Primary 4 Maths exam paper analysis: 2021
PaperLah has 35 Primary 4 Maths exam papers from 2021, set by 15 Singapore primary schools, with 1,379 questions worth 2,854 marks. The topics carrying the most marks were Fractions (17%), Whole numbers (11%) and Angles (9.5%); together the top 5 topics account for half of all marks. Money appears in 97% of the papers. Multiple-choice questions make up 33% of marks, and 11% of questions are worth 3 marks or more, which usually means showing working. A typical paper has about 39 questions and 82 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 17% of marks in 2021 (all years: 19%); Whole numbers took 11% of marks in 2021 (all years: 11%); Angles took 9.5% of marks in 2021 (all years: 8.5%).
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 | 16.6 | in 27 of 35 papers |
| Whole numbers | 11.3 | in 32 of 35 papers |
| Angles | 9.5 | in 28 of 35 papers |
| Money | 8.6 | in 34 of 35 papers |
| Multiplication and division | 7.4 | in 30 of 35 papers |
| Area and perimeter | 7.1 | in 25 of 35 papers |
| Factors and multiples | 5.6 | in 31 of 35 papers |
| Word problems | 5.1 | in 24 of 35 papers |
| Time | 4 | in 22 of 35 papers |
| Decimals | 3.5 | in 18 of 35 papers |
| Number patterns | 2.6 | in 23 of 35 papers |
| Mass | 2.6 | in 22 of 35 papers |
| Symmetry | 2.5 | in 18 of 35 papers |
| Bar graphs | 1.8 | in 13 of 35 papers |
| Length | 1.7 | in 18 of 35 papers |
| Tables and graphs | 1.5 | in 11 of 35 papers |
| Volume | 1.4 | in 11 of 35 papers |
| Ratio | 1.2 | in 9 of 35 papers |
| Quadrilaterals | 1 | in 12 of 35 papers |
| Lines | 0.9 | in 12 of 35 papers |
| Measurement and units | 0.8 | in 8 of 35 papers |
| Line graphs | 0.8 | in 6 of 35 papers |
| Addition and subtraction | 0.6 | in 7 of 35 papers |
| Position and direction | 0.5 | in 6 of 35 papers |
| Age problems | 0.5 | in 4 of 35 papers |
| 2D shapes | 0.4 | in 4 of 35 papers |
| Order of operations | 0.4 | in 3 of 35 papers |
| Rate and speed | 0.1 | in 1 of 35 papers |
| Equalising quantities | 0.1 | in 1 of 35 papers |
What a paper is made of
How children answer, as a share of marks.
- Number answer 53%
- Multiple choice 33%
- Short answer 8%
- Drawing or labelling 3%
- Other 2%
Show as table
| Format | % of marks |
|---|---|
| Number answer | 53.2 |
| Multiple choice | 33.3 |
| Short answer | 7.8 |
| Drawing or labelling | 3.3 |
| Fill in the blank | 1.3 |
| Open-ended (show working) | 0.9 |
| Other | 0.3 |
Marks per question
Share of questions worth 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5+ marks. 1% have no marks printed. Higher-mark questions usually need working.
Show as table
| Marks | % of questions |
|---|---|
| 1 | 8.8 |
| 2 | 79.3 |
| 3 | 3.9 |
| 4 | 7 |
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 | 97.1 |
| Whole numbers | 91.4 |
| Factors and multiples | 88.6 |
| Multiplication and division | 85.7 |
| Angles | 80 |
| Fractions | 77.1 |
| Area and perimeter | 71.4 |
| Word problems | 68.6 |
| Number patterns | 65.7 |
| Time | 62.9 |
| Mass | 62.9 |
| Decimals | 51.4 |
| Symmetry | 51.4 |
| Length | 51.4 |
| Bar graphs | 37.1 |
| Lines | 34.3 |
| Quadrilaterals | 34.3 |
| Tables and graphs | 31.4 |
| Volume | 31.4 |
| Ratio | 25.7 |
| Measurement and units | 22.9 |
| Addition and subtraction | 20 |
| Position and direction | 17.1 |
| Line graphs | 17.1 |
| 2D shapes | 11.4 |
| Age problems | 11.4 |
| Order of operations | 8.6 |
| Rate and speed | 2.9 |
| Equalising quantities | 2.9 |
Exam types
Which school exams these papers come from.
Key facts
- 35 papers, 1,379 questions, 2,854 marks, from 15 schools.
- 5 topics carry half of all marks.
- Most-tested topic: Fractions, 17% of marks.
- Most common topic across papers: Money, in 97% of papers.
- 11% 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 2021?
By share of marks, the most-tested topics were Fractions (17%), Whole numbers (11%), Angles (9.5%), Money (8.6%) and Multiplication and division (7.4%).
How many questions and marks are in a Primary 4 Maths paper?
A typical paper in this set has about 39 questions and 82 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?
35 papers from 15 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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