Free Practice Questions for Eritrea Grade 8 National Examination

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Exam pass rate: 60% of the 65,876 candidates who sat the 2025/26 examination earned passing marks (68.8% in 2024/25; 50% in 2021/22)

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Key Facts: Eritrea Grade 8 National Examination Exam

Compulsory subjects: Mathematics, English, Civic Education, Science

Ministry of Education, via Eritrea Ministry of Information

68,197

Candidates registered for the 2025/26 examination

Ministry of Education, via Eritrea Ministry of Information

60%

Share of the 65,876 candidates who passed in 2025/26

Ministry of Education, via Eritrea Ministry of Information

535

Examination centres used in the 2025/26 sitting

Ministry of Education, via Eritrea Ministry of Information

Grade 9

Secondary school level the examination gives entry to

Eritrea Ministry of Information, national curriculum overview

The Eritrea Grade 8 National Examination is the compulsory basic education leaving examination run by the Ministry of Education across all six zobas. In the 2025/26 cycle, 68,197 candidates registered at 535 centres, the papers were sat from 3 to 5 June 2026, and 60% of the 65,876 who sat earned passing marks. It covers four subjects — Mathematics, English Language, Civic Education, and Science — and is set in English, the medium of instruction from Grade 6 onward. This free practice bank is an English-language multiple-choice study aid built from the national curriculum; the Ministry does not publish the official paper format.

Sample Eritrea Grade 8 National Examination Practice Questions

Try these sample questions to review concepts for the Eritrea Grade 8 National Examination exam. Each question includes a detailed explanation. Start the interactive quiz above for the full 105+ question experience with AI tutoring.

1What is the greatest common factor (GCF) of 48 and 72?

A.24

B.12

C.8

D.144

Explanation: Prime factorization of 48 is 2^4 * 3, and prime factorization of 72 is 2^3 * 3^2. The greatest common factor takes the lowest power of each common prime factor: 2^3 * 3 = 8 * 3 = 24.

2What is the least common multiple (LCM) of 12, 15, and 20?

A.60

B.120

C.30

D.300

Explanation: Find the prime factorizations: 12 = 2^2 * 3, 15 = 3 * 5, and 20 = 2^2 * 5. The LCM takes the highest power of each prime factor present: 2^2 * 3 * 5 = 4 * 3 * 5 = 60.

3What is the result of evaluating (-18) + (-14) - (-25)?

A.-7

B.-57

C.7

D.-32

Explanation: First, sum the negative numbers: (-18) + (-14) = -32. Subtracting a negative number is equivalent to adding its positive: -32 - (-25) = -32 + 25 = -7.

4Simplify the fraction 84 / 126 to its lowest terms.

A.2/3

B.4/6

C.3/4

D.7/9

Explanation: Divide both numerator and denominator by their greatest common factor, which is 42: 84 / 42 = 2, and 126 / 42 = 3. Therefore, the simplified fraction in lowest terms is 2/3.

5Calculate: (3/4 + 2/5) / (7/10).

A.23/14

B.1/2

C.5/9

D.23/20

Explanation: First, find the sum in the numerator by using the common denominator 20: 3/4 = 15/20, and 2/5 = 8/20. So 15/20 + 8/20 = 23/20. Dividing by 7/10 is equivalent to multiplying by its reciprocal 10/7: (23/20) * (10/7) = (23 * 1) / (2 * 7) = 23/14.

6A farmer harvested 450 kg of sorghum. If 30% of the harvest was kept for family consumption and the rest was sold at the market, how many kilograms of sorghum were sold?

A.315 kg

B.135 kg

C.350 kg

D.270 kg

Explanation: If 30% was kept for consumption, then 100% - 30% = 70% was sold. Calculating 70% of 450 kg: 0.70 * 450 = 315 kg. Alternatively, 30% of 450 = 135 kg kept, and 450 - 135 = 315 kg sold.

7The ratio of boys to girls in a Grade 8 class is 5 : 7. If there are 35 girls in the class, what is the total number of students in the class?

A.60 students

B.25 students

C.70 students

D.50 students

Explanation: Let the common ratio multiplier be x. The number of girls is 7x = 35, which gives x = 5. The number of boys is 5x = 5(5) = 25. The total number of students is boys + girls = 25 + 35 = 60 students.

8If 6 identical water pumps can fill an irrigation reservoir in 8 hours, how many hours will it take 4 of these pumps to fill the same reservoir at the same rate?

A.12 hours

B.5.3 hours

C.10 hours

D.16 hours

Explanation: This is an inverse proportion problem: the number of pumps multiplied by time is constant. Total pump-hours required = 6 pumps * 8 hours = 48 pump-hours. With 4 pumps: Time = 48 pump-hours / 4 pumps = 12 hours.

9What is the value of the algebraic expression 3x^2 - 4xy + 2y when x = 3 and y = -2?

A.47

B.51

C.-1

D.29

Explanation: Substitute x = 3 and y = -2: 3(3)^2 - 4(3)(-2) + 2(-2) = 3(9) - 4(-6) + (-4) = 27 + 24 - 4 = 47.

10Solve the linear equation for x: 5x - 8 = 2x + 13.

A.x = 7

B.x = 5

C.x = 21/7

D.x = -7

Explanation: Subtract 2x from both sides: 5x - 2x - 8 = 13, which gives 3x - 8 = 13. Add 8 to both sides: 3x = 13 + 8 = 21. Divide by 3: x = 21 / 3 = 7.

