WHY DOES KUMON TIME MY CHILD AS THEY COMPLETE WORKSHEETS?

At Kumon, we understand that when children work efficiently and with speed, they develop greater accuracy and care in their work because their brains are fully engaged. Our goal is for every child to experience the difference that comes from using their mind to its fullest potential.

As part of developing each child’s study skills, we encourage students to shut down the distractions, focus deeply on their tasks and engage efficiently in their work. When someone is fully immersed and absorbed in an activity, this is known as a ‘flow state’ and that is exactly the kind of learning experience we aim to create for our students.

Lengthening Their Concentration Span

In a traditional classroom setting, children spend a significant amount of time passively listening. At Kumon, however, study time is active and intentional. Our aim is to gradually increase a child’s ability to concentrate, so that they can engage their brain for longer periods and build the skills needed to self-learn any materials they encounter. We typically work towards 30 minutes of focused study per subject, per day.

Mastery and Recall

Your child’s Kumon Instructor ensures that students have thoroughly mastered each topic before moving on. For example, reading a passage, processing the information and answering comprehension questions within a specific timeframe demonstrates not only understanding but also advanced reading and language skills. Similarly, knowing the answer to an addition problem is one thing—being able to recall numbers quickly and accurately is another.

By practicing at speed—on both familiar and new material—children become better thinkers and more capable learners. They also strengthen their ability to assess their own understanding.

The Role of Timing in Kumon

Kumon’s Standard Completion Time (SCT) is one of the tools Instructors use to determine whether a student needs to repeat a worksheet. It helps assess whether the student can concentrate consistently and respond with the fluency that Kumon is designed to develop.

Our experience with millions of Kumon students around the world has shown that those who study material suited to their current ability level are typically able to complete worksheets within the SCT for each level or set.

This is why timing is a vital part of Kumon study. It helps Instructors ensure your child is working with material that’s appropriate for their level. Instructors also track changes in completion times across topics and even within topic sets to monitor your child’s progress and confirm mastery before moving on.

Timing how long it takes a student to complete a worksheet allows the Instructor to verify their understanding and ensure they’re progressing at a pace that’s right for them.