Give your third grader the confidence to succeed on the Rhode Island RICAS Grade 3 Math test.
This Smart Stars practice book provides five full-length, standards-aligned practice tests that mirror the length, item mix, and question types of the real RICAS spring assessment in Mathematics. Every question was written by experienced educators, reviewed for accuracy, and built around the Rhode Island Core Standards for Mathematics at Grade 3 (which at this grade are the Common Core State Standards) so the topics and emphasis match what Rhode Island students actually see.
RICAS (the Rhode Island Comprehensive Assessment System) is the test the Rhode Island Department of Education gives to every public-school student in Grades 3-8. It is delivered by Cognia and given each spring in two test sessions, on the computer, with paper forms available as an accommodation. The test is untimed. The Grade 3 math test uses no calculator and no reference sheet (though every student is given a ruler) and it blends single-answer multiple choice, multiple-select (“select the two”), type-in/short-answer questions, and longer constructed-response questions that ask students to show or explain their work. On the real test a student answers 40 scored questions, with a few unscored field-test questions mixed in invisibly. Each practice test here follows that same shape: 40 scored-style questions plus 6 field-test-style questions, 46 in all, for 230 questions across the book: to build true test-day endurance.
What’s inside
- Five full-length practice tests, with detailed Answers and Explanations after every test
- Coverage of every Grade 3 math area RICAS reports: Operations & Algebraic Thinking, Number & Operations in Base Ten, Number & Operations-Fractions, Measurement & Data, and Geometry: weighted toward the Operations & Algebraic Thinking work that carries the most questions, just like the real blueprint
- Field-test-style questions blended invisibly into each test, just like the real RICAS, and fully answered here so nothing on test day feels unfamiliar
- Practice in every RICAS item format rendered for paper: multiple choice, multiple select (“select the two” or “select the three”), type-in/fill-in answers, multi-part constructed-response questions with room to show your work, number lines, line plots, area models, clocks, rulers, scaled picture graphs and bar graphs, and figure-based geometry
- Every explanation walks through the reasoning step by step and ends with a labeled Tip, Check, or Estimate (with a Strategy on the multi-step questions), so students learn the move, not just the answer
- A combined Quick Answer Key after each test for fast self-grading
- A family letter, a test-taking tips section, and a Grade 3 math study reference page up front: included as a study aid, since the real RICAS provides no reference sheet at Grade 3
- No-calculator practice throughout, matching the official RICAS Grade 3 policy
No calculator and no reference sheet. The real Grade 3 test provides neither, so students practice exactly as they will test: with only pencil, paper, and what they have learned. An inch-and-centimeter ruler is helpful for the measurement and line-plot questions, just as the real test provides one.
Topics covered
- Place value, and reading, writing, comparing, and rounding whole numbers to the nearest ten and hundred
- Adding and subtracting whole numbers within 1,000, with and without regrouping, including multi-step word problems
- Understanding multiplication and division through arrays, equal groups, repeated addition, and number lines, and the way multiplication and division undo each other
- “Times as many” multiplicative comparison, multiplying one-digit numbers by multiples of ten, and finding an unknown factor
- Multiplication and division facts within 100, and matching word problems to equations and expressions
- Fractions as numbers: unit fractions, fractions of a whole, fractions on a number line, equivalent fractions, whole numbers written as fractions, and comparing fractions with the same numerator or the same denominator (halves, thirds, fourths, sixths, and eighths)
- Sorting and classifying quadrilaterals (squares, rectangles, rhombuses, and trapezoids) and partitioning shapes into equal parts
- Perimeter of polygons, including finding an unknown side length
- Area of a rectangle by tiling with unit squares and by multiplying side lengths, including composite (L-shaped) figures and the distributive property
- Measuring length to the nearest half inch and quarter inch, and mass in grams
- Telling and writing time to the minute, and finding elapsed time
- Reading and interpreting scaled picture graphs and bar graphs, and line plots marked in halves and quarters
- Analyzing data to answer “how many more,” combine-and-compare, and two-part questions
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 RICAS shape, two-session format, item mix, and question formats: including show-your-work constructed-response: plus the no-calculator, no-reference-sheet, ruler-provided policy, with field-test questions blended in invisibly just like the real test.
- Built for Rhode Island. Aligned to the Rhode Island Core Standards for Mathematics at Grade 3, with grade-appropriate real-world contexts and a diverse cast of student names.
- Explanations teach the why. Every Answers and Explanations entry shows the full worked solution, then a labeled closing Tip, Check, or Estimate (and a Strategy on multi-step problems) so students learn the reasoning.
- Varied and graduated. Slot positions, contexts, names, and number choices rotate test-to-test, and the five tests step up in difficulty: the later tests lean on more multi-step, multi-select, and constructed-response reasoning: so no two feel like the same practice run.