January 26, 2026
SINGAPORE – The answers to a prestigious US mathematics competition popular among Singapore students were leaked and listed for sale on e-commerce and social media platforms.
Answers to the American Mathematics Competition (AMC) 8 test were made available on several Chinese e-commerce sites, and at least one social media platform, reported Chinese-language daily Lianhe Zaobao.
The answers to the test – held from Jan 22 to Jan 30 in the US – were priced at 100 yuan (S$19) on one e-commerce platform, according to a screengrab obtained by Lianhe Zaobao.
It is unclear when the answers were put up for sale.
In Singapore, several tuition centres arrange for students to take the test.
The test scores can be used in applications for Direct School Admission (DSA) – an exercise in which pupils can gain admission to selected secondary schools before taking the PSLE.
Each year, more than 30,000 students aged 14 and below take the AMC 8 test worldwide.
It comprises 25 multiple-choice questions with a 40-minute time limit. It must be completed without the use of a calculator.
The questions are crafted to prioritise mathematical thinking and logical reasoning over pure mathematical calculations, according to the AMC website.
Other versions of the test – for instance AMC 10, also for students 14 and below, and AMC 12 for students aged 18 and below – are compulsory in the US for students who wish to take part in the International Mathematical Olympiad.
The tests are also often a key component in foreign student applications to some American universities.
The AMC 8 test and its variants have been offered in Singapore for more than 20 years.
A student who is able to correctly answer 17 or 18 of the 25 questions is believed to fall in the top 5 per cent worldwide, said Ms Zhou Xiuping, the organiser of AMC 8 in Singapore and South-east Asia, excluding Philippines.
She told Lianhe Zaobao that answers to the tests were leaked in previous years. To prevent this, organisers have attempted to tweak questions slightly in each region, for instance, by rearranging the order of multiple-choice answers.
She added that despite such efforts, it remains difficult to eliminate entirely the leakage of test answers.
In 2026, two local schools participated in the AMC 8 as part of the Integrated Programme, which offers students a pathway from Secondary 1 to junior college without sitting the O-level exams. Other local participants are from international schools and tuition centres.
About 2,000 students in Singapore registered to take the AMC 10 and AMC 12 tests in November 2025.
The Straits Times has contacted official test centres in Singapore for further details.