ICAS Mathematics competition

Assess school students’ numeracy skills with the ICAS Mathematics test

As the foundation of STEM and a fundamental part of human thought and logic, Mathematics is a crucial building block for academic success.

In recognition of the subject’s educational importance, ICAS Mathematics assessments are designed to provide an objective ranking of students’ performance based on the curricula for the relevant year.

The ICAS Maths competition tests skills such as logical reasoning, problem solving and critical thinking, which helps them perform well in STEM subjects while underpinning key areas of their daily lives.

Start challenging your students and learning their numeracy needs today, with our suite of Maths tests for ICAS.

ICAS prepares me for my future learning by helping identify areas I can work on, and from that I can develop those areas and come back a smarter person.

Skills tested for the ICAS Mathematics exam

Maths is all around us, from baking, banking and budgeting to complex technologies that require programming, engineering and machine learning. Mathematics is integral to doing well in school and understanding the world, and there is no better opportunity to test your mathematical mettle than with our ICAS maths exams.

More than simply a maths competition, ICAS Mathematics assessments consist of questions written and reviewed every year by expert educators. Each year, the Maths test Papers are carefully created to stimulate interest and learning across a wide range of abilities, including gifted and talented students.

The ICAS Maths competition assesses the following key mathematical learning areas including:

Number & Arithmetic

Algebra & Patterns

Measures & Units

Space & Geometry

Chance & Data

In turn, students receive a unique academic experience in the ICAS Maths assessment. It’s designed to challenge their abilities beyond the classroom, provide them with a greater understanding of where their strengths and areas of improvement lie, and recognise and encourage their academic success.

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What students do in the ICAS Mathematics test

Years 2 to 6
Years 7 to 12

The primary school level papers of ICAS Mathematics assessments challenge and extend high-achieving school students while reinforcing key numeracy skills in these crucial foundational years. It provides them with a strong building block for future learning.

When completing the Maths exam, students answer a variety of questions on topics such as arithmetic, patterns, geometry, data and pre-algebra, which increase in complexity throughout the paper and encourage the use of higher-order thinking skills.

The Maths exam Introductory paper, for students in the equivalent of Year 2, assesses concepts such as skip counting, place value, time and probability. The questions in the Maths test may require students to solve number problems involving whole numbers up to 100, continue simple linear patterns with numbers and shapes, or read a basic table with frequencies and tallies.

ICAS Mathematics tests more sophisticated skills as school students progress through the years. For example, in Paper A (Year 3) of the Maths exam, students may be asked to order and compare halves, quarters and eighths, multiply and divide by single digits using different techniques, describe 2D and 3D shapes or read and interpret common graphs. Papers B and C (Years 4 and 5) of the Maths exam assess knowledge of number sentences, areas and perimeters, metrics units, symmetry, angles and many other topics.

Finally, in Paper D (Year 6) of the Maths assessment, in addition to more advanced questions on decimals and fractions, metric units and probabilities, questions may require students to complete number sentences involving all four equations, solve problems involving parallel and perpendicular lines, or interpret and compare column graphs, dot plots and tables. Our Maths tests are designed to test a wide variety of skills.

The high school level papers of ICAS Mathematics assessments challenge and extend high-achieving students while preparing them for the advanced level of mathematics involved in various STEM subjects. When undertaking the Maths competition, students answer a variety of questions on topics such as algebra, measurement, geometry, chance and data, which increase in complexity throughout the paper and encourage the use of higher-order thinking skills.

Maths exam Papers E and F, for students in the equivalent of Year 7 and Year 8, assess advanced content such as order of operations, angle properties and numerical probabilities, as well as new areas such as algebra, index notation, prime numbers, the cartesian plane and descriptive statistics. For example, questions in the Maths test may require students to solve percentage and ratio problems, interpret authentic graphs to solve linear equations, solve problems using angle sum of triangles and quadrilaterals, or calculate mean, median, mode and range.

Mathematics assessment Papers G and H (Year 9 and Year 10) set the foundation for the final years of schooling by challenging and extending students on a range of mathematical topics. Students may be asked to convert terminating and recurring decimals to fractions, factorise linear expressions, solve linear equations graphically and algebraically, calculate various geometrical measurements, solve problems using congruence conditions for triangles, find probabilities of events involving ‘and’, ‘or’ and ‘at least’, or recognise the effect of outliers on measures of location and spread.

Maths test Papers I and J (Years 11 and 12) also help students to prepare for their critical final years of schooling. Questions may require students to apply index laws involving integer and fractional indices, solve financial problems using simple and compound interest, solve and graph advanced algebraic equations and transformations, use trigonometry in 3D problems, calculate conditional probabilities or interpret histograms, box plots and scatterplots. While senior high school students often set aside some of their previous extracurricular activities, ICAS Maths assessments provide valuable exam experience and performance insights.