Are basic multiplication tables even taught in schools anymore?
By Marie Coyle
@MarieCoyle (63576)
September 29, 2026 3:05pm CST
Several times lately, I have wondered if they are.
I was in line at the pharmacy recently to pick up meds for the son. The young woman ahead of me decided to pick up some over the counter meds from a nearby display to purchase when she reached her turn at the counter. It was some form of generic pain medicine, on sale for $5.50 each. The other person with her was evidently paying, and ask her how much the 2 items were. She said $5.50 each, and whipped out her phone to use the calculator to punch in $5.50X2.
Seriously, I watched her do this. She appeared to be a fairly bright young woman, nicely dressed, etc. I thought, maybe she is just bad with numbers?
Saturday, the neighbor across the street had a yard sale. I walked over to check it out and say hi to her for a few minutes. She had one big table that had a sign saying anything on the table could be purchased for $5. There were many nice things, no, I didn't need anything on the table. A young woman, maybe early 20's, had 4 of the $5 items in her hand...again, she got out her phone to calculate how much $5x4 was. She paid and left.
The neighbor said that she also had the yard sale on Friday, and the same thing happened when a young person couldn't add the cost of 3 items in their head.
Remember all the things we had to memorize back in the day? Multiplication tables, poems, quotes, all the states and the capitols, the names of rivers, oceans, countries, the preamble to the constitution, the first part of the Declaration of Independence...and on and on. Heck, I still remember that stuff. Teachers drilled us on those things over and over. If we didn't learn them, we didn't pass.
While I agree it's not vital to memorize all of these things, math, such as multiplication tables, seems to be very lacking. Are today's children so dependent on technology that they don't learn the basics for themselves?
Am I wrong?
14 people like this
13 responses
@AmbiePam (128543)
• United States
20m
@TishaMears I’m so glad she stuck with it, and graduated. You made sure she got through it, and did so successfully. We need more parents like you.
1 person likes this
@xFiacre (15468)
• Ireland
11h
@mariecoyle Mental arithmetic keeps the mind agile. It just isn’t seen as a valuable skill any more. You would think that it would be a sought after skill by employers. My brother is an accountant but could never count once he’d run out of fingers. I asked him how he managed and he said computers do the counting for him, he just needs to know which column to put the numbers in. I wonder what kids learn now to fill the time when they aren’t being taught something useful?
4 people like this
@TishaMears (1087)
• United States
13m
@xFiacre
Wow! That's weird. I'm an accountant, too. But I'm good with doing the math in my head sometimes. Only when I feel "lazy" do I depend on the calculator for quick addition like when I go grocery shopping. It absolutely keeps your mind agile. My mother used to have me help her with the math when we went with her to the stores. I do the same with my daughter. I've posted above stating that education starts at home..
These kids today can't even give change as a cashier without the computer. It's so sad (but sometimes funny) watching some of them struggle with someone giving them cash to pay. They're so used to people using their cards 
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (63576)
•
10h
I find it rather sad that if they have no devices that can do it for them, they simply can’t do the math.
2 people like this
@toniganzon (81901)
• Philippines
6h
Omg that’s basic mathematics and you are so right. We have a young staff in the store. She’s 18 and she’s supposed to go to college but because of lack of money she decided to work for a year to save up. Me and my sister noticed how poor she was in math. Basic addition and subtraction she couldn’t do. She still needed a calculator too. And sometime even with the calculator she would make mistakes.
3 people like this
@toniganzon (81901)
• Philippines
44m
@MarieCoyle but of course! It’s disappointing how the quality of education has greatly decreased.
2 people like this
@MarieCoyle (63576)
•
4h
It's scary to think she is a young adult and doesn't know the basic math skills. Everyone needs to know basics.
3 people like this
@LadyDuck (509746)
• Italy
2h
I have read yesterday that students are unable to do again simple calculation without using an instrument. Many also fail in written language. I remember that looking at the books of my niece I thought that what she learned in college we learned at the elementary school.
3 people like this
@LadyDuck (509746)
• Italy
1h
@MarieCoyle - We cannot blame the teachers, they are not responsible. The books are printed according to the regulations of the governments now. Children are more and more ignorant.
3 people like this
@MarieCoyle (63576)
•
1h
I don't blame the teachers in this, I blame the devices, the phones, and yes, in part the parents. They need to be sure now more than ever that their children learn the basics they need to know, and to know their children could function without devices. We never know what the future will hold.
2 people like this
@MarieCoyle (63576)
•
53m
@LadyDuck
Children learn by example, rules, and they don't need phones or devices to learn the basics.
