Age Placement Review Pack
Everything an educator needs to rule on where Zerdly Maths places each topic, in one document you can print and mark up. It is rebuilt from the tools themselves every time this page is opened, so it cannot fall behind them.
Not for children, and not part of the maths section — it is a working document for review. Nothing here is stored, sent or counted. Back to Zerdly Maths.
Zerdly Maths — age placement review
37 skills, 34 with a tool behind them, across ages 5 to 14. 332 real questions shown.
What we are asking you to look at
- Are the ages right? Each topic is placed at the ages it is usually met. Every year label, every difficulty setting and every “what comes next” suggestion is worked out from that one judgement.
- Are the questions right for the age? Under each age below are the actual easiest and hardest questions a child of that age receives. This is the part worth your time — a placement can look sensible in a table while the questions it produces are not.
- Is anything missing or in the wrong order? Including whether a topic that should come before another does.
Things we are flagging ourselves
Every age placement in this document is our judgement, not a teacher's
No qualified educator has reviewed any of it. The placements were made by reading what each age actually receives and removing what was plainly wrong; that is a sanity pass, not a professional opinion, and it is exactly why we are asking. Where you disagree, the skill id beside each row is all we need.
We never claim to follow any curriculum
Zerdly Maths says where a topic is USUALLY met and says plainly that it may not match a given school. It does not reproduce, align to, or claim endorsement from any curriculum document, and a build check fails if any wording drifts towards claiming otherwise. Please read the levels wording with that in mind: the question is whether it is honest, not whether it matches a syllabus.
3 skills are mapped but have no tool yet
Counting on (number_sense.counting_forward), Times tables (multiplication.basic_facts), Recognising fractions (fractions.recognise). They appear in the skill list and in the age ladder, and a learner can see them coming, but there is nothing to practise. Worth knowing if a placement looks odd: an empty skill has no questions to judge it by.
Recognising fractions starts before Division, which it builds on
Recognising fractions is placed at ages 6 to 8 and Division at ages 8 to 11. Our reasoning: Recognising a half or a quarter of a shape is met around 5–6, long before formal division. The graph links them because sharing is what a fraction MEANS, not because division is taught first. This is a deliberate pair rather than an oversight, and it is one of the things we would most like a second opinion on.
Telling the time starts before Times tables, which it builds on
Telling the time is placed at ages 5 to 10 and Times tables at ages 7 to 9. Our reasoning: O'clock and half past are met around 5. Times tables matter only for reading minutes in fives, which is the later half of the same skill. This is a deliberate pair rather than an oversight, and it is one of the things we would most like a second opinion on.
One country difference is encoded, and only one
Formal school maths starts later in singapore — Primary 1 at 7, with the years before it pre-school — so at ages 5 and 6 those learners are shown an explanation rather than a topic list. It raises the FLOOR only: starting later does not mean finishing later, and no topic's upper age moves. Nothing else about any curriculum is modelled.
Mixed sessions are deliberately easier than the single-topic tools
The Maths Speed Test draws from four topics at once, and a session can only have one difficulty — so it uses the tightest window that is safe across all four. At some ages that makes it easier than practising those topics one at a time. We chose to err towards too easy; if that is the wrong call for a mixed session, we would rather know.
Age by age
The band range in brackets is the slice of a topic’s full 1–10 difficulty that this age is held to. A child never sees questions from outside it unless they choose a different age themselves — nothing is locked.
Age 5England: Year 1 · Australia: Foundation · United States: Kindergarten · New Zealand: Year 1 · Singapore: Kindergarten 1
Formal school maths has not started yet in Singapore, so learners there are shown an explanation rather than a topic list at this age.
| Topic | Questions this age actually gets |
|---|---|
| Counting on number_sense.counting_forward bands 2–3 of 10 | No tool yet — this topic is mapped but cannot be practised. |
| Tens and ones place_value.ones_tens bands 1–2 of 10 |
|
| Number bonds addition.number_bonds bands 1–2 of 10 |
|
| Addition addition.core bands 1–2 of 10 |
|
| Subtraction subtraction.core bands 1–2 of 10 |
|
| Telling the time time.core bands 1–2 of 10 |
|
| Shapes geometry.shapes bands 1–2 of 10 |
|
| Number line number_sense.number_line bands 1–2 of 10 |
|
Age 6England: Year 2 · Australia: Year 1 · United States: Grade 1 · New Zealand: Year 2 · Singapore: Kindergarten 2
Formal school maths has not started yet in Singapore, so learners there are shown an explanation rather than a topic list at this age.
