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 the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) Grade 3 Mathematics exam: 230 items in all, written and reviewed by educators and aligned line-for-line to DESE’s 2017 Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for Mathematics.
Every test in this book mirrors what your child will actually see on MCAS test day: the same 46-item operational load, the same two-session structure with a clear STOP marker between sessions, the same no-calculator rule across the entire test, and the same item formats (multiple-choice, multi-select, short-answer, and three-point constructed-response).
About the question count: and why field-test items matter. On the official MCAS Grade 3 Math, 40 items count toward your student’s score: 36 multiple-choice, multi-select, or short-answer items plus 4 three-point constructed-response items. The real test also includes 6 unscored *field-test* items that DESE uses to develop future exams. Students never know which items count and which are field-test, so on test day every question must be worked with full focus and full energy. Each practice test in this book delivers the full 46-item scored load (matching the real testing experience) so your child builds the realistic *endurance* MCAS demands.
What’s inside:
Topics covered (Grade 3 MCAS Math, 2017 Framework):
Why parents and teachers choose Smart Stars:
How to use this book. The MCAS is *untimed*. Take one test at a time under realistic conditions in a quiet space. Make sure your student has a pencil, scratch paper, and a ruler on hand. Do not use a calculator on any item: calculators are not allowed in either session of Grade 3 MCAS. Pause at the STOP marker between Session 1 and Session 2, then continue. Score with the quick-reference answer key, then read every explanation: even for questions answered correctly. Space the five tests over several weeks for the best results.
Search “Smart Stars MCAS” on Amazon for additional Massachusetts test-prep titles, and “Smart Stars Grade 3” for our third-grade titles in every state we publish.