The real contest format: 80 questions, 10 minutes, no calculator, no scratch paper. Scored instantly, +5 for correct and −4 for wrong or skipped. Start when your child is ready.
Free forever · no card · works on any screen (paper & pencil for the kid recommended!)
Number sense is the timed mental-arithmetic event used in elementary math competitions such as UIL and PSIA in Texas, and in Math League-style contests elsewhere. The format is unusually strict: a fixed set of questions, ten minutes, no calculator, no scratch paper, and no erasing. Scoring is +5 for a correct answer and −4 for a wrong or skipped one, counted up to the last question attempted — so guessing wildly costs more than it gains. Every tenth question is starred, meaning any estimate within 5% of the exact value earns full credit.
The test above runs that exact format in your browser and scores it automatically, so you get a contest-style result without printing anything. If you would rather work on paper, the printable version with the full answer key is linked below.
Ten minutes across eighty questions is 7.5 seconds each. A single two-digit multiplication worked the school way — multiply, carry, add — takes most children about thirty seconds. Done properly and patiently, a child reaches roughly question twenty. Competitors who finish are not calculating faster; they are calculating less. They recognise the shape of the question and apply a shortcut: 44 × 25 becomes 44 ÷ 4 with two zeros attached, 1000 − 258 is read straight off as 742 without borrowing, and 1 + 2 + … + 30 is 30 × 31 ÷ 2.
Practice by grade: grade 3 · grade 4 · the full 16-week programme.
Five points for each correct answer and minus four for each wrong or skipped question, counted only up to the last question attempted. Questions after that point cost nothing, which is why attempting fewer questions accurately usually beats rushing.
Every tenth question is an estimation question. Any answer within five percent of the exact value scores full marks, so they are the cheapest points on the paper: round one factor up and the other down, write it, move on.
No. The number sense format allows neither, and answers are written once with no erasing. That is what makes shortcuts essential rather than optional.
It depends on grade and experience. Rather than chase a number, re-test every few weeks and watch the trend: attempted, correct, and score all rising together is what progress looks like.
No. This is independent practice built in the same format those contests use. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by any competition organisation.
Mental Math Champs is the level-by-level system built to take this exact score from where it is today to competition pace: 50+ tricks with worked examples, 25 timed tests, and a 16-week plan — 20 minutes a day.
Get the full system → $19.99Launch price, regular $29.99 · one-time purchase · instant download · no subscription