Parents & Teachers

Is it worth practising times tables over the summer?

Over the summer, months of times table progress can quietly disappear. Understanding why, and how little it takes to prevent it, turns summer revision from "we should" into "clearly worth it".

What the research says

The forgetting curve, the way memories fade when they’re not recalled, applies to times tables too: they’re verbal memories and follow the same rules as anything else learned in words. Without review over the summer, facts that were solid in June may need to be relearned in September.

Mawson and Kang’s meta-analysis and Rea and Modigliani’s research on spacing reach the same practical conclusion: keeping something costs far less than learning it the first time. A few reviews spread over the summer, maybe five minutes every few days, are enough to keep a memory that would otherwise fade.

What this means in practice

Summer review really takes very little effort. The goal isn’t to learn new things, but to keep what’s already learned. The trade-off is lopsided: a few minutes every few days keep months of work, while doing nothing risks losing it.

Try this

Over the summer, drop to two or three sessions a week instead of stopping altogether.
Focus on the facts your child found hardest during the year: they’re the first to fade.
Present it to your child as “keeping what you’ve earned,” not as “more homework.”

→ TabTabTab is made for exactly this: 3 minutes every few days, with spaced repetition reviewing only the facts that are about to fade.

Sources

Mawson & Kang (2025) — meta-analysis
Rea & Modigliani (1985) — peer-reviewed study

Last reviewed: 2026-08-01