| Topic | Questions this age actually gets |
|---|---|
| Counting on number_sense.counting_forward bands 2–3 of 10 | No tool yet — this topic is mapped but cannot be practised. |
| Tens and ones place_value.ones_tens bands 3–4 of 10 |
|
| Number bonds addition.number_bonds bands 3–4 of 10 |
|
| Addition addition.core bands 3–4 of 10 |
|
| Subtraction subtraction.core bands 3–4 of 10 |
|
| Recognising fractions fractions.recognise bands 2–3 of 10 | No tool yet — this topic is mapped but cannot be practised. |
| Telling the time time.core bands 3–4 of 10 |
|
| Shapes geometry.shapes bands 3–4 of 10 |
|
| Number line number_sense.number_line bands 2–3 of 10 |
|
| Missing number number_sense.missing_number bands 1–2 of 10 |
|
Age 7England: Year 3 · Australia: Year 2 · United States: Grade 2 · New Zealand: Year 3 · Singapore: Primary 1
| Topic | Questions this age actually gets |
|---|---|
| Tens and ones place_value.ones_tens bands 4–5 of 10 |
|
| Number bonds addition.number_bonds bands 5–6 of 10 |
|
| Addition addition.core bands 5–6 of 10 |
|
| Subtraction subtraction.core bands 5–6 of 10 |
|
| Multiplication multiplication.core bands 1–2 of 10 |
|
| Times tables multiplication.basic_facts bands 1–2 of 10 | No tool yet — this topic is mapped but cannot be practised. |
| Recognising fractions fractions.recognise bands 4–5 of 10 | No tool yet — this topic is mapped but cannot be practised. |
| Money money.core bands 1–2 of 10 |
|
| Telling the time time.core bands 4–5 of 10 |
|
| Number patterns patterns_algebra.core bands 1–2 of 10 |
|
| Measurement and units measurement.core bands 1–2 of 10 |
|
| Shapes geometry.shapes bands 4–5 of 10 |
|
| Angles geometry.angles bands 1–2 of 10 |
|
| Number line number_sense.number_line bands 4–5 of 10 |
|
| Missing number number_sense.missing_number bands 3–4 of 10 |
|
| Rounding place_value.rounding bands 1–2 of 10 |
|
| Elapsed time time.elapsed bands 1–2 of 10 |
|
Age 8England: Year 4 · Australia: Year 3 · United States: Grade 3 · New Zealand: Year 4 · Singapore: Primary 2
| Topic | Questions this age actually gets |
|---|---|
| Tens and ones place_value.ones_tens bands 6–7 of 10 |
|
| Number bonds addition.number_bonds bands 7–8 of 10 |
|
| Addition addition.core bands 7–8 of 10 |
|
| Subtraction subtraction.core bands 7–8 of 10 |
|
| Multiplication multiplication.core bands 3–4 of 10 |
|
| Times tables multiplication.basic_facts bands 3–4 of 10 | No tool yet — this topic is mapped but cannot be practised. |
| Division division.core bands 1–3 of 10 |
|
| Recognising fractions fractions.recognise bands 5–6 of 10 | No tool yet — this topic is mapped but cannot be practised. |
| Money money.core bands 3–4 of 10 |
|
| Telling the time time.core bands 6–7 of 10 |
|
| Equivalent fractions fractions.equivalent bands 1–3 of 10 |
|
| Decimals decimals.core bands 1–2 of 10 |
|
| Area and perimeter geometry.area bands 1–2 of 10 |
|
| Number patterns patterns_algebra.core bands 3–4 of 10 |
|
| Measurement and units measurement.core bands 3–4 of 10 |
|
| Charts and averages statistics.core bands 1–2 of 10 |
|
| Chance and counting probability.core bands 1–2 of 10 |
|
| Shapes geometry.shapes bands 6–7 of 10 |
|
| Angles geometry.angles bands 3–4 of 10 |
|
| Number line number_sense.number_line bands 5–6 of 10 |
|
| Missing number number_sense.missing_number bands 4–5 of 10 |
|
| Rounding place_value.rounding bands 3–4 of 10 |
|
| Comparing fractions fractions.compare bands 1–2 of 10 |
|
| Elapsed time time.elapsed bands 3–4 of 10 |
|
| Coordinates geometry.coordinates bands 1–2 of 10 |
|
Age 9England: Year 5 · Australia: Year 4 · United States: Grade 4 · New Zealand: Year 5 · Singapore: Primary 3
| Topic | Questions this age actually gets |
|---|---|
| Tens and ones place_value.ones_tens bands 8–9 of 10 |
|
| Number bonds addition.number_bonds bands 9–10 of 10 |
|
