Primary 4 Maths exam paper analysis: 2012
PaperLah has 29 Primary 4 Maths exam papers from 2012, set by 12 Singapore primary schools, with 1,233 questions worth 2,512 marks. The topics carrying the most marks were Fractions (22%), Area and perimeter (9.8%) and Whole numbers (9.7%); together the top 5 topics account for half of all marks. Fractions appears in 97% of the papers. Multiple-choice questions make up 34% of marks, and 12% of questions are worth 3 marks or more, which usually means showing working. A typical paper has about 43 questions and 87 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: Fractions took 22% of marks in 2012 (all years: 19%); Area and perimeter took 9.8% of marks in 2012 (all years: 8.1%); Whole numbers took 9.7% of marks in 2012 (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 |
|---|---|---|
| Fractions | 21.8 | in 28 of 29 papers |
| Area and perimeter | 9.8 | in 23 of 29 papers |
| Whole numbers | 9.7 | in 28 of 29 papers |
| Angles | 7.2 | in 25 of 29 papers |
| Money | 6.8 | in 25 of 29 papers |
| Multiplication and division | 6.4 | in 26 of 29 papers |
| Word problems | 4.7 | in 20 of 29 papers |
| Factors and multiples | 4.1 | in 27 of 29 papers |
| Number patterns | 3.9 | in 23 of 29 papers |
| Decimals | 3.5 | in 13 of 29 papers |
| Time | 3.3 | in 17 of 29 papers |
| Lines | 3.1 | in 22 of 29 papers |
| Ratio | 2.6 | in 16 of 29 papers |
| Tables and graphs | 2.2 | in 13 of 29 papers |
| Mass | 2.1 | in 12 of 29 papers |
| Symmetry | 1.2 | in 11 of 29 papers |
| Age problems | 1.1 | in 8 of 29 papers |
| Addition and subtraction | 1 | in 11 of 29 papers |
| Length | 1 | in 8 of 29 papers |
| Line graphs | 1 | in 7 of 29 papers |
| Bar graphs | 1 | in 8 of 29 papers |
| Tessellation | 0.9 | in 10 of 29 papers |
| Volume | 0.6 | in 6 of 29 papers |
| Measurement and units | 0.2 | in 3 of 29 papers |
| 2D shapes | 0.2 | in 2 of 29 papers |
| Order of operations | 0.2 | in 1 of 29 papers |
| 四则运算 | 0.2 | in 1 of 29 papers |
| Position and direction | 0.1 | in 1 of 29 papers |
| Rate and speed | 0.1 | in 1 of 29 papers |
| Combinatorics | 0.1 | in 1 of 29 papers |
What a paper is made of
How children answer, as a share of marks.
- Number answer 55%
- Multiple choice 34%
- Short answer 6%
- Drawing or labelling 2%
- Other 3%
Show as table
| Format | % of marks |
|---|---|
| Number answer | 54.7 |
| Multiple choice | 34.1 |
| Short answer | 6 |
| Drawing or labelling | 2.5 |
| Open-ended (show working) | 1.9 |
| Fill in the blank | 0.8 |
Marks per question
Share of questions worth 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5+ marks. 6% have no marks printed. Higher-mark questions usually need working.
Show as table
| Marks | % of questions |
|---|---|
| 1 | 5.6 |
| 2 | 76.5 |
| 3 | 4 |
| 4 | 8.1 |
| 5+ | 0.2 |
How likely a topic comes up
The share of papers with at least one question on the topic.
Show as table
| Topic | % of papers |
|---|---|
| Fractions | 96.6 |
| Whole numbers | 96.6 |
| Factors and multiples | 93.1 |
| Multiplication and division | 89.7 |
| Angles | 86.2 |
| Money | 86.2 |
| Area and perimeter | 79.3 |
| Number patterns | 79.3 |
| Lines | 75.9 |
| Word problems | 69 |
| Time | 58.6 |
| Ratio | 55.2 |
| Decimals | 44.8 |
| Tables and graphs | 44.8 |
| Mass | 41.4 |
| Symmetry | 37.9 |
| Addition and subtraction | 37.9 |
| Tessellation | 34.5 |
| Bar graphs | 27.6 |
| Length | 27.6 |
| Age problems | 27.6 |
| Line graphs | 24.1 |
| Volume | 20.7 |
| Measurement and units | 10.3 |
| 2D shapes | 6.9 |
| Order of operations | 3.4 |
| Position and direction | 3.4 |
| Rate and speed | 3.4 |
| Combinatorics | 3.4 |
| 四则运算 | 3.4 |
Exam types
Which school exams these papers come from.
Key facts
- 29 papers, 1,233 questions, 2,512 marks, from 12 schools.
- 5 topics carry half of all marks.
- Most-tested topic: Fractions, 22% of marks.
- Most common topic across papers: Fractions, in 97% of papers.
- 12% of questions are worth 3 marks or more.
- Exam types: Mid-Year / SA1, End-of-Year / SA2 and Weighted Assessment / CA.
Questions parents ask
What topics come up most in Primary 4 Maths exam papers in 2012?
By share of marks, the most-tested topics were Fractions (22%), Area and perimeter (9.8%), Whole numbers (9.7%), Angles (7.2%) and Money (6.8%).
How many questions and marks are in a Primary 4 Maths paper?
A typical paper in this set has about 43 questions and 87 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?
29 papers from 12 schools, from these exam types: Mid-Year / SA1, End-of-Year / SA2 and Weighted Assessment / CA. 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 · Math · Methodist Girls' · Nan Chiau · Nan Hua · Nanyang · Paya Lebar Methodist Girls' · Pei Chun · Pei Hwa · Raffles Girls' · Red Swastika · Rosyth · Rulang · Singapore Chinese Girls' · St Hilda's · St Joseph's · Tao Nan · Temasek
Schools with Primary 4 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.
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