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fact-minute

Grades 1–5 · printable + timed

Subtracting 4 Timed Test

Print it with the answer key on page 2, or run the timer here.

Operation
Fact range
Problems
Time limit

Subtraction · 4s · 20 problems · 1 minute NameDateScore
  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12
  13. 13
  14. 14
  15. 15
  16. 16
  17. 17
  18. 18
  19. 19
  20. 20
Answer key · Subtraction · 4s · 20 problems NameDate
  1. 1 8 − 4 4
  2. 2 11 − 7 4
  3. 3 7 − 4 3
  4. 4 5 − 4 1
  5. 5 13 − 9 4
  6. 6 10 − 4 6
  7. 7 9 − 5 4
  8. 8 12 − 4 8
  9. 9 11 − 7 4
  10. 10 16 − 4 12
  11. 11 6 − 2 4
  12. 12 10 − 4 6
  13. 13 10 − 4 6
  14. 14 11 − 7 4
  15. 15 10 − 6 4
  16. 16 6 − 2 4
  17. 17 15 − 4 11
  18. 18 8 − 4 4
  19. 19 11 − 4 7
  20. 20 8 − 4 4
0 correct of 20

Correct 0 Wrong 0 Blank 20

0:00 elapsed of 1:00

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A timed sheet on subtracting 4

Subtracting 4, from 4 − 4 to 16 − 4. Every problem on the sheet is drawn from that set and nothing outside it.

Choose 20, 50 or 100 problems and a limit of 1, 2 or 5 minutes, then print the sheet with its answer key on page two, or start the timer and type into the same grid. The problems are drawn again every time the page loads, so a second sheet is not a copy of the first. How the counts and limits work is on its own page, along with what a timed test does and does not measure.

Thirteen rows, with the answers

Subtracting 4: all thirteen facts and their answers.
Problem Answer
4 − 4 0
5 − 4 1
6 − 4 2
7 − 4 3
8 − 4 4
9 − 4 5
10 − 4 6
11 − 4 7
12 − 4 8
13 − 4 9
14 − 4 10
15 − 4 11
16 − 4 12

Where subtracting 4 goes wrong

Taking 4 away is not the halving-twice move that dividing by 4 is. The fastest route is to take 5 and give 1 back (13 − 4 = 13 − 5 + 1), and forgetting the giving-back leaves the answer one too small. That is the opposite direction from the 3s error, so laying the two sheets side by side reads out which route a child is using.

Three that come up

What is the fastest way to subtract 4?
Subtract 5 and add 1 back. 12 − 4 becomes 12 − 5 + 1 = 8.
My child is one too low. Why?
The 1 was not added back. In the 3s sheet the same strategy gap makes answers one too high.
Does subtracting 4 relate to doubles?
For 8 − 4 yes. Elsewhere the five-and-back route is quicker.

What the standards and the critics actually say

Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (PDF), page 19 — 2.OA.B.2 “By end of Grade 2, know from memory all sums of two one-digit numbers.” thecorestandards.org — CCSSI_Math Standards.pdf

NCTM — Procedural Fluency in Mathematics (position statement) “Timed tests do not assess fluency and can negatively affect students, and thus should be avoided.” nctm.org — Procedural Fluency in Mathematics

youcubed — Fluency Without Fear “For about one third of students the onset of timed testing is the beginning of math anxiety.” youcubed.org — Fluency Without Fear