The second student, my son Evan, also a 4th grader, could not confidently add and subtract on his fingers. He learned the facts so fast over winter break that the astonished teacher asked "What happened?" Later the principal stopped me in the hall to ask about the change in Evan who had gone from a troublemaker to a leader. She asked if it was the program I had written, and that was a big part of the change. Evan is currently more of a biologist / entomologist than a mathematician but the other students frequently inquire of him "What is 7 times 8?." etc.
This teacher taught most of the upper-grade math classes and recommended that the facts be learned by fact families. A fact family example is: 2 + 3, 3 + 2, 5 - 2, and 5 - 3. The school had Macs so we borrowed IBM-compatible computers from parents and soon Flashcard was running in the classroom.. The students were 2nd, 3rd, and 4th graders. They were labeled from special education to talented and gifted. Many had not yet had great success in school. Within a few days they all settled down to their work on Flashcard.
I attribute the success to Flashcard's ability to stay patiently and exactly with the individual student's progress without being judgmental. The students 'win' at their own pace.
Many of these students, having won with Flashcard, demonstrated increased interest in other school subjects. Flashcard finds the gifted part in each student. Many students developed interest in learning other subjects. It is clear in High School that learning-success with Flashcard changed some students lives.
As a parent-volunteer I observed from the back of the 4th grade math class that many students were counting on their fingers behind their desks trying to keep up with the teacher. Flashcard was born out of my concern that many of these students might remain 'turned-off' to math for good, limiting their future possibilities.
I have not been able to detect a difference in the abilities of elementary-school-aged boys and girls. The 6s, 7s, and 8s are the slowest facts to learn. Curiously, most students learn division faster than multiplication.
Thank You.