Right Now If you are a teacher or instructional coach in Illinois, Chicago, or anywhere else in the US where maths fluency policy is shifting, the practical question is: what does your current fluency practice look like, and does it reduce or increase anxiety for your most vulnerable learners? If you are still relying primarily on timed drills or flashcard-style testing, this is a good moment to audit that. Not because timed tests are evil, but because they are often the least effective tool for the children who need the most support. And those children are the ones who will show up most clearly in your district's outcome data. The move toward anxiety-free, conceptual, joyful fluency is not a softening of standards. It is a smarter approach to actually meeting them. ## Explore XTables Champions for Your School If you are an elementary school teacher, instructional leader, or district curriculum coordinator looking for a maths fluency tool that genuinely reflects the anxiety-free, engagement-first approach that Illinois and Chicago schools are now prioritising, I would love for you to take a closer look at XTables Champions. Our platform was built specifically for children who find maths stressful, and we would be happy to walk you through how it works and whether it could be a fit for your students. Get in touch with us at [xtableschampions.com](https://www.xtableschampions.com) and tell us a little about your school. We are a small, founder-led team and we genuinely make time for real conversations with educators. ## Frequently Asked Questions What is anxiety-free math fluency and why are US schools talking about it? What is the Illinois math fluency mandate for 2026? How do multiplayer math games support fluency without anxiety? Are math fluency games suitable for children with SEND or maths anxiety? What is the difference between math fluency and math memorisation? How does XTables Champions align with the new US math fluency guidance? Can US schools use XTables Champions even if they are not in Illinois or Chicago? ## Ready to help your child? Join thousands of families using XTables Champions to make multiplication click. Get Started Free XTables Champions Game-based times tables for children aged 6 to 11. No timers, no tears. For parents, schools and tutors. Part of ESSTA Kids. #### Platform - [Schools](/ForSchools) - [Levels & Progression](/levels-and-progression) - [Our Programme](/Programme) - [Rewards](/OurRewards) - [Pricing](/pricing) - [About Us](/About) - [Learning Philosophy](/LearningPhilosophy) - [Contact](/Contact) #### Community - [Insights](/Insights) - [For Parents Blog](/Blog) - [Tips & Tricks](/TipsTricks) - [Success Stories](/SuccessStories) - [Events & Competitions](/Events) - [Live Results](/Results) - [Lunchtime Clubs](/LunchtimeClubs) #### ESSTA Kids Expert learning programmes for children who need extra support. [Visit esstakids.com →](https://esstakids.com) © 2026 XTables Champions, An ESSTA Kids Programme. All rights reserved. [Privacy Policy](/PrivacyPolicy)• [Terms & Conditions](/TermsConditions)• [Sitemap](/sitemap.xml) XTables Champions Game-based times tables for children aged 6 to 11. No timers, no tears. For parents, schools and tutors. Part of ESSTA Kids. #### Platform - [Schools](/ForSchools) - [Levels & Progression](/levels-and-progression) - [Our Programme](/Programme) - [Rewards](/OurRewards) - [Pricing](/pricing) - [About Us](/About) - [Learning Philosophy](/LearningPhilosophy) - [Contact](/Contact) #### Community - [Insights](/Insights) - [For Parents Blog](/Blog) - [Tips & Tricks](/TipsTricks) - [Success Stories](/SuccessStories) - [Events & Competitions](/Events) - [Live Results](/Results) - [Lunchtime Clubs](/LunchtimeClubs) #### ESSTA Kids Expert learning programmes for children who need extra support. [Visit esstakids.com →](https://esstakids.com) © 2026 XTables Champions, An ESSTA Kids Programme. All rights reserved. [Privacy Policy](/PrivacyPolicy)• [Terms & Conditions](/TermsConditions)• [Sitemap](/sitemap.xml)