What is maths vocabulary?

Maths vocabulary is the language maths is taught in: words such as "factor", "ratio" and "difference", the symbols that go with them, and command words such as "estimate", "justify" and "compare". Many maths words have a precise meaning, and some mean something different in everyday talk. If a pupil doesn't know a key word, it can stop them showing what they understand.

How our test measures it

Our Language task (Maths Language) asks the pupil to pick the picture that matches a maths term. It's part of the Maths and Dyscalculia screener for pupils aged 7 to 16.

Implications (in class and at home)

In class, a pupil who doesn't know a key term may misread what a question is asking, choose the wrong operation or lose the thread of an explanation, even when the maths itself is within reach. At home, one unfamiliar word in a homework question can stop progress.

Implications of a low score in our test

A low score on Language suggests the pupil knows fewer maths terms than most pupils their age. Weak vocabulary can make maths harder even when number skills are secure. If maths vocabulary and word problems are low but the number tasks are secure, that points to a language-based difficulty rather than one with number, which matters especially for pupils learning English as an additional language. The maths norms are first-generation, from 954 pupils in 15 schools. A screening result is not a diagnosis, and it's one point in time.

What helps

Teach the few words a pupil needs for the next topic, link each one to a picture or example, and come back to them over several lessons.

• In class: Pre-teaching and revisiting essential maths vocabulary

• At home: Understanding maths vocabulary at home

More ideas: Maths vocabulary, in the classroom and Maths vocabulary, at home.