Math literacy vs Math fluency; What's the difference?

---

Already math is a triggering word for most but add literacy and fluency to it and forget it. If you are in the teaching world, chances are you know what it is. If you are a parent or just a regular person who doesn’t care about math, then you might be like what!!!

I will explain them both to you as simply as I can.

---

Math literacy encompasses the ability to identify numbers, possess number sense, and grasp fundamental concepts. Examples of literacy include: counting, understanding place value, identifying numbers in both numerical and word forms, creating a model or diagram for a number, knowing when to subtract, and understanding when a number will increase. Consider mathematical literacy as the reasoning behind actions—can they explain why?

Math fluency is a person’s ability to perform addition, subtraction, division, and multiplication. How fluid are they when they perform said operation? Can they do addition fast or slow? How many mistakes would they make after completing ten problems? Think of math fluency as the measure of how effectively they can do math.

Both are very important for learning math. Both concepts are needed to learn and teach math effectively. They both go hand in hand.

Now that you have gotten the rundown of these terms, impress someone you know with your newfound knowledge of math fluency and math literacy. Also, check out XtraMath and Paths to literacy for more resources. Happy Calculating!

---

Resources and credit for information:

65552f9171ab87f08b14d27e_XtraMath Final Logic Model 2.0 (1).pdf

Math Literacy – Paths to Literacy