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How do I prepare my child for the MTC?
The Multiplication Tables Check isn't a maths test in the usual sense: it's a memory test with a bit of time pressure. Preparing for it means building the right kind of memory, not just knowing the answers.
What the research says
The MTC gives children 6 seconds per question: enough to remember and type an answer, but not to calculate it. That’s on purpose: the government’s assessment framework says 6 seconds was chosen to allow recall and typing while preventing calculation. The test measures automaticity: whether a fact is memorised and can be recalled without effort.
Research on how the brain stores times tables shows they work like verbal memories, processed in the language areas rather than the maths ones (Dehaene & Cohen, 1997; Dehaene et al., 1999). That’s why recalling the answer, out loud or in your head, is better practice than calculating it or just reading it again.
For mixed-question practice, a study comparing interleaved and blocked practice found that students who practised all the tables in random order scored much higher a month later than those who drilled one table at a time. The MTC itself, 25 questions from all the tables in no predictable order, makes interleaved practice the most natural way to prepare.
What this means in practice
Preparing for the MTC is less about “knowing” the times tables and more about making them instant. A child who doesn’t remember 7×8 instantly will struggle with the 6-second window, even if they can work it out. The goal is very fast recall, which only comes from practising memory, not from practising calculation.
Try this
- Practise in MTC format: 25 random questions, in no particular order, timed.
- At first, practise with spoken answers rather than the keyboard: that way typing speed doesn’t count, and you measure only how fast your child remembers. Then practise on a screen too.
- Give extra attention to the facts your child hesitates on, not the ones they already know quickly.
Sources
- GOV.UK MTC framework — official guidance
- Ophuis-Cox (2023) — peer-reviewed study
Last reviewed: 2026-08-01