Understand the exam
Weighted Assessments and the EOY exam, P1 to P6
The short version
P1 and P2 have no weighted assessments or exams. From P3, each subject has at most one Weighted Assessment (WA) a term, and P3 to P5 end the year with the End-of-Year exam (EOY) in Term 4. In P6 the school's prelims take the EOY's place before the PSLE. Each school sets the weights: from P3 to P5, at the 17 schools whose plans we read, a WA counts 10% to 15% and the EOY 55% to 70%.
- WAs a year
- Up to 3
- The EOY counts
- 55% to 70%
- Term 1, 2027
- 4 Jan – 12 Mar
· Sources
What counts, term by term
MOE's rules, with the 2027 term dates. Your school's letter has the days.
P1 and P2
ReviewEvery term
P3 to P5
- Term 14 Jan – 12 Mar
- WA or review
- Term 222 Mar – 28 May
- WA
- Term 328 Jun – 3 Sep
- WA
- Term 413 Sep – 19 Nov
- EOY
P6
- Term 14 Jan – 12 Mar
- WA or review
- Term 222 Mar – 28 May
- WA or review
- Term 328 Jun – 3 Sep
- Prelim
- Term 413 Sep – 19 Nov
- PSLE
WA: at most one per subject a term. Review: no marks. At 4 of 17 schools, Term 1 is unweighted at some level from P3 to P5, so the first WA there comes in Term 2.
What are WA1, WA2, WA3 and the EOY?
A Weighted Assessment (WA) is a school test that counts towards your child's result for the year, and the End-of-Year exam (EOY) is the paper in Term 4 that tests the whole year's syllabus. From P3, each subject has at most one WA a term, so up to three a year, numbered in the order they come.
MOE
schools will conduct no more than one weighted assessment per subject, per school term for all levels starting from P3 to S4/5.
So WA1 is not always in Term 1. Henry Park Primary, Lakeside Primary, North Spring Primary and Tampines Primary leave Term 1 unweighted at some level from P3 to P5, so the first WA at that level falls in Term 2.
How much does each Weighted Assessment count?
From P3 to P5, usually 10% to 15% each, with the EOY worth 55% to 70% of the year's result. That is what the 17 schools whose 2026 plans state a Maths split say; MOE leaves the weights to each school, so your school's assessment letter has its own. A dash is a term the plan says counts for nothing.
| School | WAs, Terms 1 · 2 · 3 | EOY |
|---|---|---|
| Admiralty Primary (P3 to P5) | 15 · 15 · 15% | 55%1 |
| Bedok Green Primary (P3 to P5) | 10 · 15 · 15% | 60%1 |
| CHIJ (Katong) Primary (P3 to P5) | 10 · 15 · 15% | 60%1 |
| East Spring Primary (P3 and P5) | 10 · 15 · 15% | 60%1 |
| Edgefield Primary (P3 and P5) | 10 · 10 · 10% | 70%1 |
| Farrer Park Primary (P3 to P5) | 10 · 15 · 15% | 60%1 |
| Henry Park Primary (P3 and P5) | – · 15 · 15% | 70%1 |
| Jurong West Primary (P3 and P5) | 10 · 10 · 10% | 70%1 |
| Lakeside Primary (P3) | – · 15 · 15% | 70%1 |
| Lakeside Primary (P5) | 15 · 15 · 15% | 55%1 |
| Lianhua Primary (P3 to P5) | 10 · 15 · 15% | 60%1 |
| Marsiling Primary (P3 to P5) | 15 · 15 · 15% | 55%1 |
| North Spring Primary (P3 to P5) | – · 15 · 15% | 70%1 |
| North Vista Primary (P3 to P5) | 10 · 15 · 15% | 60%1 |
| Qihua Primary (P3 to P5) | 10 · 15 · 15% | 60%1 |
| Rivervale Primary (P3) | 10 · 15 · 15% | 60%1 |
| St Gabriel's Primary (P3) | 10 · 10 · 10% | 70%1 |
| Tampines Primary (P3 to P5) | – · 15 · 15% | 70%1 |
The most common split is 10%, 15% and 15% for the WAs and 60% for the EOY (8 schools). Next come no weight in Term 1, then 15% for each WA and 70% for the EOY (4 schools); 10% for each WA and 70% for the EOY (3 schools); and 15% for each WA and 55% for the EOY (3 schools). At every school, the EOY counts for more than all its WAs together.
