英國小學要採用99乘法表！中國算數走向國際

Tests to check whether eight- and nine-year-olds know their times tables will be trialled in some primary schools in England next month before being rolled out Nationally.

在全國正式投入運行之前，英國下個月將在一些小學測試8-9歲的孩子是否熟記乘法口訣。

The test, which ministers hope will improve pupils' numeracy, will become mandatory in 2020 for all year 4 students.

政府官員希望通過這個項目來提高小學生的運算能力，預計到2020年會覆蓋到所有4年級的學生。

The government says the on-screen test, which assesses knowledge of the times tables up to 12, will last no longer than five minutes and has been designed to avoid causing additional stress for children and teachers.

政府表示，線上測試只要是爲了評估學生對於上限在12的乘法表的掌握能力，答題時間在5分鐘以內，並且不會給老師和學生造成額外的壓力。

The Department for Education sought to reassure teachers that the results would not be published and would not be used by the school's watchdog Ofsted to enforce any changes.

教育部向老師確保，測試結果不會公佈、也不會被學校的監管機構Ofsted使用，學校不會做任何改變。

Many teachers' leaders remain opposed to the new test, which is being introduced just as Sats tests in maths and English for seven-year-olds are about to be phased out after complaints about the burden of stress on young children and their teachers.

許多學校的教學主任還是很排斥這個測試的，就像被引入針對7歲小朋友的數學和語文課程的Sat考試一樣，讓學生和老師就課業負擔方面一片怨聲載道。

Nick Brook, the deputy general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said: “We're working constructively with the government on primary assessment generally so it's hugely disappointing that they are still intent on the introduction of a multiplication tables test, which the NAHT opposes.”

全國教學組長聯合會副祕書長，Nick Brook稱：“我們和政府就小學測試乘法表一事進行溝通，結果讓人大失所望。他們還是不顧我們的反對，測試推行乘法表。”

The idea of a multiplication test was first raised in the 2015 Conservative manifesto, and was originally intended for 11-year-olds. The numeracy skills of students in England lag behind those of their peers in east and south-east Asia.

2015年保守黨宣言，首次提出向11歲的孩童推行乘法表。因爲英國學生的運算能力落後於東南亞的同齡人。

Nick Gibb, the school standards minister, said: “Just as the phonics screening check helps children who are learning to read, the multiplication tables check will help teachers identify those pupils who require extra support.

學校部長Nick Gibb說：“就像自然拼讀發幫助學生來閱讀那樣，乘法口訣能讓老師知道哪些學生更需要幫助。”

 “This will ensure that all pupils leave primary school knowing their times tables by heart and able to start secondary school with a secure grasp of fundamental arithmetic as a foundation for mathematics.”

“讓小學低年級的學生背誦乘法口訣表，爲他們在學習初中數學打好基礎”。

“A pupil's primary school years are already cluttered with tests and checks. We want all children to succeed at school, but the answer isn't to test them more.”

“小學生一年就要應付一大堆測試和檢查，我們希望每個孩子都能學習好，但這並不意味着他們要多考試。”

The tests will be tried out in a sample of schools this spring before being made available on a voluntary basis next year, and then compulsory the following year.

今年春天試點學校會先測試，明年推行到有相關意願的學校，後年將會全面執行。

（翻譯：林潯鷗）