Primary 5 Maths exam paper analysis: 2023
PaperLah has 35 Primary 5 Maths exam papers from 2023, set by 12 Singapore primary schools, with 1,090 questions worth 1,906 marks. The topics carrying the most marks were Fractions (17%), Ratio (11%) and Area and perimeter (10%); together the top 5 topics account for half of all marks. Ratio appears in 86% of the papers. Multiple-choice questions make up 20% of marks, and 16% of questions are worth 3 marks or more, which usually means showing working. A typical paper has about 31 questions and 54 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 2023 (all years: 19%); Ratio took 11% of marks in 2023 (all years: 12%); Area and perimeter took 10% of marks in 2023 (all years: 9.2%).
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 | 16.8 | in 28 of 35 papers |
| Ratio | 11 | in 30 of 35 papers |
| Area and perimeter | 10.2 | in 29 of 35 papers |
| Money | 9.9 | in 27 of 35 papers |
| Angles | 7.6 | in 14 of 35 papers |
| Volume | 7.5 | in 22 of 35 papers |
| Percentage | 5.4 | in 16 of 35 papers |
| Whole numbers | 3.6 | in 24 of 35 papers |
| Average | 2.9 | in 13 of 35 papers |
| Word problems | 2.9 | in 16 of 35 papers |
| Multiplication and division | 2.4 | in 19 of 35 papers |
| Number patterns | 2.3 | in 13 of 35 papers |
| Mass | 2 | in 13 of 35 papers |
| Decimals | 1.9 | in 21 of 35 papers |
| Rate and speed | 1.8 | in 11 of 35 papers |
| Order of operations | 1.3 | in 17 of 35 papers |
| Solid figures and nets | 1.3 | in 12 of 35 papers |
| Bar graphs | 1.2 | in 9 of 35 papers |
| Time | 1.2 | in 9 of 35 papers |
| Tables and graphs | 1 | in 9 of 35 papers |
| Length | 0.8 | in 7 of 35 papers |
| Lines | 0.8 | in 10 of 35 papers |
| 2D shapes | 0.7 | in 8 of 35 papers |
| Line graphs | 0.6 | in 6 of 35 papers |
| Triangles | 0.6 | in 9 of 35 papers |
| Factors and multiples | 0.6 | in 9 of 35 papers |
| Measurement and units | 0.4 | in 3 of 35 papers |
| Position and direction | 0.2 | in 2 of 35 papers |
| Symmetry | 0.2 | in 3 of 35 papers |
| Quadrilaterals | 0.1 | in 2 of 35 papers |
What a paper is made of
How children answer, as a share of marks.
- Number answer 70%
- Multiple choice 20%
- Short answer 6%
- Open-ended (show working) 2%
- Other 2%
Show as table
| Format | % of marks |
|---|---|
| Number answer | 70.3 |
| Multiple choice | 19.7 |
| Short answer | 5.7 |
| Open-ended (show working) | 1.9 |
| Drawing or labelling | 1.5 |
| Fill in the blank | 0.5 |
| Other | 0.3 |
| Word bank | 0.1 |
Marks per question
Share of questions worth 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5+ marks. 4% have no marks printed. Higher-mark questions usually need working.
Show as table
| Marks | % of questions |
|---|---|
| 1 | 36.9 |
| 2 | 43.5 |
| 3 | 11.8 |
| 4 | 3.3 |
| 5+ | 0.5 |
How likely a topic comes up
The share of papers with at least one question on the topic.
Show as table
| Topic | % of papers |
|---|---|
| Ratio | 85.7 |
| Area and perimeter | 82.9 |
| Fractions | 80 |
| Money | 77.1 |
| Whole numbers | 68.6 |
| Volume | 62.9 |
| Decimals | 60 |
| Multiplication and division | 54.3 |
| Order of operations | 48.6 |
| Percentage | 45.7 |
| Word problems | 45.7 |
| Angles | 40 |
| Number patterns | 37.1 |
| Average | 37.1 |
| Mass | 37.1 |
| Solid figures and nets | 34.3 |
| Rate and speed | 31.4 |
| Lines | 28.6 |
| Tables and graphs | 25.7 |
| Bar graphs | 25.7 |
| Time | 25.7 |
| Factors and multiples | 25.7 |
| Triangles | 25.7 |
| 2D shapes | 22.9 |
| Length | 20 |
| Line graphs | 17.1 |
| Measurement and units | 8.6 |
| Symmetry | 8.6 |
| Position and direction | 5.7 |
| Quadrilaterals | 5.7 |
Exam types
Which school exams these papers come from.
Key facts
- 35 papers, 1,090 questions, 1,906 marks, from 12 schools.
- 5 topics carry half of all marks.
- Most-tested topic: Fractions, 17% of marks.
- Most common topic across papers: Ratio, in 86% of papers.
- 16% 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 5 Maths exam papers in 2023?
By share of marks, the most-tested topics were Fractions (17%), Ratio (11%), Area and perimeter (10%), Money (9.9%) and Angles (7.6%).
How many questions and marks are in a Primary 5 Maths paper?
A typical paper in this set has about 31 questions and 54 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 12 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 · 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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