MOE
Scores from weighted assessments count towards a student’s overall result in a subject for the year. Each weighted assessment may be assigned different weightings and can take various modes, e.g. class tests, quizzes, presentations, group projects.
Compiled by StudyLah from each school's published 2026 plan, for Mathematics (a school can weight subjects differently). You are welcome to reuse it: credit StudyLah and link to this page (licence: CC BY 4.0).
When are the WAs and the EOY?
Each falls inside its term, on a day your school sets. The plans we read give each term's dates, topics and format at the start of that term, on the school website or Parents Gateway.
Do P1 and P2 have exams?
No. P1 and P2 have no weighted assessments and no exams, and nothing they sit counts towards a mark or a grade.
MOE
From 2019, all weighted assessments and examinations for Primary One (P1) and Two (P2) students will be removed, and assessments conducted will not be counted to form any overall mark or grade. This includes removing the year-end examination at P2.
Schools still check learning with short reviews and quizzes, and the report book describes progress in words rather than marks.
MOE
With the removal of weighted assessments at P1 and P2 from 2019, MOE will guide schools to use qualitative descriptors to report students’ learning at these levels.
What changes in P6?
P6 has no EOY: the school's prelims, in Term 3, take its place, and the PSLE follows in Term 4. At the 11 schools whose P6 plans we read, the prelim counts for 70% to 100% of the year's school result, and at 6 of them it is the whole result, with Terms 1 and 2 as unweighted practice.
| School | Terms 1 · 2 | Prelim |
|---|---|---|
| Admiralty Primary | 15 · 15% | 70%1 |
| CHIJ (Katong) Primary | – · – | 100%1 |
| Edgefield Primary | – · – | 100%1 |
| Farrer Park Primary | blank · 30% | 70%1 |
| Jurong West Primary | 15 · 15% | 70%1 |
| Lakeside Primary | – · – | 100%1 |
| Lianhua Primary | – · – | 100%1 |
| Marsiling Primary | 15 · 15% | 70%1 |
| North Vista Primary | – · – | 100%1 |
| Qihua Primary | 15 · 15% | 70%1 |
| Tampines Primary | – · – | 100%1 |
Why are there no mid-year exams?
MOE removed them in stages from 2019, starting with the levels that bring new subjects, and the last ones went in 2023.
MOE
the removal of mid-year examinations for all remaining levels in primary and secondary schools by 2023
MOE
It is not aimed at reducing stress per se, but at reducing the overemphasis on examinations and grades, and to free up time and space for teachers to provide more engaging learning experiences and pace learning.
What is on the EOY Maths paper?