| Addition addition.core bands 9–10 of 10 |
|
| Subtraction subtraction.core bands 9–10 of 10 |
|
| Multiplication multiplication.core bands 5–6 of 10 |
|
| Times tables multiplication.basic_facts bands 4–5 of 10 | No tool yet — this topic is mapped but cannot be practised. |
| Division division.core bands 4–5 of 10 |
|
| Money money.core bands 5–6 of 10 |
|
| Telling the time time.core bands 8–9 of 10 |
|
| Fraction arithmetic fractions.core bands 1–3 of 10 |
|
| Equivalent fractions fractions.equivalent bands 4–5 of 10 |
|
| Decimals decimals.core bands 3–4 of 10 |
|
| Area and perimeter geometry.area bands 3–4 of 10 |
|
| Percentages percentages.core bands 1–3 of 10 |
|
| Number patterns patterns_algebra.core bands 4–5 of 10 |
|
| Measurement and units measurement.core bands 4–5 of 10 |
|
| Charts and averages statistics.core bands 3–4 of 10 |
|
| Chance and counting probability.core bands 3–4 of 10 |
|
| Shapes geometry.shapes bands 8–9 of 10 |
|
| Angles geometry.angles bands 4–5 of 10 |
|
| Number line number_sense.number_line bands 7–8 of 10 |
|
| Missing number number_sense.missing_number bands 6–7 of 10 |
|
| Rounding place_value.rounding bands 4–5 of 10 |
|
| Comparing fractions fractions.compare bands 3–4 of 10 |
|
| Fractions, decimals and percentages fractions.decimal_percent bands 1–3 of 10 |
|
| Elapsed time time.elapsed bands 4–5 of 10 |
|
| Coordinates geometry.coordinates bands 3–4 of 10 |
|
| Order of operations patterns_algebra.order_of_operations bands 1–3 of 10 |
|
| Volume and capacity geometry.volume bands 1–2 of 10 |
|
Age 10England: Year 6 · Australia: Year 5 · United States: Grade 5 · New Zealand: Year 6 · Singapore: Primary 4
| Topic | Questions this age actually gets |
|---|---|
| Tens and ones place_value.ones_tens bands 9–10 of 10 |
|
| Multiplication multiplication.core bands 7–8 of 10 |
|
| Division division.core bands 6–8 of 10 |
|
| Money money.core bands 7–8 of 10 |
|
| Telling the time time.core bands 9–10 of 10 |
|
| Fraction arithmetic fractions.core bands 4–5 of 10 |
|
| Equivalent fractions fractions.equivalent bands 6–8 of 10 |
|
| Decimals decimals.core bands 5–6 of 10 |
|
| Area and perimeter geometry.area bands 5–6 of 10 |
|
| Percentages percentages.core bands 4–5 of 10 |
|
| Number patterns patterns_algebra.core bands 6–7 of 10 |
|
| Measurement and units measurement.core bands 6–7 of 10 |
|
| Charts and averages statistics.core bands 5–6 of 10 |
|
| Chance and counting probability.core bands 5–6 of 10 |
|
| Shapes geometry.shapes bands 9–10 of 10 |
|
| Angles geometry.angles bands 6–7 of 10 |
|
| Number line number_sense.number_line bands 8–9 of 10 |
|
| Missing number number_sense.missing_number bands 8–9 of 10 |
|
| Rounding place_value.rounding bands 6–7 of 10 |
|
| Comparing fractions fractions.compare bands 5–6 of 10 |
|
| Fractions, decimals and percentages fractions.decimal_percent bands 4–5 of 10 |
|
| Elapsed time time.elapsed bands 6–7 of 10 |
|
| Coordinates geometry.coordinates bands 5–6 of 10 |
|
| Algebra basics patterns_algebra.algebra bands 1–3 of 10 |
|
| Order of operations patterns_algebra.order_of_operations bands 4–5 of 10 |
|
| Ratio and proportion ratio.core bands 1–3 of 10 |
|
| Volume and capacity geometry.volume bands 3–4 of 10 |
|
Age 11England: Year 7 · Australia: Year 6 · United States: Grade 6 · New Zealand: Year 7 · Singapore: Primary 5
| Topic | Questions this age actually gets |
|---|---|
| Multiplication multiplication.core bands 9–10 of 10 |
|
| Division division.core bands 9–10 of 10 |
|
| Money money.core bands 9–10 of 10 |
|
| Fraction arithmetic fractions.core bands 6–8 of 10 |
|
| Equivalent fractions fractions.equivalent bands 9–10 of 10 |
|
| Decimals decimals.core bands 7–8 of 10 |
|
| Area and perimeter geometry.area bands 7–8 of 10 |
|
| Percentages percentages.core bands 6–8 of 10 |
|
