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Kani
Cosmic Abacus
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What abacus level is my child?

Nine questions, one from each level of the ladder. Answer as many as you can and we will name the level to start at.

No name, no email, no phone number. Nothing is sent anywhere.

The check

Work down the list. Stop when they get hard — that is the point of the check, and skipping ahead does not help. Blank counts as unanswered.

  1. 1Foundation
    5 + 7
  2. 2Basic
    3 + 6 − 2
  3. 3Elementary A
    2 − 1 + 3 + 5
  4. 4Elementary B
    71 + 94 + 39 − 23
  5. 5Intermediate A
    22 + 38 + 16 − 38 − 20 + 61 + 38 + 33 + 71 + 17
  6. 6Intermediate B
    663 + 794 + 876 − 270 + 704
  7. 7Higher A
    16 × 5
  8. 8Higher B
    236 × 26
  9. 9Grand Level
    153 ÷ 9

The nine levels

Each level adds one technique to the one before it. Nothing is skipped, and every level assumes the one before it is solid.

#LevelWhat it covers
1FoundationBead introduction and counting 1–10 on the soroban.
2Basic1-digit addition and subtraction on the soroban.
3Elementary ASmall friends — the 5-complement rules — on 1–2 digit problems.
4Elementary BBig friends — the 10-complement rules — on 2-digit problems.
5Intermediate AMulti-row addition with mixed complements.
6Intermediate B3-digit operations and the start of mental visualization.
7Higher AMultiplication basics on the soroban and mentally.
8Higher BMulti-digit multiplication with full mental visualization.
9Grand LevelDivision and advanced mental math.

Level is a program placement, not an age. A six-year-old and a forty-year-old starting today both start at Foundation, and both move up when the technique is automatic rather than when a calendar says so.