Built to feel like test day: Written to teach the why behind every answer.
This book gives your fourth grader five full-length practice tests for Connecticut’s Smarter Balanced Assessment (CT SBA) Grade 4 Mathematics exam — 130 items in all, written and reviewed by educators and aligned line-for-line to the Connecticut Core Standards for Mathematics at Grade 4.
Take a look inside
Every test mirrors what your child will see on CT SBA test day: a 20-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 TWO”), equation-input keypad, fraction-model questions, line plots, and geometric figures.
About the Performance Task: The CT SBA Grade 4 Math test includes a real-world Performance Task in addition to the Computer-Adaptive portion. Each practice test in this book includes its own Performance Task (Town Library Garden, School Spring Carnival, Town Marathon, Class Pet Adoption Fair, School Track and Field Day) so your child practices the multistep reasoning, modeling, and short-answer explanation skills that the real PT demands.
What’s inside
- 5 complete 26-item practice tests (130 items total) — 20 CAT items + 6 PT items each
- Two untimed parts per test: Part 1 (CAT items 1–20), Part 2 (Performance Task items 21–26)
- 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 4 work to capstone multistep reasoning by Test 5
- All three Smarter Balanced claim categories covered: Concepts & Procedures (Claim 1), Problem Solving & Modeling/Data Analysis (Claims 2+4, combined in CT reporting), Communicating Reasoning (Claim 3)
- Parent letter with pacing guide, must-memorize conversions list, and test-taking tips
- A combined 130-item Quick Answer Key at the back
Topics covered
- Place value to hundred-thousands; 10× place-value relationship; rounding to any place
- Multi-digit addition, subtraction, multiplication, and long division (with remainders)
- Multistep word problems and multiplicative comparison (“times as many”)
- Factors, multiples, prime, and composite numbers
- Equivalent fractions and comparing fractions with unlike denominators
- Add/subtract fractions and mixed numbers with regrouping; fraction × whole number
- Decimal notation for tenths and hundredths; comparing and ordering decimals
- Adding tenths and hundredths with a common denominator of 100
- Area and perimeter of rectangles
- Line plots in halves, quarters, and eighths
- Angle classification and angle measurement
- Customary and metric unit conversions (larger unit → smaller unit)
- Classify quadrilaterals and triangles; identify lines and angles; lines of symmetry
- Generate and analyze patterns
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 CT SBA — we study the Smarter Balanced Item Specifications, Performance Level Descriptors, and Practice Test Scoring Guides
- The deepest answer explanations in fourth-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
