Primary 3 Maths exam paper analysis: 2021
PaperLah has 31 Primary 3 Maths exam papers from 2021, set by 10 Singapore primary schools, with 848 questions worth 1,431 marks. The topics carrying the most marks were Multiplication and division (16%), Whole numbers (13%) and Addition and subtraction (11%); together the top 4 topics account for half of all marks. Whole numbers appears in 77% of the papers. Multiple-choice questions make up 31% of marks, and 5.9% of questions are worth 3 marks or more, which usually means showing working. A typical paper has about 27 questions and 46 marks.
These figures describe the school papers in PaperLah's collection, not official MOE or SEAB weightings. They help with planning revision; they can't predict a particular exam.
Compared with all years: Multiplication and division took 16% of marks in 2021 (all years: 18%); Whole numbers took 13% of marks in 2021 (all years: 13%); Addition and subtraction took 11% of marks in 2021 (all years: 11%).
Where the marks are
Topics ranked by their share of all marks. The blue ones above the line together make up half.
Show as table
| Topic | % of marks | Papers |
|---|---|---|
| Multiplication and division | 16.5 | in 20 of 31 papers |
| Whole numbers | 13.3 | in 24 of 31 papers |
| Addition and subtraction | 11.1 | in 23 of 31 papers |
| Fractions | 10.1 | in 19 of 31 papers |
| Money | 8.5 | in 24 of 31 papers |
| Time | 5.9 | in 15 of 31 papers |
| Word problems | 5 | in 17 of 31 papers |
| Bar graphs | 4.7 | in 15 of 31 papers |
| Area and perimeter | 4.5 | in 12 of 31 papers |
| Length | 4.1 | in 18 of 31 papers |
| Mass | 3.4 | in 17 of 31 papers |
| Number patterns | 3.1 | in 20 of 31 papers |
| Volume | 2.8 | in 17 of 31 papers |
| Angles | 1.7 | in 11 of 31 papers |
| Tables and graphs | 1.5 | in 6 of 31 papers |
| Ratio | 0.9 | in 5 of 31 papers |
| Measurement and units | 0.6 | in 4 of 31 papers |
| Lines | 0.6 | in 4 of 31 papers |
| Picture graphs | 0.5 | in 3 of 31 papers |
| Equal intervals | 0.3 | in 1 of 31 papers |
| Position and direction | 0.2 | in 2 of 31 papers |
| Age problems | 0.2 | in 1 of 31 papers |
| 2D shapes | 0.1 | in 1 of 31 papers |
| Factors and multiples | 0.1 | in 1 of 31 papers |
| Solid figures and nets | 0.1 | in 1 of 31 papers |
| Equal spacing | 0 | in 1 of 31 papers |
What a paper is made of
How children answer, as a share of marks.
- Number answer 59%
- Multiple choice 31%
- Short answer 5%
- Drawing or labelling 2%
- Other 3%
Show as table
| Format | % of marks |
|---|---|
| Number answer | 59.3 |
| Multiple choice | 30.7 |
| Short answer | 5.1 |
| Drawing or labelling | 1.8 |
| Fill in the blank | 1.7 |
| Open-ended (show working) | 1.2 |
| Other | 0.1 |
Marks per question
Share of questions worth 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5+ marks. 7% have no marks printed. Higher-mark questions usually need working.
Show as table
| Marks | % of questions |
|---|---|
| 1 | 24.4 |
| 2 | 62.9 |
| 3 | 4.7 |
| 4 | 1.2 |
How likely a topic comes up
The share of papers with at least one question on the topic.
Show as table
| Topic | % of papers |
|---|---|
| Whole numbers | 77.4 |
| Money | 77.4 |
| Addition and subtraction | 74.2 |
| Multiplication and division | 64.5 |
| Number patterns | 64.5 |
| Fractions | 61.3 |
| Length | 58.1 |
| Word problems | 54.8 |
| Mass | 54.8 |
| Volume | 54.8 |
| Time | 48.4 |
| Bar graphs | 48.4 |
| Area and perimeter | 38.7 |
| Angles | 35.5 |
| Tables and graphs | 19.4 |
| Ratio | 16.1 |
| Measurement and units | 12.9 |
| Lines | 12.9 |
| Picture graphs | 9.7 |
| Position and direction | 6.5 |
| Equal intervals | 3.2 |
| 2D shapes | 3.2 |
| Age problems | 3.2 |
| Equal spacing | 3.2 |
| Factors and multiples | 3.2 |
| Solid figures and nets | 3.2 |
Exam types
Which school exams these papers come from.
Key facts
- 31 papers, 848 questions, 1,431 marks, from 10 schools.
- 4 topics carry half of all marks.
- Most-tested topic: Multiplication and division, 16% of marks.
- Most common topic across papers: Whole numbers, in 77% of papers.
- 5.9% of questions are worth 3 marks or more.
- Exam types: Weighted Assessment / CA, Quiz / Review / Test, Practice paper, End-of-Year / SA2 and Other.
Questions parents ask
What topics come up most in Primary 3 Maths exam papers in 2021?
By share of marks, the most-tested topics were Multiplication and division (16%), Whole numbers (13%), Addition and subtraction (11%), Fractions (10%) and Money (8.5%).
How many questions and marks are in a Primary 3 Maths paper?
A typical paper in this set has about 27 questions and 46 marks. Papers vary by school and by exam (weighted assessments are shorter than mid-year and end-of-year exams).
Which exams and schools are included?
31 papers from 10 schools, from these exam types: Weighted Assessment / CA, Quiz / Review / Test, Practice paper, End-of-Year / SA2 and Other. The schools are listed further down this page.
Can I download these papers?
No. PaperLah doesn't share the papers as downloads. Children practise them online one question at a time, with instant marking, and parents see which topics need work.
Schools included
ACS (Junior) · ACS (Primary) · Ai Tong · Anglo-Chinese School · CHIJ · CHIJ St Nicholas Girls' · Catholic High · Henry Park · Maha Bodhi · Maris Stella High · Methodist Girls' · Nan Hua · Nanyang · Northland · Paya Lebar Methodist Girls' · Pei Chun · Pei Hwa · Raffles Girls' · Red Swastika · River Valley · Rosyth · Rulang · Singapore Chinese Girls' · St Hilda's · St Joseph's · Tao Nan · Temasek · Yang Zheng
Schools with Primary 3 Maths papers in the collection (all years). Papers are past school assessments; PaperLah is not affiliated with MOE, SEAB or the schools.
How this analysis is made
Every question in each paper is tagged with its topic, format and marks as printed. The figures above are counts over those questions: a topic's share of marks, the share of papers that include it, and so on. Topic names come from the papers and their answer keys, so similar topics can appear under slightly different names. Only aggregate figures are shown here; the questions themselves are practised inside PaperLah.
Practise real Primary 3 Maths papers
One question at a time, marked instantly, with a dashboard that shows which topics need work. Free during the beta.