About the Eritrea Grade 8 National Examination Exam

The Eritrea Grade 8 National Examination, announced officially as the Eighth-Grade National Examination, is the standardized exit assessment for the basic education cycle. Administered nationwide by the Ministry of Education, it tests Mathematics, English Language, Civic Education, and Science to certify completion of basic education and determine which students proceed to secondary school at Grade 9.

Exam sponsor: Evaluation and National Examinations Unit, Ministry of Education (Eritrea). The requirements and fees below concern the certification or admission exam, separate from our free practice resources.

Assessment

Paper-based examination covering four subjects — Mathematics, English Language, Civic Education, and Science — sat over three consecutive days in June. The 2025/26 sitting ran from 3 to 5 June 2026 at 535 centres, including centres at the Rehabilitation and Prison Service, at schools for visually and hearing-impaired students, at the Eritrean community schools in Riyadh and Jeddah, and at Kassala in Sudan.

Time Limit

Not published per paper; the examination is sat over three consecutive days

Passing Score

The Ministry of Education reports candidates as having earned passing marks or not and does not publish the numeric cut-off; students scoring 90 points and above are recognised nationally as outstanding

Exam / Certification Fees

No candidate examination fee is published by the Ministry of Education

Exam sponsor website

Reported exam pass rate: 60% of the 65,876 candidates who sat the 2025/26 examination earned passing marks (68.8% in 2024/25; 50% in 2021/22). Pass rates vary sharply by zoba and by centre. In 2025/26, 100% of candidates sitting in Sudan and 99% of those sitting in Saudi Arabia earned passing marks, well above the national average. Figures come from Ministry of Education announcements published by the Eritrean Ministry of Information. This describes exam candidates, not OpenExamPrep users or results from using our resources. Exam sponsor website

Fees, eligibility, and exam policies can change. Confirm them with the exam sponsor before applying or paying.

Official sources

Our practice resources: topics covered

We aim to reflect publicly available exam outlines and topic information in our study resources. Coverage, format, and difficulty may differ from the actual exam, and we cannot guarantee that every detail is accurate or current. Confirm exam requirements, fees, and policies with the official exam sponsor.

One of four examined papers

Mathematics

Fractions, decimals, percentages, ratios, linear equations and inequalities, indices, geometry, perimeter, area, volume, and basic data analysis.

One of four examined papers

English Language

Grammar, tense usage, prepositions, punctuation, sentence structure, contextual vocabulary, and reading comprehension.

One of four examined papers

Civic Education

Citizenship rights and duties, national symbols and holidays, the liberation struggle, community courts and customary law, and Eritrea's regions, resources, and administrative structure.

One of four examined papers

Science

Living cells, organ systems, classification and states of matter, chemical and physical change, energy, forces and simple machines, and ecosystems.

Preparing for the Eritrea Grade 8 National Examination Exam

What You Need to Know

Passing score: The Ministry of Education reports candidates as having earned passing marks or not and does not publish the numeric cut-off; students scoring 90 points and above are recognised nationally as outstanding
Assessment: Paper-based examination covering four subjects — Mathematics, English Language, Civic Education, and Science — sat over three consecutive days in June. The 2025/26 sitting ran from 3 to 5 June 2026 at 535 centres, including centres at the Rehabilitation and Prison Service, at schools for visually and hearing-impaired students, at the Eritrean community schools in Riyadh and Jeddah, and at Kassala in Sudan.
Time limit: Not published per paper; the examination is sat over three consecutive days
Exam / certification fees: No candidate examination fee is published by the Ministry of Education Official sources

Using Our Practice Resources

Work through all 105 available questions
Review every answer and explanation
Track weak areas and revisit them
Use our AI tutor for tough concepts

Eritrea Grade 8 National Examination: Suggested Study Strategy

1Work through the national Grade 7 and Grade 8 Ministry of Education textbooks, since the papers are set directly from that curriculum.

2Give mathematics extra time: it has repeatedly recorded the lowest national mean score of the four papers.

3Read English comprehension passages closely to build academic vocabulary, and practise civic education topics such as national symbols, holidays, rights and duties, and Eritrea's regions.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the purpose of the Eritrea Grade 8 National Examination?

It certifies completion of the basic education cycle, gives the Ministry of Education a national measure of education quality, and serves as the entrance examination for secondary school at Grade 9.

What subjects are tested on the Grade 8 exam?

Four compulsory subjects: Mathematics, English Language, Civic Education, and Science. This is the subject list the Ministry of Education announced for both the 2024/25 and 2025/26 sittings.

What language is used on the examination papers?

English. Eritrean pupils learn in their mother tongue through elementary school, and English becomes the medium of instruction from middle level (Grade 6) onward, so all four papers are set in English.

How many questions are on the real exam?

The Ministry of Education does not publish an item count or item type for the papers, so no official figure exists. Our bank of 105 multiple-choice questions is a study aid, not a copy of an official paper.

Is there an examination fee?

No candidate examination fee is published by the Ministry of Education. Basic education in Eritrea is free and compulsory.

When and where is the examination held?

In June over three consecutive days — 3 to 5 June in 2026 and 11 to 13 June in 2025 — at centres across all six zobas, plus the Eritrean community schools in Riyadh and Jeddah in Saudi Arabia and in Kassala, Sudan.