Primary 4 Maths exam paper analysis: 2023
PaperLah has 38 Primary 4 Maths exam papers from 2023, set by 17 Singapore primary schools, with 1,291 questions worth 2,478 marks. The topics carrying the most marks were Fractions (18%), Whole numbers (11%) and Money (10%); together the top 5 topics account for half of all marks. Whole numbers appears in 87% of the papers. Multiple-choice questions make up 33% of marks, and 8.2% of questions are worth 3 marks or more, which usually means showing working. A typical paper has about 34 questions and 65 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 18% of marks in 2023 (all years: 19%); Whole numbers took 11% of marks in 2023 (all years: 11%); Money took 10% of marks in 2023 (all years: 8.1%).
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 | 18 | in 29 of 38 papers |
| Whole numbers | 10.6 | in 33 of 38 papers |
| Money | 10 | in 33 of 38 papers |
| Angles | 8.1 | in 30 of 38 papers |
| Area and perimeter | 7.5 | in 20 of 38 papers |
| Decimals | 5.6 | in 23 of 38 papers |
| Multiplication and division | 5.2 | in 29 of 38 papers |
| Factors and multiples | 4.8 | in 30 of 38 papers |
| Word problems | 3.6 | in 19 of 38 papers |
| Symmetry | 3.5 | in 25 of 38 papers |
| Time | 3.3 | in 16 of 38 papers |
| Number patterns | 2.6 | in 23 of 38 papers |
| Tables and graphs | 2.4 | in 15 of 38 papers |
| Mass | 2.1 | in 13 of 38 papers |
| Ratio | 2 | in 13 of 38 papers |
| Line graphs | 1.6 | in 13 of 38 papers |
| Quadrilaterals | 1.5 | in 20 of 38 papers |
| Length | 1.5 | in 15 of 38 papers |
| Bar graphs | 1.5 | in 12 of 38 papers |
| Volume | 1.4 | in 11 of 38 papers |
| Lines | 0.9 | in 10 of 38 papers |
| 2D shapes | 0.7 | in 7 of 38 papers |
| Addition and subtraction | 0.5 | in 6 of 38 papers |
| Position and direction | 0.4 | in 5 of 38 papers |
| Measurement and units | 0.3 | in 4 of 38 papers |
| Age problems | 0.2 | in 2 of 38 papers |
| Order of operations | 0.1 | in 1 of 38 papers |
| Probability | 0.1 | in 1 of 38 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 4%
- Other 1%
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| Format | % of marks |
|---|---|
| Number answer | 52.8 |
| Multiple choice | 33.3 |
| Short answer | 8.2 |
| Drawing or labelling | 4.2 |
| Fill in the blank | 0.8 |
| Open-ended (show working) | 0.5 |
| Other | 0.2 |
Marks per question
Share of questions worth 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5+ marks. 0% have no marks printed. Higher-mark questions usually need working.
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| Marks | % of questions |
|---|---|
| 1 | 18.2 |
| 2 | 73.3 |
| 3 | 5.1 |
| 4 | 3.1 |
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 | 86.8 |
| Money | 86.8 |
| Angles | 78.9 |
| Factors and multiples | 78.9 |
| Fractions | 76.3 |
| Multiplication and division | 76.3 |
| Symmetry | 65.8 |
| Decimals | 60.5 |
| Number patterns | 60.5 |
| Area and perimeter | 52.6 |
| Quadrilaterals | 52.6 |
| Word problems | 50 |
| Time | 42.1 |
| Tables and graphs | 39.5 |
| Length | 39.5 |
| Mass | 34.2 |
| Line graphs | 34.2 |
| Ratio | 34.2 |
| Bar graphs | 31.6 |
| Volume | 28.9 |
| Lines | 26.3 |
| 2D shapes | 18.4 |
| Addition and subtraction | 15.8 |
| Position and direction | 13.2 |
| Measurement and units | 10.5 |
| Age problems | 5.3 |
| Probability | 2.6 |
| Order of operations | 2.6 |
Exam types
Which school exams these papers come from.
Key facts
- 38 papers, 1,291 questions, 2,478 marks, from 17 schools.
- 5 topics carry half of all marks.
- Most-tested topic: Fractions, 18% of marks.
- Most common topic across papers: Whole numbers, in 87% of papers.
- 8.2% of questions are worth 3 marks or more.
- Exam types: Weighted Assessment / CA and End-of-Year / SA2.
Questions parents ask
What topics come up most in Primary 4 Maths exam papers in 2023?
By share of marks, the most-tested topics were Fractions (18%), Whole numbers (11%), Money (10%), Angles (8.1%) and Area and perimeter (7.5%).
How many questions and marks are in a Primary 4 Maths paper?
A typical paper in this set has about 34 questions and 65 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 17 schools, from these exam types: Weighted Assessment / CA and End-of-Year / SA2. 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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