Built to feel like test day: Written to teach the why behind every answer.
This book gives your third grader five full-length practice tests for California’s CAASPP Smarter Balanced Grade 3 Mathematics exam — 150 items in all, written and reviewed by educators and aligned line-for-line to the California Common Core State Standards for Mathematics at Grade 3.
Take a look inside
Every test mirrors what your child will see on CAASPP test day: a 24-item Computer-Adaptive Test (CAT) followed by a 6-item Performance Task scenario, the untimed two-part structure, the no-calculator rule, the no-reference-sheet rule, and the technology-enhanced item formats — multiple-choice, multi-select (“Select all that apply”), equation-input keypad, fraction-model questions, line plots, and geometric figures.
About the Performance Task: The CAASPP Grade 3 Math test includes a real-world Performance Task in addition to the Computer-Adaptive portion. Each practice test in this book includes its own unique Performance Task scenario (Class Pet Race, Apple Orchard Field Trip, School Field Day, Lemonade Stand for the Animal Shelter, Beach Tide Pool) so your child practices the multistep reasoning, modeling, and short-answer explanation skills the real PT demands.
What’s inside
- 5 complete 30-item practice tests (150 items total) — 24 CAT items + 6 PT items each
- Two untimed parts per test: Part 1 (CAT items 1–24), Part 2 (Performance Task items 25–30)
- Step-by-step explanations for every question, with a labeled Strategy or Tip on every item
- Difficulty steps up about 15 percent per test, from baseline Grade 3 work to capstone multistep reasoning by Test 5
- All three Smarter Balanced reporting categories covered: Concepts & Procedures (Claim 1), Problem Solving & Modeling/Data Analysis (Claims 2+4, combined on the score report), Communicating Reasoning (Claim 3)
- Parent letter with pacing guide, must-know Grade 3 skills, and test-taking tips
- A combined 150-item Quick Answer Key at the back
Topics covered
- Place value to the thousands; rounding to the nearest 10 and 100
- Addition and subtraction within 1,000 using the standard algorithm
- Single-digit multiplication and division facts through 10 × 10 — fluency from memory
- Multiplying one-digit numbers by multiples of 10 (e.g., 6 × 70)
- Equal groups, arrays, and multistep word problems with all four operations
- Patterns in arithmetic and properties of operations
- Fractions on a number line; equivalent fractions; comparing fractions
- Whole numbers expressed as fractions (4 = 4/1)
- Time to the nearest minute and elapsed time within the hour
- Mass (kilograms) and liquid volume (liters) word problems
- Scaled bar graphs, pictographs, and line plots in halves and quarters of an inch
- Area as repeated addition and as multiplication; perimeter of polygons
- Classification of quadrilaterals (rhombus, rectangle, square)
- Partitioning shapes into equal parts and naming unit fractions
Why parents and teachers choose Smart Stars
- Written and reviewed by experienced educators — not generic test-prep authors
- Every question mirrors what students see on the CAASPP — we study the Smarter Balanced Item Specifications, Performance Level Descriptors, and Practice Test Scoring Guides
- The deepest answer explanations in third-grade test prep — explanations teach reasoning, not just the letter
- Difficulty steps up about 15 percent per test, so every test feels fresh and progressively more demanding
- Authentic Performance Task scenarios built into every test for true test-day fidelity
