Draft PSLE Maths Article

Submitted by TechSupport KSP

learning maths

PSLE resources

Find all our latest PSLE guides, tips, and revision tools on the KiasuParents PSLE page.

The PSLE Mathematics papers are about two months away, and downloading past-year exams is one of the first things many parents do to help their child prepare.

Finding practice papers is easy these days, so the real "skill" is knowing how to use practice papers effectively.

Below, we will cover what you should be aware of for PSLE Maths: how the exam is structured, the topics to focus on, and how to approach problem sums. 

We will focus on "standard" Mathematics, which most children take. Children on Foundation Mathematics sit a different paper, and you can read about both in our primary maths syllabus guide.

How is the PSLE Maths exam structured?

The examination is made up of two written papers, comprising three booklets, both held on the same day with a break in between.

Paper 1 1 h 10 min No calculator
Booklet A: 10 multiple-choice questions (1 mark each) and 8 multiple-choice questions (2 marks each).
Booklet B: 12 short-answer questions (2 marks each).
Paper 2 1 h 20 min Calculator allowed
5 short-answer questions (2 marks each) and 10 structured or long-answer questions (3, 4, or 5 marks each).

In total, the exam has 45 questions worth 100 marks. It lasts 2 h 30 min.

Topics to focus on for 2026

These are the Primary 6 Standard Mathematics topics in the current syllabus:

  • Fractions (the four operations, including dividing by fractions)

  • Percentage

  • Ratio

  • Algebra, including simple linear equations

  • Circles (area and circumference)

  • Volume of cube and cuboid

  • Angles in geometric figures

  • Average

The exam also draws on the foundations built in earlier years. For the full breakdown of every level, see our primary maths syllabus guide.

When your child practises on papers, there will be two things to note:

Skip speed questions. Speed is not in the current syllabus, so your child will not be tested on it. You can recognise these questions because they involve distance, time, and how fast something travels, often in kilometres per hour. 
Make sure algebra is covered. Solving simple linear equations is part of the current Primary 6 syllabus.

How to approach problem sums

A simple routine helps your child approach any problem:

1
Understand. Read the question carefully, and note what is given and what is being asked.
2
Plan. Decide on a strategy, such as drawing a model.
3
Solve. Work through the steps, writing each one down.
4
Check. Ask whether the answer makes sense and fits what the question asked.

Schools commonly teach a set of problem-solving strategies, often called heuristics. These are some of the most common ones:

  • Draw a model. Bar models turn the words into a picture of parts and units, which makes many fraction, ratio, and percentage problems much clearer.

  • Before and after. Some problems describe a situation that changes partway through, so it helps to compare the "before" and the "after" separately.

  • Work backwards. When the end result is given, start from it and undo each step.

  • Guess and check. Try a sensible value, see how close it is, and adjust.

How to hold on to marks in each paper

Beyond getting the right answer, a few habits help your child hold on to marks they have earned:

Paper 1, Booklet A (multiple choice, no calculator)
1
Have your child write the chosen answer on the question paper, as well as shade the answer in the Optical Answer Sheet (OAS). This makes checking the paper easier later.
2
Shade the oval in the answer sheet immediately after completing each question. This lowers the chance of shading the wrong oval, or shading an answer against the wrong question number, which is easy to do when they're all left to the end.
Paper 1, Booklet B (short-answer, no calculator)
3
Show all working clearly and write the final answer in the answer blank provided.
4
Never erase the working, even if the answer turns out wrong. Method marks can be awarded for correct working on its own.
Paper 2 (calculator allowed)
5
Show all working clearly and write the final answer in the answer blank provided.
6
Never erase the working, even if the answer turns out wrong. Method marks can be awarded for correct working on its own.
7
For the problem sums, show the full solution and working clearly, so that both method marks and answer marks can be awarded.
8
Show every step taken. Method marks can be awarded even if the final answer is wrong.
Across both written papers
9
Keep units consistent throughout the working, and make sure the final answer carries the correct unit.
10
Use equals signs correctly, so each step is a true statement. For example, "half of the amount = $45" is correct, but "half = $45" is not.

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Where to find practice papers

Once you know what to focus on, the papers themselves are easy to come by. Our guide on where to get PSLE past-year and school papers covers where to buy or download them. A few pointers on using them well for maths:

  • Pick papers at the right level. Your child should be able to attempt most of a paper, roughly 70 to 85 percent, without constant help. Signs a maths paper is too hard: they get stuck on most of the word problems, not just one or two, or leave more than half the paper blank.

  • Practise with purpose, not just for numbers. More practice does help, but doing as many papers as possible isn't the aim in itself. If your child is short on time, or keeps getting a particular type of maths problem wrong, a certain ratio, fraction, or percentage question, it's better to slow down and work on that than to rush through one paper after another without learning much.

  • Keep a clean copy for retesting. If your child made several mistakes, set the paper aside and have them try it again a week or two later. Some parents have their child record answers in a notebook rather than write on the paper, so the original stays clean for a second attempt.

  • Use full, timed papers closer to the exam. Later in the year, once most of the syllabus is covered, sitting a full paper under time builds stamina, time management, and familiarity with the flow of the real exam, which matters given Paper 1's no-calculator timing and Paper 2's tighter clock.

If your child gets stuck on a question and no one at home can help, you can also post it on our AskQ board, where members of the community may share how they would solve it. If you need more practice questions, you can also browse questions that others have already asked.

Want to talk to other parents about PSLE preparation? Join the conversation on the KiasuParents forum!

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