Grades 7-8 paper · Math Kangaroo 2027
Math Kangaroo
grade 7 practice
Seventh grade moves your child onto the Math Kangaroo grades 7-8 paper. The format is the same as the last two years, 30 questions in 75 minutes for up to 120 points, but the problems now expect early algebra, and your child sits them alongside eighth graders while being ranked against seventh graders only.
Math Kangaroo 2027 for a grade 7 student
| What | Grade 7 |
|---|---|
| Competition day | Thursday, March 18, 2027 |
| Paper your child sits | Grades 7-8 (Math Kangaroo USA “Levels 7 & 8”) |
| Ranked against | 7th graders only, nationally and by state |
| Questions and time | 30 multiple-choice questions in 75 minutes, about 2 and a half minutes each |
| Points | 10 questions each worth 3, 4 and 5 points; top score 120; nothing lost for a wrong answer |
| Calculators | Not allowed |
| Level rule | Your child sits the level for their school grade; a lower level is not allowed |
| Regular registration | September 15 to December 31, 2026 ($20 per student) |
| Late registration | January 1 to February 1, 2027 ($35 per student) |
Source: Math Kangaroo USA's scoring rules, registration page, logistics page and 2027 host letter, checked October 21, 2026. Internationally, the Kangourou sans Frontières association's regulations call roughly this age band Cadet, though each country groups its levels its own way.
Where grade 7 sits on the grades 7-8 paper
The step up this year is in the ideas, not the format. Many problems in our grade 7 papers need an unknown written down, a percentage applied twice, or a fact about shapes used to save work.
As the younger year on the paper, a seventh grader will meet some eighth-grade ideas. Rankings are by single grade, with the top 20 nationally and the top 3 per state listed at each grade.
No calculators or phones are allowed, so the numbers on these papers are chosen to work by hand. If the arithmetic is getting huge, there is usually a better route.
The 8th grade page covers the other year on this paper: Math Kangaroo grade 8 practice.
How scoring works on the grades 7-8 paper
| Question value | How many | Points available |
|---|---|---|
| 3 points each | 10 | 30 |
| 4 points each | 10 | 40 |
| 5 points each | 10 | 50 |
| Whole paper | 30 | 120 |
A grade 7 student who answers every 3- and 4-point question correctly and misses all 10 of the 5-point ones scores 70 out of 120. Each 5-point question is worth about 4.2% of the top score, so the 5-point third of the paper carries the most weight. A wrong answer costs nothing, so a blank is never better than a guess.
Results are ranked among 7th graders only. The top 20 scores nationally and the top 3 in each state are listed, students who tie on the top score all rank first, and the percentile shows the share of 7th graders, in the state and in the country, who scored lower.
Math Kangaroo USA's own practice for this level includes online past exams by year and practice sets sorted by point value (3-point, 4-point and 5-point questions), plus PDF exams and written solutions going back to 1998. Find them on its grades 7-8 practice page.
Two grade 7 practice problems
Written by us in the Kangaroo style, five answer choices each. Try them before opening the answer.
A price goes up by 20%, and then the new price goes down by 20%. Compared with the original price, the final price is:
- (A) the same
- (B) 4% lower
- (C) 4% higher
- (D) 20% lower
- (E) 40% lower
Show answer
4% lower. Try a price of 100 dollars. Up 20% makes 120. Down 20% of 120 is 24 dollars off, which leaves 96. That is 4% below where it started. "The same" is the trap: the two 20% changes are taken from different amounts.
How many diagonals does an octagon (an 8-sided shape) have?
- (A) 8
- (B) 16
- (C) 20
- (D) 28
- (E) 40
Show answer
20. Each corner joins to 5 others by a diagonal, because it cannot join to itself or its two neighbours. That gives 8 x 5 = 40, but every diagonal has been counted from both ends, so there are 20. Forgetting to halve gives the trap 40.
What our grade 7 papers ask
Our five grade 7 papers are our own, hand-written on the SOF olympiad blueprint rather than the Kangaroo format: 50 questions for 60 marks in 60 minutes, ending with 5 Achievers questions worth 3 marks each. The thinking carries across. Across the five papers you will find:
- Sharing in a ratio, such as 2 to 3 to 5 when the largest share is 900 dollars more than the smallest.
- Area, perimeter and volume set up with an unknown: a rectangle 5 cm longer than it is wide, a cube from its surface area.
- Difference of two squares and products of consecutive odd numbers.
- Divisibility tests, for example a three-digit multiple of 11.
- Relative speed of two trains, and tanks that fill and drain at once.
- Counting with overlaps, parity, and winning strategies in take-away games.
Every answer is explained, and every wrong option names the mistake that leads to it. For the official grades 7-8 past papers, go to mathkangaroo.org.
A practice plan for grade 7
- Practise writing one unknown and one equation quickly. Many grades 7-8 problems are a short equation in disguise.
- Sit full papers under the real 75 minutes, our grade 7 papers and the official grades 7-8 past papers on mathkangaroo.org.
- For every question taking more than 4 minutes, look for the shortcut in the explanation afterwards. That habit is what the 5-point questions reward.
Grade 7 Math Kangaroo questions parents ask
What level of Math Kangaroo does a seventh grader take?
Seventh graders take the grades 7-8 paper. Math Kangaroo USA titles its practice materials "Grades 7-8 (Levels 7 & 8)". It has 30 questions, takes 75 minutes and has a top score of 120.
Can you use a calculator on Math Kangaroo?
No. Calculators and smart phones are not allowed at any level.
When is Math Kangaroo 2027?
Thursday, March 18, 2027. Regular registration closes December 31, 2026; late registration runs to February 1, 2027.
Can a seventh grader take Math Kangaroo from home?
Math Kangaroo USA lists five options: a paper test at a school or center, an online test there, an online test at home managed by a center, a remote test sent to the home, and a self-proctored virtual test. The virtual option gives a real score and a ranking range but no official ranking or awards. As of October 21, 2026, the registration page shows remote and virtual registration for 2027 as closed, with in-person and online centers open.