Methodology

Multiplication tables check attainment

• Published: 21 November 2024

Introduction

This document provides a comprehensive guide to the multiplication tables check assessment statistics published at national, regional and local authority level by the Department for Education.

The multiplication tables check assessment became statutory in 2022, with the first publication of statistics based on this new assessment in November the same year. We welcome feedback on this publication to inform future development.

The areas covered in this guide are:

1. Multiplication tables check assessment
2. Data collection and processing
3. Methodology
4. Quality

Multiplication tables check assessment

Purpose of assessment

The multiplication tables check assessment focuses on the fluent recall of multiplication facts. This is included in the national curriculum (2014) programme of study for mathematics at key stage 1 and key stage 2. The purpose of the multiplication tables check is to determine whether year 4 pupils can fluently recall their multiplication tables.

The national curriculum states, ‘by the end of year 4, pupils should have memorised their multiplication tables up to and including the 12 multiplication table and show precision and fluency in their work’. The year 4 programme of study also states, ‘Pupils should be taught to recall multiplication and division facts for multiplication tables up to 12 x 12’. The assessment only assesses the instant recall of multiplication facts. Multiplication and division in a wider context is assessed through the key stage 1 and key stage 2 mathematics assessments.

Unlike other primary assessments, there is no ‘expected standard’ in the multiplication tables check assessment. Higher scores in the assessment indicate fluency in the recall of multiplication tables up to and including the 12 multiplication table.

Population to be assessed

The multiplication tables check is a statutory assessment taken by pupils in state-funded schools in England at the end of year 4, when most pupils are age 9 (see table 1). 

Table 1: Age of child related to year group and key stage

Year group	Reception	1	2	3	4	5	6
Key stage	Early years foundation stage	1	1	2	2	2	2
Age of child at end of year	5	6	7	8	9	10	11

The assessment should be administered to all pupils in year 4, unless the headteacher decides it would not be appropriate for a pupil to take the check.

All year 4 pupils should be registered for the check, including pupils who do not participate. If the headteacher decides a pupil should not take the check, they must record the reason. Pupils should not take the check if: 

• they are absent during the entire 3-week check window
• they are unable to participate, even when using access arrangements
• they are unable to answer the easiest questions or are working below the national curriculum expectation for year 2 in multiplication tables
• they have just arrived in school during the check period and there is not enough time to establish the pupil’s abilities—for example, pupils with English as an additional language (EAL)

Schools are required to submit a reason for each pupil who did not take a check.

Administration of the assessment

The multiplication tables check assessment is an online on-screen (using a computer or tablet) digital assessment. Under standard administration, the check takes each pupil less than 5 minutes to complete. 

The check is automatically scored and the results are made available to schools once the assessment window closes.

Further information about the assessment can be found in the Multiplication tables check assessment framework (opens in a new tab) and the Multiplication tables check administration guidance (opens in a new tab).

Data collection and processing

Data collection

Schools accessed the assessment on the MTC service via DfE Sign-in (opens in a new tab).

The multiplication tables check assessment was administered by schools between 3 and 21 June 2024. The check is an online digital assessment and the results are automatically collected and scored by the system.

Data processing

A variety of checks are conducted on the assessment results by STA before the data is transferred to the Department for Education where it is matched to pupil records in the National Pupil Database, followed by statistical analysis and publication.

The assessment data is combined with other data about pupils and schools to produce the statistics publication:

• Pupil characteristics data taken from the school census
• School characteristics data taken from Get information about schools
• Geography data taken from the National Statistics Postcode Lookup 

Data coverage

The following types of school are required to administer the multiplication tables check:

• Maintained schools, including maintained special schools
• Academies and free schools, including alternative provision and special school academies and free schools
• Ministry of Defence schools

It is recommended that pupils who attend a pupil referral unit (PRU) and are not on the register of a maintained school or academy take the MTC however they are not required to do so. Non-maintained special schools may take part in the MTC however they are not required to do so.

Overseas schools (that are not Ministry of Defence schools) and independent schools cannot participate in the multiplication tables check. Pupils who are electively home-educated also cannot participate in the check.

