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Is it better to practise times tables every day or in longer sessions?
How to spread practice time is one of the most practical questions there is, and one research answers most clearly. The answer goes against how many people organise their kids' study time.
What the research says
A study by Rea and Modigliani compared different practice schedules specifically for times tables, using multiplication facts the children didn’t know yet so that prior knowledge wouldn’t skew the results. Daily practice beat every other schedule, including every other day and twice a week, with the same total minutes. A 2025 meta-analysis of more than 3,000 students in school settings confirmed the general principle: spreading practice over time consistently beats cramming it, with an effect of d=0.54.
The mechanism: memory consolidates better when things are recalled at intervals. Each day’s practice builds on the day before, before too much has been forgotten. With longer gaps, part of the time just goes into recovering lost ground before anything new can be learned.
What this means in practice
For many parents the takeaway is surprising: doing less each day, but doing it every day, works better than occasional long sessions. The consistency of the habit matters more than session length.
Try this
- Aim for daily practice, even if some sessions are only 2 to 3 minutes.
- If a week gets disrupted, go back to the daily routine instead of planning a “catch-up” session.
- Measure success by how many days in a row you’ve practised, not by total minutes.
TabTabTab trains recall, not understanding. Building the concept of multiplication is classroom work, and it comes first.
Sources
- Mawson & Kang (2025) — meta-analysis
- Rea & Modigliani (1985) — peer-reviewed study
Last reviewed: 2026-08-01