2 people like this
@MarieCoyle (63576)
•
3h
I am glad to know your kids memorized things. I don't think we should be dependent on devices for everything, but yes, I am old fashioned.
3 people like this
@rakski (162726)
• Philippines
18m
@MarieCoyle
device can be handy but we should not be dependent on them
1 person likes this
@nawala123 (23901)
• Indonesia
9h
Same case in here. Younger generation is so bad at math. They use gadget for simple calculation. Actually mentally calculation is taught at school (i am a teacher btw) but current students are not well disciplined and too dependant with technology like internet and AI to solve their problems
3 people like this
@nawala123 (23901)
• Indonesia
Just now
@MarieCoyle kids are too dependant with app or tools because all is there and they don't realize the importannce of numeric skill in real life
@MarieCoyle (63576)
•
52m
I am of the opinion that we need to get back to basics on some of this stuff. It's truly sad that these kids can't do basic math without a gadget to do it for them.
2 people like this
@celticeagle (194484)
• Boise, Idaho
11h
Oh, I remember. My mom made a table of the multiples and I learned that way. I remember I had to learn them by the end of my fourth year. My teacher was Mrs. Donnelly. I was so happy when I got them all right. I can't believe kids can't figure in their heads. My mom taught me to do that. She was such a math whiz.
3 people like this
@MarieCoyle (63576)
•
3h
I taught my kids a lot of stuff at home. I also used real coins to teach them about amounts, how to make change, how much change to expect back and how to quickly figure these things out in their little noggins. I am so, so glad I did. They taught their own kids the same way.
2 people like this
@wolfgirl569 (141231)
• Marion, Ohio
8h
They are allowed calculators at a young age anymore. My algebra teacher in highschool still wouldn't let us use them
3 people like this
@MarieCoyle (63576)
•
3h
We were not allowed any form of calculators for math/algebra/etc.
2 people like this
@RasmaSandra (101427)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
10h
I think that parents should help show them and teach them the basics and see that they don't work everything out on technology,
3 people like this
@MarieCoyle (63576)
•
1h
I used to sit down with my kids when they were young, and do this. It's not that hard or time consuming to teach the basics.
1 person likes this
@Fleura (36234)
• United Kingdom
11h
Here, they don't learn the 'times tables' by rote the way we used to, but they do still learn them in other ways. One way, which I find odd, is that they just learn the sequence of multiples, so the six-times tables is just '6, 12, 18, 24' etc. Not the 'one six is six, two sixes are twelve' the way we recited it.
There are also other things such as songs. Little One was helped by the songs of Percy Parker which her teacher used at school. She liked them so much she actually saved up her pocket money and bought her own CD which we used to listen to in the car!
2 people like this
@MarieCoyle (63576)
•
4h
I started to answer this earlier and life called...that's a neat song, Percy Parker.
I suppose the sequence of multiples works, of course it seems odd to me because we didn't learn that way. I can't get over how surprised I was to see grown young adults not being able to do simple multiplication in their heads.
2 people like this
@Fleura (36234)
• United Kingdom
Just now
@MarieCoyle I've noticed cashiers struggling to give change as well, they're just not used to cash any more either.
@JudyEv (389286)
• Rockingham, Australia
1h
I remember going over and over multiplication tables at school; also having spelling lists to learn. We'd have 'mental' arithmetic tests too. I wasn't so good at them. I hope if push came to shove the young people could do without their phones. They possibly don't think twice before using them.
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (63576)
•
46m
Yes, we had spelling tests weekly for years. And oral tests sometimes rather than written ones.
One of my friend's daughters teaches 3rd grade. We're talking 8 year olds....and she told my friend that about half the kids in her class had brand new iPhones last year. I personally think that's ridiculous...to spend that much for a 3rd grader to play games on and be responsible for? So, so sad.
1 person likes this
@TishaMears (1087)
• United States
35m
You're not wrong. Education starts at home. I started my daughter on reading as soon as she could talk. Then I started teaching her math which she's excellent at. As far as I remember, they didn't push remembering the multiplication tables as much as when we were in school. I pushed my child to know it, though. It could also be why she was good academically in school even though she's on the autism spectrum - high functioning. She needed speech therapy because her social communication skills are low.
Growing up my parents gave my sibling and me academic assignments outside of school to further our learning. We practically lived in the library.
So it's not just the school system. It's the parents, too.
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (63576)
•
49m
Some of our local school districts have decided that phones don't belong in the classrooms. Oh, some of the parents had a fit...and of course the kids didn't like it, either. But they really don't. They need to learn things without getting all the answers off the internet.
1 person likes this