Methodology

This section outlines the methodology used to calculate the published multiplication tables check assessment measures. We report the following measures: 

• number of eligible pupils
• number and percentage of eligible pupils taking the check
• average score (of pupils taking the check)
• number and percentage of eligible pupils achieving each score (0 to 25)
• number and percentage of non-scoring outcomes

Number of eligible pupils

The number of eligible pupils for the multiplication tables check is a count of all pupils who took the check or did not take the check for one of the following reasons or no reason was provided:

• they are absent during the entire 3-week check window
• they are unable to participate, even when using access arrangements
• they are unable to answer the easiest questions or are working below the national curriculum expectation for year 2 in multiplication tables
• they have just arrived in school during the check period and there is not enough time to establish the pupil’s abilities—for example, pupils with English as an additional language (EAL)

Pupils who did not take the check because they had left the school or were incorrectly registered are excluded from the number of eligible pupils. 

Number and percentage of eligible pupils who took the check

The number of pupils who took the check are those who took the check and achieved a mark from 0 to 25.

The percentage of pupils who took the check is calculated as follows:

 

In addition to the number and percentage of eligible pupils who took the check, we publish the number and percentage of eligible pupils who did not take the check for the following reasons:

• absence
• unable to participate, even when using access arrangements
• working below the national curriculum expectation
• just arrived
• reason not provided

Number and percentage of eligible pupils achieving each score

The number of eligible pupils achieving a score of x (where x is a score between 0 and 25) are those who took the check and achieved a score of x.

The percentage of pupils achieving a score of x is calculated as follows: 

 

Average score

There are 25 questions in the multiplication tables check and a pupil who takes the check can achieve a score from 0 to 25.

The average score is calculated as the mean score of all pupils who took the check, including those who took the check and achieved a mark of 0. Pupils who did not take the check are excluded. The potential range for the average score is therefore from 0 to 25.

Attainment by pupil and school characteristics

Attainment measures are calculated for sub-populations defined by pupil characteristics and school characteristics. 

Pupil characteristics are obtained from the school census (and from local authorities for looked-after children). They include disadvantage, eligibility for free school meals, special education needs provision, English as an additional language, and ethnicity. 

School characteristics are obtained from Get Information About Schools. They include school type, cohort size, phase, and religious character. School types are then grouped together to create umbrella categories as follows:

• Local authority maintained mainstream schools: Community schools, Voluntary aided schools, voluntary controlled schools and foundation schools
• Academies and free schools (mainstream): Sponsored academies (mainstream), converter academies (mainstream) and free schools (mainstream)
• All state-funded mainstream schools: Community schools, voluntary aided schools, voluntary controlled schools, foundation schools, sponsored academies (mainstream), converter academies (mainstream) and free schools (mainstream)
• State-funded special schools: Community special schools, foundation special schools, special sponsor-led academies, special converter academies and special free schools
• All state-funded schools: Community schools, voluntary aided schools, voluntary controlled schools, foundation schools, sponsored academies (mainstream), converter academies (mainstream), free schools (mainstream), community special schools, foundation special schools, special sponsor-led academies, special converter academies and special free schools
• Alternative provision: Pupil referral units, academy alternative provision and free school alternative provision
• All state-funded schools and alternative provision: Community schools, voluntary aided schools, voluntary controlled schools, foundation schools, sponsored academies (mainstream), converter academies (mainstream), free schools (mainstream), community special schools, foundation special schools, special sponsor-led academies, special converter academies, special free schools, pupil referral units, academy alternative provision and free school alternative provision

Note also that although the school types categorised as ‘alternative provision’ receive government funding they are not included in the ‘all state-funded schools’ category.

Rounding

All percentages are rounded to the nearest whole number. Average scores are rounded to 1 decimal place.

All percentage point differences are calculated using unrounded figures.

Quality

Guidance & monitoring

Clear guidance is provided to schools regarding the administration of the multiplication tables check within the key stage 2 assessment reporting and arrangements (opens in a new tab) and multiplication tables check administration guidance (opens in a new tab) to explain how the assessment should be administered. To prepare for the check becoming statutory in 2022, schools were given the opportunity to participate in a voluntary pilot of the assessment in 2021.

