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fact-minute

Grades 1–5 · printable + timed

Subtracting 6 Timed Test

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

Operation
Fact range
Problems
Time limit

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

Correct 0 Wrong 0 Blank 20

0:00 elapsed of 1:00

Elapsed 0s Left 60s

A timed sheet on subtracting 6

Subtracting 6, from 6 − 6 to 18 − 6. 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 6: all thirteen facts and their answers.
Problem Answer
6 − 6 0
7 − 6 1
8 − 6 2
9 − 6 3
10 − 6 4
11 − 6 5
12 − 6 6
13 − 6 7
14 − 6 8
15 − 6 9
16 − 6 10
17 − 6 11
18 − 6 12

Where subtracting 6 goes wrong

Taking 6 away is the first range where crossing back over ten is common — a borrow appears from 13 − 6 onward. The route children use is dropping to ten and then taking the rest (13 − 3 − 3). Once that decomposition holds, the 7s, 8s and 9s come loose with it, which makes this the sheet to fix first.

Three that come up

How do you subtract 6 across ten?
Go down to ten first, then take the rest. 13 − 6 becomes 13 − 3 − 3.
Why does subtracting 6 feel like a step up?
Most of its problems cross back over ten, which needs a strategy instead of counting.
Does this transfer to other tables?
Yes — the same decomposition handles 7, 8, and 9.

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