| Number patterns patterns_algebra.core bands 8–9 of 10 |
|
| Measurement and units measurement.core bands 8–9 of 10 |
|
| Charts and averages statistics.core bands 7–8 of 10 |
|
| Chance and counting probability.core bands 7–8 of 10 |
|
| Angles geometry.angles bands 8–9 of 10 |
|
| Number line number_sense.number_line bands 9–10 of 10 |
|
| Missing number number_sense.missing_number bands 9–10 of 10 |
|
| Rounding place_value.rounding bands 8–9 of 10 |
|
| Comparing fractions fractions.compare bands 7–8 of 10 |
|
| Fractions, decimals and percentages fractions.decimal_percent bands 6–8 of 10 |
|
| Elapsed time time.elapsed bands 8–9 of 10 |
|
| Coordinates geometry.coordinates bands 7–8 of 10 |
|
| Algebra basics patterns_algebra.algebra bands 4–7 of 10 |
|
| Order of operations patterns_algebra.order_of_operations bands 6–8 of 10 |
|
| Ratio and proportion ratio.core bands 4–5 of 10 |
|
| Powers and roots number_sense.powers bands 1–3 of 10 |
|
| Volume and capacity geometry.volume bands 5–6 of 10 |
|
| Solving equations patterns_algebra.equations bands 1–3 of 10 |
|
Age 12England: Year 8 · Australia: Year 7 · United States: Grade 7 · New Zealand: Year 8 · Singapore: Primary 6
| Topic | Questions this age actually gets |
|---|---|
| Fraction arithmetic fractions.core bands 9–10 of 10 |
|
| Decimals decimals.core bands 9–10 of 10 |
|
| Area and perimeter geometry.area bands 9–10 of 10 |
|
| Percentages percentages.core bands 9–10 of 10 |
|
| Number patterns patterns_algebra.core bands 9–10 of 10 |
|
| Measurement and units measurement.core bands 9–10 of 10 |
|
| Charts and averages statistics.core bands 9–10 of 10 |
|
| Chance and counting probability.core bands 9–10 of 10 |
|
| Angles geometry.angles bands 9–10 of 10 |
|
| Rounding place_value.rounding bands 9–10 of 10 |
|
| Comparing fractions fractions.compare bands 9–10 of 10 |
|
| Fractions, decimals and percentages fractions.decimal_percent bands 9–10 of 10 |
|
| Elapsed time time.elapsed bands 9–10 of 10 |
|
| Coordinates geometry.coordinates bands 9–10 of 10 |
|
| Algebra basics patterns_algebra.algebra bands 8–10 of 10 |
|
| Order of operations patterns_algebra.order_of_operations bands 9–10 of 10 |
|
| Ratio and proportion ratio.core bands 6–8 of 10 |
|
| Powers and roots number_sense.powers bands 4–5 of 10 |
|
| Volume and capacity geometry.volume bands 7–8 of 10 |
|
| Pythagoras geometry.pythagoras bands 1–3 of 10 |
|
| Solving equations patterns_algebra.equations bands 4–5 of 10 |
|
| Trigonometry foundations geometry.trigonometry bands 1–3 of 10 |
|
Age 13England: Year 9 · Australia: Year 8 · United States: Grade 8 · New Zealand: Year 9 · Singapore: Secondary 1
| Topic | Questions this age actually gets |
|---|---|
| Ratio and proportion ratio.core bands 9–10 of 10 |
|
| Powers and roots number_sense.powers bands 6–8 of 10 |
|
| Volume and capacity geometry.volume bands 9–10 of 10 |
|
| Pythagoras geometry.pythagoras bands 4–7 of 10 |
|
| Solving equations patterns_algebra.equations bands 6–8 of 10 |
|
| Trigonometry foundations geometry.trigonometry bands 4–7 of 10 |
|
Age 14England: Year 10 · Australia: Year 9 · United States: Grade 9 · New Zealand: Year 10 · Singapore: Secondary 2
| Topic | Questions this age actually gets |
|---|---|
| Powers and roots number_sense.powers bands 9–10 of 10 |
|
| Pythagoras geometry.pythagoras bands 8–10 of 10 |
|
| Solving equations patterns_algebra.equations bands 9–10 of 10 |
|
| Trigonometry foundations geometry.trigonometry bands 8–10 of 10 |
|
Every topic, in one list
| Topic | Ages | Builds on | Tool? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Counting on number_sense.counting_forward | ages 4 to 6 | — | Not yet |
| Tens and ones place_value.ones_tens | ages 5 to 10 | number_sense.counting_forward | Yes |
| Number bonds addition.number_bonds | ages 5 to 9 | number_sense.counting_forward | Yes |
