Give your third grader the confidence to succeed on the Iowa Grade 3 Math state test.
This Smart Stars practice book provides five full-length, standards-aligned practice tests that mirror the format and item mix of the Iowa Statewide Assessment of Student Progress (ISASP) Mathematics test. Every question was written by experienced educators, reviewed for accuracy, and built around the Iowa Academic Standards for Mathematics for Grade 3.
The ISASP is given each spring to Iowa students in Grades 3-8, and again in high school, in English language arts, mathematics, and science. It is authored by Iowa Testing Programs at the University of Iowa, delivered online by Pearson, and overseen by the Iowa Department of Education. The Grade 3 Math test is computer-adaptive and item-based: it is scored on questions rather than on fixed units, so no two students see exactly the same form. A student answers 48 questions in all: 42 that count toward the score, plus 6 embedded field-test questions the state is trying out for future tests, which look exactly like the scored ones but do not count. This book is built to that same test-day experience: 48 questions per test, 42 that count plus 6 field-test-style questions blended in and not marked: so your student practices the complete range of question types, math skills, and reporting domains they could meet on test day. At Grade 3 there is no calculator and no reference sheet on the real test.
What’s inside
- Five full-length practice tests, with detailed Answers and Explanations after every test
- The real adaptive, item-based ISASP experience: 48 questions per test (42 scored plus 6 field-test-style), with no separate Performance Task, just like the real exam
- Coverage of every Grade 3 math standard across the five reporting domains the ISASP scores: Operations and Algebraic Thinking; Number and Operations in Base Ten; Number and Operations: Fractions; Measurement and Data; and Geometry
- Practice in every item format: multiple choice, multiple select, fill-in-the-blank and equation answers, two-part questions, open-response “explain your thinking” questions, number lines, picture graphs, bar graphs, line plots, and figure-based questions
- Every explanation gives a full worked solution plus a labeled Strategy and a Tip, Check, or Estimate, so students learn the reasoning, not just the answer
- A graduated set of tests that step up in difficulty from Test 1 to Test 5, so students build steadily toward the hardest grade-level problems
- Real-world Iowa contexts throughout: the Mississippi River, the Iowa prairie, sweet corn and orchard farms, goldfinches, the state capitol, science olympiads, recycling centers, and more
- A Grade 3 Math Study Reference Sheet to learn and review between tests (the state does not provide one on test day)
- A combined Quick Answer Key at the back of the book, with a worked answer for every one of the 48 questions on each test
- A family letter that explains the ISASP performance levels and where Grade 3 Proficient begins, so you can turn a practice score into an estimated level (Not Yet Proficient, Proficient, or Advanced)
- A test-taking tips section for students
- No-calculator practice throughout, matching the official Grade 3 policy
Topics covered
- Place value to thousands, and reading and writing whole numbers within 1,000
- Rounding whole numbers to the nearest ten and hundred
- Addition and subtraction within 1,000, including regrouping
- Multiplication and division within 100, using equal groups, arrays, and area
- Multiplying one-digit numbers by multiples of ten
- The relationship between multiplication and division, including unknown-factor problems
- Two-step and multi-step word problems using the four operations and judging whether an answer is reasonable
- Number and shape patterns and arithmetic rules, such as odd and even and the properties of operations
- Fractions as numbers: unit fractions and locating fractions on a number line, including fractions greater than 1
- Equivalent fractions, and comparing and ordering fractions with the same numerator or the same denominator
- Telling time to the nearest minute and finding elapsed time, including across the hour and working backward to a start time
- Liquid volume and mass in grams, kilograms, and liters
- Area and perimeter, including composite (L-shaped) figures, finding a missing side, and comparing two areas
- Reading and interpreting scaled picture graphs, bar graphs, and line plots, and judging which questions a graph can answer
- Classifying quadrilaterals and partitioning shapes into equal parts and unit fractions
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 ISASP format, computer-adaptive item-based structure, item mix, and policy (no calculator and no reference sheet at Grade 3).
- Built for Iowa. Aligned to the Iowa Academic Standards for Mathematics, and organized around the same five reporting domains the ISASP scores.
- Explanations teach the why. Every Answers and Explanations entry gives a full worked solution, then a labeled Strategy and a Tip, Check, or Estimate, so students learn the move, not just the answer.
- Varied and graduated. Slot positions, contexts, names, and number choices rotate test-to-test, and the five tests step up in difficulty so no two feel like the same practice run.