Give your third grader the confidence to succeed on the Wisconsin Forward Exam in Grade 3 Math.
This Smart Stars practice book provides five full-length, standards-aligned practice tests that mirror the length, item mix, and question types of the real Forward Exam spring assessment in Mathematics. Every question was written by experienced educators, reviewed for accuracy, and built around the Wisconsin Standards for Mathematics (2021 revision) at Grade 3, so the topics and emphasis match what Wisconsin students actually see.
Take a look inside
The Forward Exam is the test the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction gives to every public-school student in Grades 3-8 in English language arts and mathematics. On the test a student answers about 46 scored questions, with a few unscored field-test questions mixed in invisibly. Each practice test here follows that same shape — 46 scored-style questions plus 5 field-test-style questions, 51 in all, for 255 questions across the book — to build true test-day endurance.
What’s inside
- Five full-length practice tests, with detailed Answers and Explanations after every test
- Coverage of every Grade 3 math reporting category the Forward Exam scores — Operations & Algebraic Thinking, Number & Operations in Base Ten, Number & Operations — Fractions, Measurement & Data, and Geometry — weighted toward Operations & Algebraic Thinking (multiplication, division, and two-step problems), which carries the most questions, just like the real blueprint
- Field-test-style questions blended invisibly into each test, just like the real Forward Exam, and fully answered here so nothing on test day feels unfamiliar
- A combined Quick Answer Key after each test for fast self-grading
Topics covered
- Place value, and rounding whole numbers to the nearest ten and hundred, including standard and expanded form
- Adding and subtracting whole numbers within 1,000, with and without regrouping, and two-step add/subtract problems
- Understanding multiplication and division through arrays, equal groups, repeated addition, and number lines, and the way multiplication and division undo each other
- Multiplication and division facts within 100, multiplying one-digit numbers by multiples of ten, and “times as many” comparison
- Two-step word problems and identifying arithmetic patterns
- Fractions as numbers: unit fractions, fractions of a whole and of a set, fractions on a number line, equivalent fractions, whole numbers written as fractions, and comparing and ordering fractions with the same numerator or the same denominator (halves, thirds, fourths, sixths, and eighths)
- Perimeter of polygons, including finding an unknown side and composite (L-shaped) figures
- Area of a rectangle by tiling with unit squares and by multiplying side lengths, including composite rectangles
- Measuring length to the nearest half inch, quarter inch, and centimeter
- Telling and writing time to the minute, and finding elapsed time
Why parents and teachers choose Smart Stars
- Educator-authored: Every question is written and reviewed by classroom-experienced educators.
- Mirrors test day: Each practice test matches the official Forward Exam shape, item mix, question formats, and no-calculator, no-reference-sheet policy, with field-test questions blended in invisibly just like the real test.
- Explanations teach the why: Every Answers and Explanations entry shows the full worked solution, then a labeled closing Tip, Check, or Estimate (and a Strategy on multi-step problems) so students learn the reasoning.
