Mental math test
Twenty calculations, as fast as you can. It is a bonus game with no published norm we could check, so it shows your time and errors but no percentile, and it stays outside your card.
20 calculations, as fast as you can.
Times tables and two digit additions. Type the answer, it moves on as soon as it is right. A wrong answer adds three seconds.
Number keys work too
How the test works
You get 20 problems, half times tables from 2 to 9, half additions with two digit numbers. Type the answer on the keypad or the keyboard. As soon as the number is right, the next problem appears. If you type as many digits as the answer has and it is wrong, it counts as an error and you try again.
Speed and accuracy, how time is counted
Your score is the total time in seconds, plus three seconds for every error, rounded to the tenth. The penalty makes guessing more expensive than thinking, and it is the same rule as in the Headgame app, so a time here and a time in the app mean the same thing.
Why you get faster with practice
Repeating any cognitive test raises the score, partly because you learn the test itself (Scharfen et al., 2018a). With arithmetic, practice also makes some answers automatic, you stop computing 7 times 8 and start remembering it. A drop in your time over a few games says more about practice than about a change in your mind.
A norm of arithmetic fluency exists in the literature, and Headgame will only show a percentile once it has been read and its sample checked.
Questions
What is a good time?
There is no public norm we can stand behind for this exact set of problems. Compare your time with your own previous games, and watch your errors as much as your time.
Is this test for children?
No. The site and the app are made for ages 15 and up. The problems are simple on purpose, the challenge is speed.
What this test does not tell you
It measures how fast you solve 20 simple calculations on this device. It does not measure intelligence or mathematical ability in general.
It is a bonus, outside your card. It has no percentile until a checked norm exists.
Sources
- Scharfen J., Peters J.M., Holling H. (2018). Retest effects in cognitive ability tests, a meta-analysis. Intelligence 67, 44 to 66. doi.org/10.1016/j.intell.2018.01.003
Other tests
Quick Math, twenty sums against the clock
Guides on this test
Headgame
Your full card, every Sunday.
Three 20 second games each morning, phone down sessions, and a card with six stats revealed every Sunday. Coming soon to the App Store, Google Play next.
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