Schools that do not comply with this guidance can be subject to a maladministration investigation. Maladministration refers to any act that affects the integrity, security or confidentiality of the national curriculum assessments and/or could lead to results that do not reflect pupils’ unaided work. If following an investigation, the Standards and Testing Agency decided maladministration occurred, the results for a whole cohort, groups of pupils or individual pupils will be annulled.

STA operates a helpline to assist schools that are having difficulty following the guidance or administering the assessments. 

Checks applied by STA

School and pupil data entered into the multiplication tables check system is subject to strict validation rules to ensure quality and consistency of data. This includes the validation of information about pupils who complete the check and those who are unable to.

Every MTC check is subject to validation rules to ensure the data adheres to the agreed data model, including all data is consistent with allowable characters and/or ranges. The individual questions and all derived data including the derivation of a total score are checked to ensure that they are accurate and valid. Any check that has been restarted is identified and reasons validated.

Any potential duplicate pupils are identified and removed as per an agreed set of rules based on information such as the unique pupil identifier, pupil names and date of birth.

Checks applied by DfE

At every stage in the data cycle, the department applies checks to the data. The department carries out checks on the data to ensure that the files provided by STA comply with the specified format and contain the correct information. 

All data in the underlying data are produced by one person and quality checked by another. Checks are carried out to ensure internal consistency between underlying data files within the publication and consistency with other publications. Sense-checks are carried out where trends in the data are compared to similar publications (such as assessments at key stage 1 and key stage 2). 

Disclosure control

The Code of Practice for Official Statistics requires us to take reasonable steps to ensure that our published or disseminated statistics protect confidentiality.

Figures for the Isles of Scilly and City of London are suppressed in the publication as these LAs have a single school. Regional pupil figures are rounded to the nearest 10 so that it is not possible to derive figures for these LAs by summing the figures for the other LAs in the region.

Accessibility and clarity

Accessibility is the ease with which users are able to access the data. It also relates to the format(s) in which the data are available and the availability of supporting information.

Clarity is the extent to which easily comprehensible metadata are available, where these metadata are necessary to give a full understanding of the statistical data.

The publication text is published on Explore Education Statistics, an accessible platform designed for the publication of statistics. An accessibility statement is available for this service.

Each publication is accompanied by featured tables with clear titles which allow general users to find more detail than can be provided in the publication text. Any important limitations or inconsistencies in the data are mentioned in footnotes so that users do not have to refer to the text. Users can build their own tables using the ‘table tool’ within Explore Education Statistics.

Underlying data for all the tables and metadata describing that data is also provided in csv format so that users can load this into an analysis package of their choice.

Any user wishing to conduct more detailed research or analysis may request an anonymised pupil level extract of the national pupil database (opens in a new tab).

Timeliness

Timeliness refers to the lapse of time between the period to which the data refer and the publication of the estimates.

The multiplication tables check assessment took place between 3 and 21 June 2024. Statistics were published in late November. During this intervening period, the data are quality assured, matched with other data and analysed to produce the statistical publication outputs.

Missing reasons for not taking the check

A small proportion of pupils who did not take the check were missing a reason (less than 0.1% of all eligible pupils in 2024).

The number of pupils with a missing reason for not taking the check was higher in 2022 (though still below 1% of eligible pupils), as this was prior to non-engaging special schools pupils being recoded to below and targeted chase activity to ensure as many reasons for pupils not taking the check were submitted as possible.

These pupils are counted as eligible pupils as it assumed that most of these pupils did not take the check because they were working below the level of the assessment, absent, unable to access or just arrived and the school did not comply with the requirement to submit a reason. It is possible a small proportion of these pupils had left the school or were incorrectly registered and therefore would not have been counted as an eligible pupil if a reason had been provided. 

Contact us

Got a query? Like to give feedback? 

If from the media

Press Office News Desk, Department for Education, Sanctuary Buildings, Great Smith Street, London SW1P 3BT. 020 7783 8300

If non-media

Phoebe Jones, Department for Education, Sanctuary Buildings, Great Smith Street, London SW1P 3BT. primary.attainment@education.gov.uk

Help and support

Contact us

If you have a specific enquiry about Multiplication tables check attainment statistics and data:

Primary Attainment Statistics

Email: Primary.ATTAINMENT@education.gov.uk
Contact name: Phoebe Jones

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