Some teachers use timed tests as a perfect Friday afternoon activity and allow kids to compete against their own prior times—not the times of other students. This gives all students the opportunity to come up with strategies to improve their timing without the stress of grades.

What is the point of timed tests?

Timed exams measure a student's ability to answer questions quickly. A timed exam is assessing speed, not understanding. There is no correlation between recall speed and understanding. Students who can come up with answers quickly are not smarter than those who need to think before answering.

Are timed tests beneficial?

But research shows that timed tests actually cause the brain so much stress, it effectively blocks the working memory part of the brain- the very part needed to do math calculations. ... The opposite is also true, in that the kids who feel good about math, and aren't anxious about it, perform better.