Primary 3 Maths exam paper analysis: 2024
PaperLah has 38 Primary 3 Maths exam papers from 2024, set by 15 Singapore primary schools, with 978 questions worth 1,384 marks. The topics carrying the most marks were Multiplication and division (18%), Money (13%) and Whole numbers (9.9%); together the top 4 topics account for half of all marks. Money appears in 87% of the papers. Multiple-choice questions make up 34% of marks, and 6.4% of questions are worth 3 marks or more, which usually means showing working. A typical paper has about 26 questions and 36 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 18% of marks in 2024 (all years: 18%); Money took 13% of marks in 2024 (all years: 12%); Whole numbers took 9.9% of marks in 2024 (all years: 13%).
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 | 18.5 | in 29 of 38 papers |
| Money | 13.1 | in 33 of 38 papers |
| Whole numbers | 9.9 | in 27 of 38 papers |
| Fractions | 9.2 | in 23 of 38 papers |
| Addition and subtraction | 9 | in 28 of 38 papers |
| Word problems | 4.8 | in 14 of 38 papers |
| Time | 4.3 | in 17 of 38 papers |
| Number patterns | 4.1 | in 25 of 38 papers |
| Bar graphs | 3.9 | in 17 of 38 papers |
| Length | 3.8 | in 16 of 38 papers |
| Area and perimeter | 3.5 | in 14 of 38 papers |
| Mass | 3.5 | in 19 of 38 papers |
| Lines | 3.3 | in 19 of 38 papers |
| Angles | 2.5 | in 19 of 38 papers |
| Tables and graphs | 2 | in 11 of 38 papers |
| Volume | 1.9 | in 11 of 38 papers |
| Picture graphs | 0.7 | in 4 of 38 papers |
| Measurement and units | 0.6 | in 7 of 38 papers |
| Ratio | 0.6 | in 3 of 38 papers |
| Solid figures and nets | 0.2 | in 2 of 38 papers |
| Position and direction | 0.2 | in 2 of 38 papers |
| Quadrilaterals | 0.1 | in 1 of 38 papers |
| 2D shapes | 0.1 | in 1 of 38 papers |
| Factors and multiples | 0.1 | in 1 of 38 papers |
What a paper is made of
How children answer, as a share of marks.
- Number answer 54%
- Multiple choice 34%
- Short answer 7%
- Fill in the blank 2%
- Other 4%
Show as table
| Format | % of marks |
|---|---|
| Number answer | 53.9 |
| Multiple choice | 33.7 |
| Short answer | 6.5 |
| Fill in the blank | 2.2 |
| Drawing or labelling | 2.2 |
| Open-ended (show working) | 1.1 |
| Word bank | 0.3 |
| Other | 0.1 |
Marks per question
Share of questions worth 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5+ marks. 14% have no marks printed. Higher-mark questions usually need working.
Show as table
| Marks | % of questions |
|---|---|
| 1 | 38 |
| 2 | 41.9 |
| 3 | 5.9 |
| 4 | 0.5 |
How likely a topic comes up
The share of papers with at least one question on the topic.
Show as table
| Topic | % of papers |
|---|---|
| Money | 86.8 |
| Multiplication and division | 76.3 |
| Addition and subtraction | 73.7 |
| Whole numbers | 71.1 |
| Number patterns | 65.8 |
| Fractions | 60.5 |
| Lines | 50 |
| Mass | 50 |
| Angles | 50 |
| Time | 44.7 |
| Bar graphs | 44.7 |
| Length | 42.1 |
| Area and perimeter | 36.8 |
| Word problems | 36.8 |
| Tables and graphs | 28.9 |
| Volume | 28.9 |
| Measurement and units | 18.4 |
| Picture graphs | 10.5 |
| Ratio | 7.9 |
| Solid figures and nets | 5.3 |
| Position and direction | 5.3 |
| Quadrilaterals | 2.6 |
| 2D shapes | 2.6 |
| Factors and multiples | 2.6 |
Exam types
Which school exams these papers come from.
Key facts
- 38 papers, 978 questions, 1,384 marks, from 15 schools.
- 4 topics carry half of all marks.
- Most-tested topic: Multiplication and division, 18% of marks.
- Most common topic across papers: Money, in 87% of papers.
- 6.4% of questions are worth 3 marks or more.
- Exam types: Weighted Assessment / CA, End-of-Year / SA2 and Quiz / Review / Test.
Questions parents ask
What topics come up most in Primary 3 Maths exam papers in 2024?
By share of marks, the most-tested topics were Multiplication and division (18%), Money (13%), Whole numbers (9.9%), Fractions (9.2%) and Addition and subtraction (9%).
How many questions and marks are in a Primary 3 Maths paper?
A typical paper in this set has about 26 questions and 36 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?
38 papers from 15 schools, from these exam types: Weighted Assessment / CA, End-of-Year / SA2 and Quiz / Review / Test. 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.