Math4Speed: A freely available measure of arithmetic fluency.

Abstract

We introduce the Math4Speed (M4S), a paper-and-pencil measure incorporating the four arithmetic operations with items of varying complexity. M4S consists of 50 addition, 50 subtraction, 50 multiplication, and 50 division problems, limited to 2 min per operation. The psychometric evaluation was conducted by combining convenience samples of young adults (N = 1,165), who were mainly university students (77.2%), from six European countries (the United Kingdom, Belgium, Germany, Poland, Greece, and Spain). Reliability and validity were satisfactory. Construct validity was reflected in the largest associations between inverse operations (e.g., multiplication and division). Convergent and divergent validity were reflected in higher associations of the M4S with other arithmetic measures than with a spelling test. As a freely available measure, M4S will be widely accessible and will in this first step allow cross-study comparison for typical experimental samples. In the next step, we invite all researchers to contribute to further development of M4S by providing more culturally diverse, minority, or representative samples to broaden the use cases of this screening of arithmetic fluency and enable more generalizability. Interested contributors can get in contact via email (math4speed@psychologie.uni-tuebingen.de). (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).