The Ministry exam in mathematics is a single compulsory assessment that students must complete in Secondary 4. The exam will differ depending on the student's pathway.
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Cultural, Social and Technical (CST)
The following links are very useful when preparing for the Ministry exam.
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Here are 2 review videos for the Ministry exam.
See the following Crash Courses to review a particular subject.
During the exam, even if you're not sure of the answer, it's very important to answer all the questions. Simply put, randomly answering a question is a better strategy than not answering it at all.
In addition, you should never erase your work if you do not intend to write anything else. It's better to leave something incomplete than to leave no trace at all.
The following material is permitted during the examination:
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Memory aid
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Calculator (with or without graphic display)
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Ruler, set square, compass, protractor and graph paper
Memory aid
There are a number of guidelines to follow when creating your memory aid for the Ministry exam:
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It must be written on one sheet of letter-size paper |\left(8\dfrac{1}{2}\times11\right)\!.|
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It can be written on both sides of the sheet of paper (double-sided).
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It must be written only by hand.
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It must include the student’s name.
Electronic devices
Here are the instructions for electronic devices:
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It is forbidden to share your calculator with another student.
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It is forbidden to use a calculator with formal calculation software or an alphanumeric keyboard.
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It is forbidden to store data or programs in the calculator's memory. It's therefore important to know how to reset it.
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It is forbidden to have a computer, tablet, organizer, cell phone or smartwatch in your possession.
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During the exam, if an electronic device rings, vibrates or is visible in any way, the student will be excluded from the exam and it will be considered cheating.
The Secondary 4 mathematics exam for the Cultural, Social and Technical (CST) pathway lasts 3 hours officially. If needed, an additional 15-minute period may be granted, for a maximum duration of 3 hours and 15 minutes.
The exam can be taken at 3 different times during the year: in January, June and August. The exam result counts for 50% of the Uses Mathematical Reasoning competency.
The marks accumulated on the Secondary 4 Ministry exam (CST) are distributed approximately according to the following three fields:
- Geometry: between 46% and 54% of the exam
- Algebra: between 28% and 36% of the exam
- Probability and Statistics: between 12% and 20% of the exam
Note: This breakdown was for the 2025 — 2026 exam and may be subject to change.
The Ministry exam is composed of 16 questions that are divided into 3 sections. The breakdown of the types of questions and the points allocated is presented in the table below.
| Section | Type | Number of questions | Points per question | Total number of points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | Multiple-Choice Questions | 6 | 4 | 24 |
| B | Short-Answer Questions | 4 | 4 | 16 |
| C | Situations Involving Applications | 6 | 10 | 60 |
- Sections A and B are designed to assess the mastery of mathematical concepts and processes. For these sections, only the answer is graded.
- Section C contains application situations that require mathematical explanation. It is important to provide clear evidence of one's approach and to explain one's reasoning, because both the answer and the approach are corrected.
- The sections can be completed in any order.
The application situations in Section C are divided into 2 categories:
| Category I | Category II |
|---|---|
| The student must elaborate and use mathematical reasoning. | The student has to identify and apply a model, prove an assertion or formulate a conjecture. |
For the Cultural, Social and Technical (CST) pathway, Section C of the exam contains 5 Category I questions and 1 Category II question.