Give your third grader the confidence to succeed on both New York State Grade 3 tests (Mathematics and English Language Arts) in one book.
This Smart Stars combined edition brings together ten full-length, standards-aligned practice tests that mirror the length, item mix, and question types of the real New York State Testing Program (NYSTP) assessments. Every question and passage was written by experienced educators, reviewed for accuracy, and built around the New York State Next Generation Learning Standards at Grade 3 so the topics and emphasis match what New York students actually see.
The NYSTP is given each spring by the New York State Education Department to students statewide, delivered by computer on NWEA’s Nextera platform and given untimed across two sessions per subject. Both tests blend single-answer multiple choice with typed and written constructed-response questions; neither the Grade 3 math nor the ELA test uses drag-and-drop or other technology-enhanced items, so every question in this book is one your child will really meet.
What’s inside
- Ten full-length practice tests: five Mathematics (38 questions each) and five English Language Arts (about 34 each), roughly 360 questions in all: with detailed Answers and Explanations after every test
- Every NYSTP Grade 3 item format, rendered for paper: single-answer multiple choice, typed constructed-response questions worth 1, 2, and 3 credits in Math, and short written constructed responses in ELA
- Reference support built in: a Grade 3 Mathematics study reference page before the math tests plus test-taking tips for both subjects
- Place value and four-digit whole numbers, in standard and expanded form
- Rounding to the nearest ten and hundred
- Adding and subtracting within 1,000, with and without regrouping
- Multiplication and division within 100: equal groups, arrays, area as multiplication, and how multiplication and division undo each other
- Properties of multiplication and one- and two-step word problems
- Fractions as numbers: unit fractions, fractions on a number line, equivalent fractions, whole numbers written as fractions, and comparing fractions with the same numerator or the same denominator
- Telling and writing time to the minute and solving elapsed-time problems
- Measuring and estimating mass and liquid volume
- Area of rectangles by tiling and by multiplying side lengths, the area model of the distributive property, and composite (L-shaped) figures
- Partitioning shapes into parts of equal area and naming the unit fraction of a shape
- Measuring length to the nearest half inch and quarter inch
- Main idea, central message and theme, and the key details that support them
- Character, setting, and plot in literary stories, and how characters change
- Author’s purpose and point of view, and text features such as headings and captions
- Text structure (sequence, cause and effect, compare and contrast) and how paragraphs connect
- Making inferences and citing the specific text evidence that supports them
- Short written responses: answering a question using two details from the passage to support the response
Topics covered: Mathematics:
Why parents and teachers choose Smart Stars
- Educator-authored: Every question and passage is written and reviewed by classroom-experienced educators, and no passage is reproduced from copyrighted work.
- Mirrors test day: Each practice test matches the official NYSTP item mix and question formats for its subject rendered clearly for paper practice.
- Explanations teach the why: Math entries show the full worked solution and name the trap behind the top wrong answer; reading entries point to the exact evidence in the passage.