Long Division Is a Nightmare

By Laura Lurns · Reviewed by Philip Weaver · Last reviewed 2026-10-23

Why is long division so hard for my child?

We hold no study of why long division is hard for one child. In our view, long division asks for many steps in a row. In the usual method, a child divides, multiplies, takes away and brings down. Then they do it all again. In our view, that is one reason it can feel hard.

What does the federal guide say about long division?

A US federal guide on extra math help came out in 2021 (Fuchs and colleagues). It covers children who struggle with math, from kindergarten to sixth grade. It is about help in small groups or one to one, at school. It is not a guide to dyscalculia. Its studies were of help given in school, not at home. Nothing in the guide tests Learning Success.

The guide shows one way to teach long division. It treats dividing as taking away easy groups, again and again. This way builds on equal groups. The guide's example takes away 10 groups of 12, then 5 groups, then 2 more. This is a teaching example, not a method tested on its own. The groups add up to 17 groups of 12 in all. That makes 204 ÷ 12 = 17. The number 204 is our working, not the guide's.

The example sits inside advice the guide rates as strong: step-by-step teaching. Strong means its studies kept finding gains, across different groups of children. That grade is for the advice as a whole, not for each step in it.

Each study tested a whole package of help. So the guide cannot say what one step adds on its own.

We hold no study that compares taking away groups with the usual written method. In our view, this way can sit beside the usual method, as another way in for a child.

When to ask for help

Each of these is a reason to ask for help on its own.

• Little change, even with steady practice and good teaching.
• Math well below your child's other schoolwork.
• A teacher who raises a concern about math.
• Extreme upset about math.
• Complete avoidance of math.
• Worry about math that spreads into the rest of learning.
• Sadness or worry that lasts.
• A skill that was there and has gone. Our position is that a lost skill goes to a doctor first, not a tutor.

If no skill has gone, start with the teacher. Say what you are seeing at home, and what you have tried. Beyond the teacher, the right person depends on what it turns out to be about. If the work is too hard, someone who works on that school skill. If worry or mood is the thing, someone who works with children's mental health. In our view, if you are worried enough to ask, a professional evaluation is worth asking about.

Any talk of hurting themselves is a same-day call to your doctor or a crisis line.