Primary 6 Maths exam paper analysis: 2023
PaperLah has 29 Primary 6 Maths exam papers from 2023, set by 17 Singapore primary schools, with 1,384 questions worth 2,306 marks. The topics carrying the most marks were Angles (13%), Fractions (12%) and Area and perimeter (12%); together the top 5 topics account for half of all marks. Fractions appears in 100% of the papers. Multiple-choice questions make up 19% of marks, and 11% of questions are worth 3 marks or more, which usually means showing working. A typical paper has about 48 questions and 80 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.
Compared with all years: Angles took 13% of marks in 2023 (all years: 9.9%); Fractions took 12% of marks in 2023 (all years: 14%); Area and perimeter took 12% of marks in 2023 (all years: 12%).
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Angles | 12.6 | in 27 of 29 papers |
| Fractions | 12.4 | in 29 of 29 papers |
| Area and perimeter | 11.7 | in 28 of 29 papers |
| Percentage | 8.4 | in 26 of 29 papers |
| Ratio | 7.7 | in 27 of 29 papers |
| Volume | 6.5 | in 24 of 29 papers |
| Money | 4.5 | in 23 of 29 papers |
| Rate and speed | 4.1 | in 20 of 29 papers |
| Whole numbers | 3.3 | in 21 of 29 papers |
| Average | 3 | in 20 of 29 papers |
| Algebra | 2.9 | in 17 of 29 papers |
| Number patterns | 2.5 | in 17 of 29 papers |
| Word problems | 2.1 | in 14 of 29 papers |
| Solid figures and nets | 1.9 | in 18 of 29 papers |
| Tables and graphs | 1.9 | in 16 of 29 papers |
| Mass | 1.4 | in 15 of 29 papers |
| Time | 1.4 | in 15 of 29 papers |
| Length | 1.2 | in 10 of 29 papers |
| Bar graphs | 1.2 | in 12 of 29 papers |
| Pie charts | 1.1 | in 12 of 29 papers |
| Symmetry | 1.1 | in 17 of 29 papers |
| Decimals | 1 | in 15 of 29 papers |
| Factors and multiples | 1 | in 15 of 29 papers |
| Multiplication and division | 0.9 | in 9 of 29 papers |
| Circles | 0.7 | in 6 of 29 papers |
| Quadrilaterals | 0.6 | in 8 of 29 papers |
| Order of operations | 0.6 | in 11 of 29 papers |
| Measurement and units | 0.5 | in 9 of 29 papers |
| 2D shapes | 0.5 | in 7 of 29 papers |
| Line graphs | 0.4 | in 7 of 29 papers |
What a paper is made of
How children answer, as a share of marks.
- Number answer 65%
- Multiple choice 19%
- Short answer 9%
- Drawing or labelling 3%
- Other 4%
Show as table
| Format | % of marks |
|---|---|
| Number answer | 65.4 |
| Multiple choice | 19.3 |
| Short answer | 8.6 |
| Drawing or labelling | 3 |
| Open-ended (show working) | 2.6 |
| Other | 0.6 |
| Fill in the blank | 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.
Show as table
| Marks | % of questions |
|---|---|
| 1 | 44.6 |
| 2 | 42.3 |
| 3 | 8.8 |
| 4 | 2 |
| 5+ | 0.7 |
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 | 96.6 |
| Angles | 93.1 |
| Ratio | 93.1 |
| Percentage | 89.7 |
| Volume | 82.8 |
| Money | 79.3 |
| Whole numbers | 72.4 |
| Rate and speed | 69 |
| Average | 69 |
| Solid figures and nets | 62.1 |
| Algebra | 58.6 |
| Number patterns | 58.6 |
| Symmetry | 58.6 |
| Tables and graphs | 55.2 |
| Decimals | 51.7 |
| Mass | 51.7 |
| Time | 51.7 |
| Factors and multiples | 51.7 |
| Word problems | 48.3 |
| Pie charts | 41.4 |
| Bar graphs | 41.4 |
| Order of operations | 37.9 |
| Length | 34.5 |
| Multiplication and division | 31 |
| Measurement and units | 31 |
| Quadrilaterals | 27.6 |
| 2D shapes | 24.1 |
| Line graphs | 24.1 |
| Circles | 20.7 |
Exam types
Which school exams these papers come from.
Key facts
- 29 papers, 1,384 questions, 2,306 marks, from 17 schools.
- 5 topics carry half of all marks.
- Most-tested topic: Angles, 13% of marks.
- Most common topic across papers: Fractions, in 100% of papers.
- 11% of questions are worth 3 marks or more.
- Exam types: Prelim (P6) and Weighted Assessment / CA.
Questions parents ask
What topics come up most in Primary 6 Maths exam papers in 2023?
By share of marks, the most-tested topics were Angles (13%), Fractions (12%), Area and perimeter (12%), Percentage (8.4%) and Ratio (7.7%).
How many questions and marks are in a Primary 6 Maths paper?
A typical paper in this set has about 48 questions and 80 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?
29 papers from 17 schools, from these exam types: Prelim (P6) 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 · 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
Schools with Primary 6 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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