Table of Math Skills by Grade Group
Here is a table summarizing the key math skills that students may be expected to develop in each of four pre-college grade groupings. It is based on United States national content guidelines. For more detail, see the Mathematics Standards and Benchmarks.
This table is provided by the Mid-continent Regional Educational Laboratory (McREL), and is used here with their permission.
Download as a PDF (40 K)
| Primary (K-2) |
Upper Elementary (3-5) |
Middle School (6-8) |
High School (9-12)
|
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Problem-Solving | represents problems with physical objects or pictures | trial and error; process of elimination | proportional thinking | proofs; algorithms |
| Numbers | whole numbers | decimals, fractions, odd & even numbers, mixed numbers; place value | rational & irrational numbers; exponents; scientific notation; ratios, proportions, percents | real-number system; inequalities |
| Computation | adds & subtracts whole numbers | adds, subtracts, multiplies, & divides whole numbers, and decimals; uses calculator | adds, subtracts, multiplies, & divides mixed numbers & fractions; estimation techniques | adds and subtracts algebraic expressions; performs basic operations involving roots and exponents |
| Measurement | length, width, height, weight, time, temperature | area, mass, volume, circumference, perimeter, capacity | rate; standard & metric systems; scale drawings; indirect measurements; surface area | velocity; acceleration; precision, accuracy, & tolerance in measurements |
| Geometry | circles, squares, triangles | angles, similarity, symmetry, congruence | slope; 3-dimensions; parallel, perpendicular; Pythagorean theorem; motion geometry; geometric models | Pythagorean relationships; vectors; transformations of geometric shapes |
| Data Analysis | simple graphs | organizes simple data sets; constructs & reads simple graphs & charts | central tendency (mean, median, mode); dispersion of data | data matrices |
| Probability & Statistics | likelihood of events | predictions;data sampling | estimates probabilities | random variables; statistical measures; determines probabilities; normal curve |
| Algebra & Functions | recognizes basic patterns | constructs patterns | variables; coordinates; solves simple systems of equations | functions; algebraic modeling; systems of equations & inequalities; basic trigonometric methods |