Best PSLE Maths assessment books for Primary 3 to 6

Primary Maths assessment books in Singapore fall into five types. Each does a different job, so the best book is the one that matches what your child needs now.

We name only books whose title, publisher and price we read on the publisher's own page in November 2026. Parents ask about other well-known series too. Leaving a series out says nothing about its quality. It means we could not check its details that day. We are not linked to these publishers, and prices can change, so check the publisher's page before you buy.

Problem sums are the long word problems in Paper 2. Heuristics are the methods used to solve them, such as drawing a model or working backwards. A problem sums book teaches these methods one at a time and then gives practice.

Buy one when your child can do the short questions in a topic but gets stuck on the long ones. The June and year-end holidays are good times to work through it, because the methods need unhurried practice.

Titles we checked: P5 Conquer Problem Sums (Latest Edition) (onSponge) and P5 Essential Problem Solving Skills (Latest Edition) (onSponge), each about S$16.90 when checked in November 2026 and sold for Primary 3 to Primary 6. The Primary 5 Essential Problem Solving Skills book was out of stock on the day we checked. Primary 5 Mathematics Excel in Problem-Solving Volume 1 (CPD Singapore), about S$12.90 before GST, gives worked examples and drills. P5 Challenging Maths (Educational Publishing House), about S$13.90, is a book of harder problems with full solutions.

The Singapore Syllabus does not publish a problem sums or heuristics book. If this is what your child needs, buy one of these and use it beside the main topical book.

Only for a child who already scores well and enjoys hard puzzles. Olympiad questions go beyond the PSLE syllabus. For a child who is still losing marks on school topics, they take time away from the practice that matters.

One title we checked is Preparing For Primary Maths Olympiad Competition (Educational Publishing House), about S$29.90 when checked in November 2026. It has 18 chapters and sets of practice papers for Primary 5 and Primary 6.

• January to May: the main topical book, one chapter at a time, in step with school.
• June holidays: redo wrong questions, and start a problem sums book if long questions are the weak spot.
• Term 3 onwards: practice papers under timed conditions, with school papers for variety.
• After each paper: go back to the topical book for the chapters where marks were lost.