Petition · past parliament
Scrap plans for children to be tested on times tables as part of their KS2 Sats.
Closed
860 signatures
What the petition asks
Education Secretary Nicky Morgan has announced that pupils will be subjected to yet more relentless testing as they'll be expected to know all tables up to 12x12, with the skill being measured using a new examination to be rolled out in 2017.
Jo Boaler, professor of maths education at Stanford University, believes getting children to be tested in this way will increase maths anxiety.
She said that although some children were fine with timed tests, others weren't. But she said the message of timed tests was that being able to memorise things quickly was the same thing as being good at maths.
“Governments saying everybody has to memorise their times tables to 12x12 is absolutely disastrous," she added.
She said that although some children were fine with timed tests, others weren't. But she said the message of timed tests was that being able to memorise things quickly was the same thing as being good at maths.
“Governments saying everybody has to memorise their times tables to 12x12 is absolutely disastrous," she added.
Timeline
| 7 Jan 2016 | Petition opened for signatures |
| 7 Jul 2016 | Closed to new signatures |
Key facts
Signatures
860
Status
Closed
Opened
7 Jan 2016
Closed
7 Jul 2016
Follow this petition
Sign in to get an email when the government responds, a debate is scheduled or held, or the petition closes.
Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.