Primary 5 Maths exam paper analysis: 2016
PaperLah has 23 Primary 5 Maths exam papers from 2016, set by 10 Singapore primary schools, with 1,124 questions worth 2,146 marks. The topics carrying the most marks were Fractions (19%), Ratio (15%) 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 18% of marks, and 23% of questions are worth 3 marks or more, which usually means showing working. A typical paper has about 49 questions and 93 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 19% of marks in 2016 (all years: 19%); Ratio took 15% of marks in 2016 (all years: 12%); Money took 11% of marks in 2016 (all years: 9.4%).
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 | 18.9 | in 23 of 23 papers |
| Ratio | 15.1 | in 22 of 23 papers |
| Money | 11 | in 22 of 23 papers |
| Area and perimeter | 10 | in 23 of 23 papers |
| Percentage | 5.3 | in 13 of 23 papers |
| Volume | 5 | in 13 of 23 papers |
| Angles | 4.5 | in 13 of 23 papers |
| Word problems | 4.2 | in 16 of 23 papers |
| Whole numbers | 3.9 | in 19 of 23 papers |
| Number patterns | 3.5 | in 17 of 23 papers |
| Average | 2.4 | in 10 of 23 papers |
| Multiplication and division | 2 | in 15 of 23 papers |
| Mass | 1.9 | in 13 of 23 papers |
| Decimals | 1.7 | in 13 of 23 papers |
| Length | 1.4 | in 8 of 23 papers |
| Order of operations | 1.3 | in 18 of 23 papers |
| Rate and speed | 1.2 | in 7 of 23 papers |
| Time | 0.8 | in 6 of 23 papers |
| Measurement and units | 0.8 | in 7 of 23 papers |
| Triangles | 0.7 | in 11 of 23 papers |
| Tessellation | 0.7 | in 7 of 23 papers |
| Symmetry | 0.6 | in 8 of 23 papers |
| Tables and graphs | 0.5 | in 6 of 23 papers |
| Factors and multiples | 0.4 | in 6 of 23 papers |
| 2D shapes | 0.4 | in 5 of 23 papers |
| Line graphs | 0.4 | in 3 of 23 papers |
| Bar graphs | 0.4 | in 4 of 23 papers |
| Quadrilaterals | 0.4 | in 4 of 23 papers |
| Addition and subtraction | 0.2 | in 3 of 23 papers |
| Lines | 0.2 | in 3 of 23 papers |
What a paper is made of
How children answer, as a share of marks.
- Number answer 73%
- Multiple choice 18%
- Short answer 5%
- Open-ended (show working) 3%
- Other 2%
Show as table
| Format | % of marks |
|---|---|
| Number answer | 72.8 |
| Multiple choice | 18.2 |
| Short answer | 4.5 |
| Open-ended (show working) | 2.6 |
| Drawing or labelling | 1.8 |
| Fill in the blank | 0.1 |
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.
Show as table
| Marks | % of questions |
|---|---|
| 1 | 41.8 |
| 2 | 35 |
| 3 | 14.3 |
| 4 | 5.6 |
| 5+ | 2.8 |
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 | 100 |
| Area and perimeter | 100 |
| Ratio | 95.7 |
| Money | 95.7 |
| Whole numbers | 82.6 |
| Order of operations | 78.3 |
| Number patterns | 73.9 |
| Word problems | 69.6 |
| Multiplication and division | 65.2 |
| Percentage | 56.5 |
| Angles | 56.5 |
| Volume | 56.5 |
| Decimals | 56.5 |
| Mass | 56.5 |
| Triangles | 47.8 |
| Average | 43.5 |
| Length | 34.8 |
| Symmetry | 34.8 |
| Rate and speed | 30.4 |
| Tessellation | 30.4 |
| Measurement and units | 30.4 |
| Time | 26.1 |
| Tables and graphs | 26.1 |
| Factors and multiples | 26.1 |
| 2D shapes | 21.7 |
| Bar graphs | 17.4 |
| Quadrilaterals | 17.4 |
| Line graphs | 13 |
| Addition and subtraction | 13 |
| Lines | 13 |
Exam types
Which school exams these papers come from.
Key facts
- 23 papers, 1,124 questions, 2,146 marks, from 10 schools.
- 4 topics carry half of all marks.
- Most-tested topic: Fractions, 19% of marks.
- Most common topic across papers: Fractions, in 100% of papers.
- 23% 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 5 Maths exam papers in 2016?
By share of marks, the most-tested topics were Fractions (19%), Ratio (15%), Money (11%), Area and perimeter (10%) and Percentage (5.3%).
How many questions and marks are in a Primary 5 Maths paper?
A typical paper in this set has about 49 questions and 93 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?
23 papers from 10 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 · 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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