| Addition addition.core | ages 5 to 9 | addition.number_bonds, place_value.ones_tens | Yes |
| Subtraction subtraction.core | ages 5 to 9 | addition.core | Yes |
| Multiplication multiplication.core | ages 7 to 11 | addition.core | Yes |
| Times tables multiplication.basic_facts | ages 7 to 9 | multiplication.core | Not yet |
| Division division.core | ages 8 to 11 | multiplication.basic_facts | Yes |
| Recognising fractions fractions.recognise | ages 6 to 8 | division.core | Not yet |
| Money money.core | ages 7 to 11 | addition.core, subtraction.core | Yes |
| Telling the time time.core | ages 5 to 10 | multiplication.basic_facts, addition.core | Yes |
| Fraction arithmetic fractions.core | ages 9 to 12 | fractions.recognise, multiplication.basic_facts | Yes |
| Equivalent fractions fractions.equivalent | ages 8 to 11 | fractions.recognise, multiplication.basic_facts | Yes |
| Decimals decimals.core | ages 8 to 12 | place_value.ones_tens, addition.core | Yes |
| Area and perimeter geometry.area | ages 8 to 12 | multiplication.core | Yes |
| Percentages percentages.core | ages 9 to 12 | division.core, fractions.core | Yes |
| Number patterns patterns_algebra.core | ages 7 to 12 | addition.core, multiplication.core | Yes |
| Measurement and units measurement.core | ages 7 to 12 | place_value.ones_tens, multiplication.core | Yes |
| Charts and averages statistics.core | ages 8 to 12 | addition.core, division.core | Yes |
| Chance and counting probability.core | ages 8 to 12 | addition.core, multiplication.core | Yes |
| Shapes geometry.shapes | ages 5 to 10 | number_sense.counting_forward | Yes |
| Angles geometry.angles | ages 7 to 12 | geometry.shapes | Yes |
| Number line number_sense.number_line | ages 5 to 11 | number_sense.counting_forward | Yes |
| Missing number number_sense.missing_number | ages 6 to 11 | addition.core, subtraction.core | Yes |
| Rounding place_value.rounding | ages 7 to 12 | place_value.ones_tens, number_sense.number_line | Yes |
| Comparing fractions fractions.compare | ages 8 to 12 | fractions.recognise, fractions.equivalent | Yes |
| Fractions, decimals and percentages fractions.decimal_percent | ages 9 to 12 | fractions.equivalent, decimals.core, percentages.core | Yes |
| Elapsed time time.elapsed | ages 7 to 12 | time.core, addition.core | Yes |
| Coordinates geometry.coordinates | ages 8 to 12 | number_sense.number_line, geometry.shapes | Yes |
| Algebra basics patterns_algebra.algebra | ages 10 to 12 | patterns_algebra.core, number_sense.missing_number | Yes |
| Order of operations patterns_algebra.order_of_operations | ages 9 to 12 | multiplication.core, division.core | Yes |
| Ratio and proportion ratio.core | ages 10 to 13 | fractions.equivalent, division.core | Yes |
| Powers and roots number_sense.powers | ages 11 to 14 | multiplication.core, patterns_algebra.order_of_operations | Yes |
| Volume and capacity geometry.volume | ages 9 to 13 | geometry.area, multiplication.core | Yes |
| Pythagoras geometry.pythagoras | ages 12 to 14 | number_sense.powers, geometry.angles | Yes |
| Solving equations patterns_algebra.equations | ages 11 to 14 | patterns_algebra.algebra | Yes |
| Trigonometry foundations geometry.trigonometry | ages 12 to 14 | geometry.pythagoras, fractions.equivalent | Yes |
Sending it back
Mark up the printout, or note the topic id — the short code under each name, like place_value.rounding — and what you would change it to. An age range and a sentence of reasoning is plenty; we do not need it in any particular format. Disagreement about a single question is just as useful as disagreement about a placement.
The levels wording
School levels are a guide only. They show where a skill is usually taught in each country and are not taken from, aligned to, or endorsed by any curriculum authority. Your school may cover it earlier or later.