Stage 8 Maths: The Tests and How to Prepare

British & IGCSE › Checkpoint 8 › Checkpoint 8 Maths — Complete Course

Written by Mohamed Abdelkriem for students in British and international schools and their parents. Read this page first: it explains the tests you will sit, how they are marked, and how to use the rest of the course.

Which test, and when?

The Cambridge Lower Secondary Checkpoint test in mathematics is taken at the end of Stage 9, not Stage 8. Since 2023 the Checkpoint test assesses the final stage only (Stage 9). It is set and marked by Cambridge, and the subject code is 0862. Stage 9 work builds directly on what you learn in Stage 8, so a strong Stage 8 year is the foundation for a good Checkpoint result.

In Stage 8 your school tests you, usually at the end of the year. Cambridge provides Lower Secondary Progression Tests for Stage 8 that schools can use: they are classroom tests, marked by your teachers in school, and they can be used at any time in the year. Your school may use them or write its own tests in the same style. This course prepares you for Stage 8 end-of-year tests in the Progression Test and Checkpoint style, and builds the base for Checkpoint in Stage 9.

The two papers

The Stage 8 Progression Tests and the Stage 9 Checkpoint test have the same shape: two papers, each 1 hour long and worth 50 marks. Paper 1 is non-calculator; on Paper 2 you may use a calculator.

50 marks in 60 minutes is about 72 seconds per mark (3600 ÷ 50 = 72). A [1] question should take about a minute; a [3] question about three or four minutes. If you are stuck, move on and come back.

What the cover tells you

• Answer all questions. There is no choice, so never leave a space empty — a sensible attempt can earn part marks.
• Write your answer in the space provided. Answers go on the answer line, often with the unit already printed after it (cm, kg, E£…).
• Show all your working. Working can earn marks even when the final answer is wrong.
• Marks are shown in brackets [ ]. [2] usually means two steps or two things to write.
• Pen and pencil. Checkpoint papers ask for a black or dark blue pen, with an HB pencil allowed for diagrams and graphs, and no erasable pen or correction fluid. Follow the instructions on your own school's paper.

Question styles you will meet

Recent papers have had no multiple-choice section. All questions are short-answer or structured questions written on the paper, often with parts (a), (b), (c) about one context. The styles below appear again and again — every lesson page in this course practises them.

Understanding the mark scheme

Teachers (for Progression Tests) and Cambridge examiners (for Checkpoint) mark with a mark scheme that has five columns: Question, Answer, Marks, Part marks, Guidance. These short words appear in the Guidance column. Knowing them shows you how to collect every mark.

Worked examples: how marks are given

Worked example 1 — part marks for working. Question: Work out 15% of 240. [2]

Worked example 2 — follow through. Question: (a) A pen costs E£12. Work out the cost of 7 pens. [1] (b) Omar pays for the 7 pens with a E£100 note. Work out his change. [1]

1. Correct: (a) 7 × 12 = 84, (b) 100 − 84 = 16. Two marks.
2. Suppose a student writes (a) 74 (wrong). In (b) they write 100 − 74 = 26. Part (b) still earns 1 mark (FT) because the method used their own answer correctly.
3. Lesson: never skip part (b) because you are unsure of part (a).

Worked example 3 — or equivalent. Question: Write 0.6 as a fraction. [1] Answers 6/10 and 3/5 both score (oe). But if the question said "in its simplest form", only 3/5 would score.

How results are reported

Progression Tests are marked by teachers in school. Cambridge gives guidance on what percentage of the marks matches each performance band. For the 2023/2024 Lower Secondary mathematics Progression Tests the minimum indicative percentages were:

Checkpoint (end of Stage 9) is marked by Cambridge. Raw marks are converted to a Checkpoint score from 0 to 50, reported for the subject and for each strand. The same bands are used:

Cambridge says that "Good" is about an IGCSE grade C/4 on average and "Outstanding" is about A/7. From 2026 Checkpoint is offered in three series — March, May and October — on dates fixed by Cambridge. A missed Checkpoint test cannot be taken on another day.

Thinking and Working Mathematically (TWM)

TWM is not a separate topic. It describes how a mathematician thinks, and the curriculum builds it into every strand, so it appears inside ordinary questions. There are eight characteristics, in four pairs:

In tests, TWM appears as words like "Explain", "Show that", "Is she correct?", "Give an example", "Which method is better and why?". One clear counter-example is enough to show that a statement is false; to show that something is always true you need a reason, not just examples.

How to use this course

The course follows the Stage 8 curriculum strand by strand. Every lesson page has the objectives with their codes, key words with Arabic meanings, diagrams, worked examples in test style, common mistakes, exam tips and an interactive practice quiz with full solutions. At the end there are three full practice tests in the two-paper format.

For each lesson page:

1. Read the "In the curriculum" box so you know the goal.
2. Copy the key words and rules into your notebook.
3. Cover each worked example, try it yourself, then compare your working line by line.
4. Do the practice quiz without help (no calculator unless the quiz says so), then read every solution — even for the ones you got right.
5. Write down your mistakes and redo those questions a week later.

A suggested year plan: work through about one lesson page a week in the order of the course (Number in the first term, Algebra and the first Geometry pages in the second, the rest of Geometry and Statistics and probability in the third). In the last three or four weeks before your end-of-year tests, do the three practice tests under timed conditions — 1 hour per paper — and revise the pages where you lost the most marks.

Practice

All pages in this course

Start here

• Stage 8 Maths: The Tests and How to Prepare

Number

• Order of Operations and Calculating with Integers
• Factors, Multiples, Primes, HCF and LCM
• Types of Number and Index Laws
• Squares, Cubes and Roots (Positive and Negative)
• Multiplying and Dividing by 0.1 and 0.01, and Significant Figures
• Fractions: Recurring Decimals, Mixed Numbers and Order of Operations
• Percentage Increase, Decrease and Absolute Change
• Ordering and Calculating with Decimals
• Ratio and Proportion

Algebra

• Algebraic Expressions: Simplifying, Expanding and Factorising
• Writing Expressions and Formulae, and Changing the Subject
• Equations and Inequalities
• Sequences and the nth Term
• Functions and Straight-line Graphs (y = mx + c)
• Reading and Interpreting Real-life Graphs

Geometry and measure

• Quadrilaterals and Regular Polygons
• Circumference of a Circle, and Miles and Kilometres
• Area of Parallelograms and Trapezia
• 3D Shapes: Euler's Formula and Plans and Elevations
• Volume of Prisms and Surface Area
• Angles in Triangles and on Parallel Lines
• Constructions with Ruler and Compasses
• Bearings and Midpoints
• Translation, Reflection, Rotation and Enlargement

Statistics and probability

• Data Collection and Sampling
• Representing Data
• Averages, Range and Comparing Distributions
• Probability: Complementary and Combined Events

Practice tests

• Stage 8 Maths — Practice Test 1
• Stage 8 Maths — Practice Test 2
• Stage 8 Maths — Practice Test 3