In Missouri, fifth-grade students must learn advanced math facts related to fractions and decimals. An example includes being able to add and subtract fractions and decimals with fluency. Students must show a demonstrated ability to understand and describe procedures for adding and subtracting fractions and decimals, as well as explain why processes for multiplying and dividing fractions and decimals makes sense.
Missouri's fifth-graders must know how to write and interpret numerical expressions. They must understand how and when to use brackets, parentheses, braces and symbols within numerical expressions. Fifth-graders should be able to represent numerical expressions by numbers and symbols and use words describing the activity.
Up until fifth grade, elementary students did not learn about coordinate systems. Fourth-grade pupils learned how to describe movements and directions such as back, forward, east and west. However, in fifth grade this lesson advances so that students learn how to graph points on a coordinate plane, find distance between two points and describe paths on horizontal and vertical lines. This lesson prepares fifth-graders for sixth-grade math, at which point they will be required to use coordinate systems to construct geometric images.
A specific math curriculum standard that Missouri's Department of Education lists is that of measurement conversions. Fifth-graders must learn how to convert from the customary measuring system and the metric measuring system. This teaches students about the various ways to measure something.
In fourth grade, Missouri math students learn how to collect data through experiments, surveys and observations. However, in fifth grade, math standards include students learning how to evaluate the data they collect. That is, they must be able to describe how they collected the data, what methods were used, how to organize the data and how to provide numerical and categorical data. Additionally, students must learn about comparing different sets of data to form conclusions.