The AEIS
complete guide

Full name: Admissions Exercise for International Students. MOE runs it once a year. Two papers — English and Math. After the test, MOE assigns each candidate to a Singapore public school at a specific level, based on the score and the choices you submitted.

Because it's a placement tool, the word 'pass rate' is misleading — only about 10-20% of candidates actually land in the mainstream P3-S2 bands. The rest either get a lower-level placement, are deferred to S-AEIS in February, or need to replan entirely.

The most common trap for overseas families is treating AEIS like a competitive entrance exam — drilling for the highest possible score. That's the wrong frame. AEIS rewards *stable performance at the level you're targeting*. English 60 + Math 80 will usually place better than English 40 + Math 99.

Annual cadence: MOE publishes the year's rules in April-May. Registration opens June-July for about 4 weeks. Tests happen in September-October — English in the morning, Math in the afternoon. Results in November. S1 secondary posting finalizes by late December. Students enter school in January.

If you miss out or want a different level, S-AEIS in February is the second chance. Same rules, but the allowed levels are narrower (usually P2-P4, S1-S2). Results in April.

There's no universal 'how early to start' answer. Six months is the baseline — any less and English reading volume is hard to catch up. Twelve months is the comfort zone. Families with under three months should usually treat the October AEIS as a warm-up and target February's S-AEIS instead.

Required documents: passport, birth certificate (Chinese hukou is not directly accepted — needs notarized translation), recent school records (English and original language), proof of address, guardianship documents if not accompanied by parents. The full set typically takes 4-8 weeks to assemble, with cross-border notarized translation being the bottleneck.

Fees: roughly SGD 785-886 for the main AEIS (primary / secondary), paid via the e-services platform with credit card or PayNow. S-AEIS is the same. Non-refundable.

After submission, MOE returns an Exam Slip with the venue and exact timing. Tests are usually held in Singapore; satellite venues in other ASEAN cities open in some years — confirm on the current MOE notice.

Question types: at the primary level — vocabulary, grammar MCQ, cloze, comprehension, composition (picture-based or situational). Secondary mirrors the structure but at higher text difficulty, more abstract vocabulary, and writing tasks that demand a position + supporting argument.

The watershed is *vocabulary breadth + speed parsing complex sentences*. A comprehension question is not hard in itself, but if the passage contains 30 unknown words, even looking each up burns the clock. The most effective prep is not drilling — it's 30-60 minutes a day of English reading (newspapers, children's literature, original textbooks).

Writing is roughly 30% of the English score, yet it's where overseas children practice least. Start 6 months out, writing 1-2 short essays (200-300 words) per week with feedback. That beats cramming 10 essays in the final month.

Singapore math is built around *heuristics* — a systematic toolkit of problem-solving techniques: bar models, unitary method, working backwards, comparison, listing. AEIS math leans heavily on word problems that demand you *model the problem first*, then write the equation.

Overseas math training emphasizes computation speed. But AEIS doesn't ask for heavy computation — the breakthrough step is the modeling. A P5 student who can do long division may still freeze on 'Aaron has 3 times as many marbles as Ben; total is 80; how many does Ben have?' — because they've never been taught bar-model.

Core action: spend the first 3 months learning every heuristic type — bar model, working backwards, pattern recognition, guess-and-check. Each maps to 10-20 canonical problems; drill until it's muscle memory. Then run full mock papers for pacing.

12-month path (comfort zone): First 3 months build foundations — daily English reading + a full sweep of math heuristics. Months 4-6, start past papers. Months 7-9, run 2-3 full mocks per month. Months 10-12, gap-fill and mindset work. This is the rhythm most families should aim for.

6-month path (baseline): First 2 months are intensive foundation work, 2-3 hours/day. Months 3-5, past papers + mocks in parallel. Final month is sprint. This path assumes a strong starting English base (international-school background or established reading habit).

3-month path (compressed): Focus on math (heuristics can be picked up fast); English aims for 'don't lose ground' rather than improvement. This is a gamble path — the October AEIS is unlikely to fully land, so most families use it as a warm-up and target February's S-AEIS. Parents need steady nerves.

Week 1 (D-30 to D-23): Full diagnostic week. Run two full mock papers under exam conditions, grade them properly. Identify 3-5 recurring weak spots — those are the focus of the rest of the sprint.

Week 2 (D-22 to D-15): Targeted weakness week. Drill the gaps identified. You can still pick up a single new technique (one heuristic, say), but stop expanding scope.

Week 3 (D-14 to D-8): Pacing week. One past paper per day, lightly graded — the goal is to keep attention and rhythm at exam intensity.

Week 4 (D-7 to D-1): State week. No new papers, only mistake-log review. Regular sleep, 30 min/day exercise, parents stop discussing scores.

Final 24 hours: one pass through the 'exam-day checklist' (ID, stationery, venue route, contingency plan) — then put it down.

Results in November: MOE sends each candidate a letter with the placement — level + school + reporting date. Some land at a non-preferred school; there's a 1-2 week appeal window, but success rate is under 10%.

Dec-Jan school reporting + LTVP visa: Once you have the school letter, file the mother's accompanying-parent pass (LTVP) immediately. Required: school letter + financial proof + medical report. Issued in 2-4 weeks typically. The Singapore school year starts in January — everything must be in place before then.

If unplaced: Two paths. Either retake at S-AEIS in February (same rules, narrower allowed levels — works if your child was close to the line and 3 more months can close it). Or move to an international / private school, or return home and re-prep for next year's AEIS.

Easy-to-miss step: After the school letter, check whether your housing falls within the 1 km / 2 km zone of that school — it affects future P1 sibling priority. Also build in 1-2 weeks of settle-in time before the official term starts.