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Primary 5 Maths exam paper analysis: 2015

PaperLah has 24 Primary 5 Maths exam papers from 2015, set by 12 Singapore primary schools, with 1,234 questions worth 2,356 marks. The topics carrying the most marks were Fractions (22%), Ratio (12%) and Money (11%); together the top 4 topics account for half of all marks. Fractions appears in 100% of the papers. Multiple-choice questions make up 20% of marks, and 22% of questions are worth 3 marks or more, which usually means showing working. A typical paper has about 51 questions and 98 marks.

Based on 24 papers from 12 schools · Updated 2026-10-13

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 2015 (all years: 19%); Ratio took 12% of marks in 2015 (all years: 12%); Money took 11% of marks in 2015 (all years: 9.4%).

24papers from 12 schools
51questions in a typical paper
98marks in a typical paper
4topics carry half of all marks

Where the marks are

Topics ranked by their share of all marks. The blue ones above the line together make up half.

Fractionsin 24 of 24 papers22.4%
Ratioin 22 of 24 papers12.1%
Moneyin 24 of 24 papers11%
Area and perimeterin 22 of 24 papers9.4%
Above this line: 4 topics carry half of all marks
Word problemsin 17 of 24 papers5.6%
Whole numbersin 24 of 24 papers5.2%
Percentagein 8 of 24 papers4.2%
Multiplication and divisionin 23 of 24 papers3.3%
Anglesin 12 of 24 papers3.2%
Volumein 12 of 24 papers3.2%
Show as table
Topic% of marksPapers
Fractions22.4in 24 of 24 papers
Ratio12.1in 22 of 24 papers
Money11in 24 of 24 papers
Area and perimeter9.4in 22 of 24 papers
Word problems5.6in 17 of 24 papers
Whole numbers5.2in 24 of 24 papers
Percentage4.2in 8 of 24 papers
Multiplication and division3.3in 23 of 24 papers
Angles3.2in 12 of 24 papers
Volume3.2in 12 of 24 papers
Number patterns2.8in 14 of 24 papers
Decimals2.2in 18 of 24 papers
Mass1.7in 11 of 24 papers
Average1.7in 8 of 24 papers
Length1.7in 12 of 24 papers
Order of operations1.4in 20 of 24 papers
Age problems1.4in 11 of 24 papers
Algebra0.9in 4 of 24 papers
Factors and multiples0.8in 9 of 24 papers
Rate and speed0.8in 7 of 24 papers
Tables and graphs0.8in 5 of 24 papers
Time0.7in 10 of 24 papers
Symmetry0.7in 10 of 24 papers
Tessellation0.6in 7 of 24 papers
Measurement and units0.6in 9 of 24 papers
Lines0.4in 6 of 24 papers
Addition and subtraction0.3in 4 of 24 papers
Bar graphs0.3in 3 of 24 papers
Triangles0.2in 5 of 24 papers
Quadrilaterals0.1in 2 of 24 papers

What a paper is made of

How children answer, as a share of marks.

  • Number answer 71%
  • Multiple choice 20%
  • Short answer 4%
  • Open-ended (show working) 4%
  • Other 2%
Show as table
Format% of marks
Number answer70.5
Multiple choice20.1
Short answer4
Open-ended (show working)3.6
Drawing or labelling1.1
Fill in the blank0.5
Other0.1

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.

1: 42% of questions42%12: 35% of questions35%23: 13% of questions13%34: 7% of questions7%45+: 2% of questions2%5+
Show as table
Marks% of questions
141.8
235.3
313
46.9
5+2.4

How likely a topic comes up

The share of papers with at least one question on the topic.

Fractions100%
Money100%
Whole numbers100%
Multiplication and division95.8%
Ratio91.7%
Area and perimeter91.7%
Order of operations83.3%
Decimals75%
Word problems70.8%
Number patterns58.3%
Show as table
Topic% of papers
Fractions100
Money100
Whole numbers100
Multiplication and division95.8
Ratio91.7
Area and perimeter91.7
Order of operations83.3
Decimals75
Word problems70.8
Number patterns58.3
Angles50
Volume50
Length50
Mass45.8
Age problems45.8
Time41.7
Symmetry41.7
Factors and multiples37.5
Measurement and units37.5
Percentage33.3
Average33.3
Rate and speed29.2
Tessellation29.2
Lines25
Tables and graphs20.8
Triangles20.8
Addition and subtraction16.7
Algebra16.7
Bar graphs12.5
Quadrilaterals8.3

Exam types

Which school exams these papers come from.

Mid-Year / SA112 papers50%
Weighted Assessment / CA7 papers29.2%
End-of-Year / SA25 papers20.8%

Key facts

  • 24 papers, 1,234 questions, 2,356 marks, from 12 schools.
  • 4 topics carry half of all marks.
  • Most-tested topic: Fractions, 22% of marks.
  • Most common topic across papers: Fractions, in 100% of papers.
  • 22% of questions are worth 3 marks or more.
  • Exam types: Mid-Year / SA1, Weighted Assessment / CA and End-of-Year / SA2.

Questions parents ask

What topics come up most in Primary 5 Maths exam papers in 2015?

By share of marks, the most-tested topics were Fractions (22%), Ratio (12%), Money (11%), Area and perimeter (9.4%) and Word problems (5.6%).

How many questions and marks are in a Primary 5 Maths paper?

A typical paper in this set has about 51 questions and 98 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?

24 papers from 12 schools, from these exam types: Mid-Year / SA1, 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 · Methodist Girls' · Nan Hua · Nanyang · Pei Chun · Pei Hwa · Raffles Girls' · Red Swastika · Rosyth · Rulang · Singapore Chinese Girls' · St Hilda's · Tao Nan

Schools with Primary 5 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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