The whole year's syllabus, Term 1 included. Each topic of the level, with the mistake that costs the most marks on it:
Primary 3
| Topic | What goes wrong |
|---|---|
| Numbers to 10 000 | Flipping the digits |
| Money | Cents not regrouped |
| Multiplication and Division | Dropping the remainder |
| Bar Graphs | Counting lines as 1s |
| Angles | Judging by arm length |
| Perpendicular and Parallel Lines | Trusting the drawing |
| Fractions | Bigger bottom wins |
| Length, Mass and Volume | Using 100, not 1000 |
| Area and Perimeter | Adds the sides |
| Time | Subtracts the times |
Primary 4
| Topic | What goes wrong |
|---|---|
| Numbers to 100 000 | Reads the digit |
| Factors and Multiples | Takes a common multiple |
| Four Operations of Whole Numbers | Cuts the number off |
| Tables and Line Graphs | Reads the total |
| Fractions | Adds across |
| Angles | Reads the other scale |
| Rectangles and Squares | Divides by 4 |
| Decimals | Counts the digits |
| Pie Charts | Reading the slice |
| Area and Perimeter | Adds the rectangles' perimeters |
| Nets | Counting squares |
| Symmetry | Equal halves, not mirrored |
Primary 5
| Topic | What goes wrong |
|---|---|
| Whole Numbers and Four Operations | Adds first |
| Fractions and Division | Uses the starting amount |
| Area of Triangle | Uses the slant side |
| Volume of Cube and Cuboid | Multiplying only two sides |
| Shapes and Spatial Reasoning | Counts what shows |
| Decimals | Divides by 4 only |
| Percentage | Moves the point once |
| Rate | Leaves the hour out |
| Angles | Subtracting from 180° |
| Properties of Triangles | Forgetting to halve |
| Parallelogram, Rhombus and Trapezium | Copying the angle |
| Number and Shape Patterns | One jump too many |
P6 has no EOY: its prelim tests the PSLE syllabus, P5 and P6 together.
How to prepare for a WA, and for the EOY
- Before a WA, practise only the topics it covers. The school's letter for the term names them, so the week or two before is for those, not the whole year.
- Before the EOY, go back to Term 1. The latest topics are still fresh; the first ones were tested once and not seen since, and that is where the marks go.
- After each paper, sort the marks your child lost: a careless slip and a topic still being learnt look the same on a script and need different fixes.
Questions about WAs and the EOY
How many WAs are there in a year?
Up to three per subject, one a term in Terms 1 to 3, because MOE allows no more than one a term. A school that leaves Term 1 unweighted holds two.
Can the EOY pull up my child's result?
Yes, more than anything else in the year: at the 17 schools whose plans we read, the EOY counts for 55% to 70%, more than all the WAs together.
What happens if my child misses a WA on MC?
It depends on the school, and its assessment letter says. Admiralty Primary, for one, holds a make-up session on the next school day for a WA missed with a medical certificate, and gives no make-up for the EOY or the prelims, orals aside.
Can my child use a calculator in a school Maths paper?
From P5, in Paper 2 only, with an SEAB-approved calculator, as in the PSLE: schools set P5 and P6 Maths in the PSLE's two papers, and Admiralty Primary's 2026 rules, for one, allow the calculator in Mathematics Paper 2. P1 to P4 papers are sat without one.
What do SA1, SA2 and CA mean?
They are the old names. SA1 and SA2 were the semestral exams at mid-year and year-end, and CA1 and CA2 the continual assessments before them. Today's plans say WA and EOY (or EYE), so a paper labelled SA2 is a year-end paper.
Are WA and EOY results given as an AL?
Each school reports its own way, and MOE asks that marks be shown as whole numbers. Admiralty Primary, for one, gives P3 and P4 an Achievement Band from 1 to 4 rather than an AL.
Where StudyLah fits
A WA tests the term's topics, and the EOY the whole year, so the practice that helps is the same split.
- See how the marking works first. Ten minutes, no account. Three exam-standard questions with the working shown afterwards, so you can see what earns a mark. Try it free
- Then register your child, free. From P3, Exam Mode's Weighted Assessment paper takes its topics from the term your child is in, and its full paper covers the whole year, the way the EOY does. Every mistake goes into the mistake book, sorted by topic. Start free
Sources
Every figure on this page comes from one of these, read on the day shown.
- 1Singapore primary schools, 17 primary schools' own 2026 assessment plans, each linked from its row, read 29 October 2026How much each Weighted Assessment, End-of-Year exam and prelim counts, for Mathematics
- 2Ministry of Education, MOE calendar: school terms and holidays, read 29 October 2026The term dates for 2026 and 2027
Now the practice has to happen.
These guides tell you what usually goes wrong. Your child's own practice tells you what's going wrong for them. StudyLah does the second part, and shows you the answer.