Benefits of Mental Computation and Estimation

• understanding - requires children to understand place value and principles of operations

• number sense - help children determine if answers are reasonable or not reasonable

• application - students should learn to apply an appropriate method - mental, calculator, or paper and pencil

• attitude - gives children feeling of power over numbers and symbols, influencing general attitude toward mathematics

• tests - students who gain facility with mental math can be expected to increase their performance on standardized tests