Subtraction Strategies for Decimal Numbers Numeracy Assessment: Year 6 supports your students in demonstrating their understanding of decimal subtraction through a range of efficient strategies. This resource is designed to assess students’ ability to subtract decimal numbers—up to the ten-thousandths place—while selecting strategies that reflect deep understanding of place value and number relationships.

This assessment can be used for both formative and summative purposes and fits well within whole-class, small group or intervention settings. A detailed and editable Australian Curriculum-aligned rubric is included to support consistent and clear teacher assessment. An answer sheet is also provided to assist with accurate and time-saving marking.

Subtraction Strategies for Decimal Numbers Numeracy Assessment: Year 6 features a series of targeted tasks. Students begin by solving decimal subtraction problems using a strategy of their choice. These may include using known facts, partitioning, place value alignment or applying the inverse relationship between addition and subtraction. This flexibility allows students to demonstrate procedural fluency and conceptual understanding in one task.

Students then complete error-analysis questions, where they must identify and correct mistakes in subtraction problems. These tasks encourage reflection and build metacognitive awareness, allowing teachers to identify common misunderstandings. A final task involves solving a word problem with a number sentence and chosen strategy—making connections between computation and real-world application.

This assessment encourages students to estimate before solving, explain their reasoning and justify their strategy selections. Tasks are scaffolded to support students working at different levels and to highlight progress in confidence and accuracy with decimal numbers.

Key Learning Outcomes:

• ✅ Subtract decimal numbers to the ten-thousandths using efficient strategies
• ✅ Select appropriate strategies including partitioning, inverse operations or place value alignment
• ✅ Identify and correct errors in decimal subtraction problems
• ✅ Solve multi-step and word problems involving decimal subtraction
• ✅ Estimate and justify the reasonableness of results

What’s Included:

• Student assessment worksheet with structured subtraction tasks
• Editable Australian Curriculum-aligned teacher rubric
• Answer sheet for consistent and efficient marking

Materials Needed:

• Printed assessment worksheet
• Pencils and erasers
• Place value charts, number lines or grids (optional support)

How to Use:

• Begin with a warm-up reviewing common subtraction strategies for decimals.
• Model how to align decimal places and estimate results before calculating.
• Guide students through a worked example of identifying an error in a subtraction problem.
• Encourage students to choose a strategy that suits the context of each problem.
• Use the rubric to assess efficiency, reasoning and accuracy of each response.

Ideas for Classroom Use:

• 💡 Use at the end of a unit focused on decimal operations
• 💡 Implement in small groups for focused observation of strategy use
• 💡 Include in portfolios as evidence of problem-solving with decimals
• 💡 Use during parent-teacher interviews to illustrate applied understanding

Top Teacher Tips:

• 💛 Reinforce alignment of decimal places as a routine habit during subtraction
• 💛 Encourage verbal explanations to strengthen students’ confidence in mathematical reasoning
• 💛 Strategy Comparison: Have students compare two subtraction strategies and explain their preference
• 💛 Create Your Own: Let students write their own word problems for peers to solve and discuss

Subtraction Strategies for Decimal Numbers Numeracy Assessment: Year 6 is a flexible and meaningful tool for assessing subtraction fluency and strategy use. It offers valuable insights into student thinking and helps guide next steps in teaching decimal operations.