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PSLE Math Exam Strategy: Do's & Don'ts
14 Jun 2025·5 min read·The Tutor's Table
Paper 1 is 1 hour (no calculator) and Paper 2 is 1 hour 30 min (calculator allowed). Most children who under-perform don't run out of maths knowledge — they run out of time or rush checking. Here's the strategy we drill with our P6 students.
Do's
- DO spend 15 seconds at the start scanning the paper. Decide whether to attempt in order or jump to easier questions first.
- DO give Paper 1 MCQs no more than 45 seconds each. If you're stuck, mark it, move on.
- DO leave 10 minutes at the end of each paper purely for checking. Not for attempting new questions.
- DO re-key tricky Paper 2 calculations into the calculator a second time to double-check.
- DO check units, signs, and decimal points on every answer before the bell.
- DO sleep properly the week before — tired brains make arithmetic slips worth 2–3 grade drops.
Don'ts
- DON'T spend 10 minutes on a 2-mark MCQ. The opportunity cost is huge — that's three 3-mark short answers you could have secured.
- DON'T trust the calculator blindly. Mis-typed brackets or wrong division order happen often.
- DON'T change answers in the last minute without a clear reason. First instincts, once carefully calculated, are usually right.
- DON'T skip the checking pass. Most students find 3–5 marks of careless errors every paper.
- DON'T panic when one question is unfamiliar — the rest of the paper is still winnable.
- DON'T cram new topics the night before. Revise familiar problem types and rest.
Exam strategy is practiced, not improvised. Do at least 3 full-paper timed runs in the month before PSLE.
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