PSLE Maths format from 2026: what changed
The same 100 marks and the same two and a half hours, split differently. Paper 1 got bigger, Paper 2 got shorter, and every short answer is now worth 2 marks.
The paper from 2026
This is the format SEAB sets for PSLE Mathematics from the 2026 examination onwards. Both papers are sat on the same day, with a break between them.
| Paper | Section | Questions | Marks each | Marks | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paper 1, no calculator | Booklet A, multiple choice | 10 | 1 | 10 | 1 h 10 min |
| Booklet A, multiple choice | 8 | 2 | 16 | ||
| Booklet B, short answer | 12 | 2 | 24 | ||
| Paper 2, calculator | Short answer | 5 | 2 | 10 | 1 h 20 min |
| Structured | 10 | 3, 4 or 5 | 40 | ||
| Total | 45 | 100 | 2 h 30 min |
Source: SEAB, PSLE formats examined in 2026, Mathematics (0008).
Old format against new
The format it replaced was sat for the last time in the 2025 PSLE.
| Until 2025 | From 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Paper 1, Booklet A | 15 multiple choice: 10 at 1 mark, 5 at 2 | 18 multiple choice: 10 at 1 mark, 8 at 2 |
| Paper 1, Booklet B | 15 short answer: 5 at 1 mark, 10 at 2 | 12 short answer, all at 2 marks |
| Paper 1 in all | 45 marks, 1 hour | 50 marks, 1 hour 10 minutes |
| Paper 2 | 17 questions, 55 marks, 1 hour 30 minutes | 15 questions, 50 marks, 1 hour 20 minutes |
| Balance | 45 without a calculator, 55 with | 50 and 50 |
What the change means for practice
Half the marks, no calculator
Paper 1 is now worth as much as Paper 2. Mental arithmetic, fractions and long division done by hand carry more of the grade than before, and they are exactly what a calculator lets a child skip at home.
Eight 2-mark multiple choice
Up from five. These are two- and three-step problems where only the final choice counts: no working is marked. One slip in the middle costs both marks, so checking has to happen before the answer is shaded, not after.
No 1-mark short answers
Every Booklet B question is worth 2. For a one-part question with a wrong answer, a correct method still earns 1 mark, so working should be written even on short answers.
Fewer, heavier Paper 2 questions
Fifteen questions in 80 minutes is about a minute and a half per mark. The last three, worth 13 to 15 marks together, deserve about 25 minutes. See how those questions are built.
Which practice papers to use
Schools moved to the new shape during 2025, one year group at a time. The P6 papers sat in 2025 were set for the 2025 PSLE and mostly keep the old shape; the P5 end-of-year papers sat in late 2025 were set for the 2026 cohort and almost all use the new one.
- For content, any recent paper is useful, apart from its Speed questions. Speed left the primary syllabus with the 2021 revision and is not examined.
- For timing, only papers in the new shape: 30 questions in Paper 1, 15 in Paper 2, 1 h 10 and 1 h 20.
- For the last questions of Paper 2, the recent prelims are still the best guide to difficulty. The topics that decide AL1 are the same: composite circles, ratio before and after, percentage run backwards and fractions of a remainder.
Every paper in our courses is written to the new shape, and marked before each lesson. See the course dates.
Common questions about the 2026 format
What is the PSLE Maths format from 2026?
Two papers on the same day, 100 marks in all. Paper 1 is 1 hour 10 minutes with no calculator: Booklet A has 10 one-mark and 8 two-mark multiple-choice questions, Booklet B has 12 two-mark short-answer questions. Paper 2 is 1 hour 20 minutes with a calculator: 5 two-mark short-answer questions, then 10 structured questions worth 3, 4 or 5 marks each.
What changed in PSLE Maths in 2026?
Paper 1 grew from 45 to 50 marks and from 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes, with three more multiple-choice questions and every short answer now worth 2 marks. Paper 2 shrank from 17 questions and 55 marks to 15 questions and 50 marks, and from 1 hour 30 minutes to 1 hour 20 minutes. The total stays at 100 marks and 2 hours 30 minutes.
Are older PSLE Maths papers still useful for practice?
For content, yes, apart from Speed, which is no longer in the syllabus. For timing and shape, no: a paper set before the change has the wrong number of questions and the wrong split of marks between the two papers.
Practise it, free
Each is a full Paper 1 and Paper 2, marked the moment it is handed in, with a report on what went wrong.
Every paper in the new shape.
Online P6 Maths crash courses in the school holidays: one full paper a day in the 2026 format, marked before class, a report to parents every night.
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