Primary 6 Maths exam paper analysis and topic trends
PaperLah has 400 Primary 6 Maths exam papers from 27 Singapore primary schools, set between 2011 and 2026, with 20,731 questions in total. The topics carrying the most marks are Fractions (14%), Area and perimeter (12%) and Ratio (11%); together the top 5 topics account for half of all marks. Fractions appears in 100% 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 52 questions and 92 marks.
These figures describe the school papers in PaperLah's collection, including prelims, not official PSLE papers or topic weightings. They help with planning revision; they can't predict a particular exam.
Where the marks are
Topics ranked by their share of all marks. The blue ones above the line together make up half.
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| Topic | % of marks | Papers |
|---|---|---|
| Fractions | 13.9 | in 398 of 400 papers |
| Area and perimeter | 12 | in 387 of 400 papers |
| Ratio | 10.7 | in 387 of 400 papers |
| Angles | 9.9 | in 371 of 400 papers |
| Percentage | 7.9 | in 388 of 400 papers |
| Money | 5.5 | in 357 of 400 papers |
| Volume | 5.2 | in 338 of 400 papers |
| Rate and speed | 4.6 | in 303 of 400 papers |
| Algebra | 3.6 | in 335 of 400 papers |
| Average | 2.9 | in 322 of 400 papers |
| Number patterns | 2.5 | in 260 of 400 papers |
| Whole numbers | 2.4 | in 338 of 400 papers |
| Word problems | 2.1 | in 205 of 400 papers |
| Solid figures and nets | 1.5 | in 245 of 400 papers |
| Mass | 1.4 | in 219 of 400 papers |
| Time | 1.3 | in 257 of 400 papers |
| Tables and graphs | 1.2 | in 173 of 400 papers |
| Decimals | 1.2 | in 250 of 400 papers |
| Bar graphs | 1.1 | in 171 of 400 papers |
| Length | 1 | in 159 of 400 papers |
| Multiplication and division | 1 | in 184 of 400 papers |
| Pie charts | 0.8 | in 127 of 400 papers |
| Symmetry | 0.8 | in 213 of 400 papers |
| Factors and multiples | 0.8 | in 173 of 400 papers |
| Quadrilaterals | 0.7 | in 150 of 400 papers |
| Measurement and units | 0.6 | in 131 of 400 papers |
| Line graphs | 0.6 | in 107 of 400 papers |
| Order of operations | 0.6 | in 179 of 400 papers |
| Circles | 0.4 | in 78 of 400 papers |
| Lines | 0.3 | in 110 of 400 papers |
What a paper is made of
How children answer, as a share of marks.
- Number answer 67%
- Multiple choice 20%
- Short answer 6%
- Drawing or labelling 3%
- Other 3%
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| Format | % of marks |
|---|---|
| Number answer | 67.2 |
| Multiple choice | 20.4 |
| Short answer | 6.3 |
| Drawing or labelling | 2.9 |
| Open-ended (show working) | 2.5 |
| Fill in the blank | 0.3 |
| Other | 0.3 |
| Word bank | 0.1 |
| Rewrite / synthesis | 0 |
Marks per question
Share of questions worth 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5+ marks. 2% have no marks printed. Higher-mark questions usually need working.
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| Marks | % of questions |
|---|---|
| 1 | 42.4 |
| 2 | 40.2 |
| 3 | 10.3 |
| 4 | 3.8 |
| 5+ | 1.7 |
How topics change over the years
The most-asked topics, as a share of each year's questions. Darker means asked more that year. Use it to spot topics schools are asking more often now.
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| Topic | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Angles | 11.6 | 11.6 | 12.8 | 12.8 | 12.6 | 12.7 | 12.1 | 10.6 |
| Fractions | 12 | 10.3 | 11.3 | 11 | 12 | 13.4 | 12.4 | 12.5 |
| Area and perimeter | 10 | 10.5 | 12 | 10.5 | 10.2 | 10.7 | 10 | 9 |
| Ratio | 7.8 | 6.7 | 7.9 | 5 | 6.6 | 6.5 | 7.6 | 4.4 |
| Percentage | 5.9 | 4.9 | 6.3 | 4.9 | 7.2 | 7.1 | 7.5 | 5.2 |
| Volume | 4.4 | 4.3 | 4.6 | 5.8 | 5.9 | 5 | 4.5 | 5.8 |
| Money | 4.8 | 5.1 | 4.5 | 4.2 | 4.6 | 4.3 | 5 | 3.8 |
| Algebra | 5.3 | 4.3 | 3.8 | 4.1 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 3.2 | 6 |
| Whole numbers | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 3.6 | 4.3 | 3.3 | 2.8 | 4.2 |
| Rate and speed | 4.3 | 3.4 | 2.8 | 4.1 | 3.8 | 3 | 3.5 | 2.8 |
How likely a topic comes up
The share of papers with at least one question on the topic.
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| Topic | % of papers |
|---|---|
| Fractions | 99.5 |
| Percentage | 97 |
| Area and perimeter | 96.8 |
| Ratio | 96.8 |
| Angles | 92.8 |
| Money | 89.3 |
| Volume | 84.5 |
| Whole numbers | 84.5 |
| Algebra | 83.8 |
| Average | 80.5 |
| Rate and speed | 75.8 |
| Number patterns | 65 |
| Time | 64.3 |
| Decimals | 62.5 |
| Solid figures and nets | 61.3 |
| Mass | 54.8 |
| Symmetry | 53.3 |
| Word problems | 51.2 |
| Multiplication and division | 46 |
| Order of operations | 44.8 |
| Tables and graphs | 43.3 |
| Factors and multiples | 43.3 |
| Bar graphs | 42.8 |
| Length | 39.8 |
| Quadrilaterals | 37.5 |
| Measurement and units | 32.8 |
| Pie charts | 31.8 |
| Lines | 27.5 |
| Line graphs | 26.8 |
| Circles | 19.5 |
Exam types
Which school exams these papers come from.
Key facts
- 400 papers, 20,731 questions, 36,763 marks, from 27 schools.
- 5 topics carry half of all marks.
- Most-tested topic: Fractions, 14% of marks.
- Most common topic across papers: Fractions, in 100% of papers.
- 16% of questions are worth 3 marks or more.
- Exam types: End-of-Year / SA2, Mid-Year / SA1, Prelim (P6), Weighted Assessment / CA, Quiz / Review / Test and Practice paper.
Questions parents ask
What topics come up most in Primary 6 Maths exam papers?
By share of marks, the most-tested topics are Fractions (14%), Area and perimeter (12%), Ratio (11%), Angles (9.9%) and Percentage (7.9%).
How many questions and marks are in a Primary 6 Maths paper?
A typical paper in this set has about 52 questions and 92 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?
400 papers from 27 schools, from these exam types: End-of-Year / SA2, Mid-Year / SA1, Prelim (P6), Weighted Assessment / CA, Quiz / Review / Test and Practice paper. 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 · Christian Brothers · Henry Park · Maha Bodhi · Maris Stella High · Methodist Girls' · Nan Chiau · Nan Hua · Nanyang · Paya Lebar Methodist Girls' · Pei Chun · Pei Hwa · Raffles Girls' · Red Swastika · River Valley · Rosyth · Singapore Chinese Girls' · Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan · St Hilda's · Tao Nan · Temasek
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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