Utah Practice Tests
Utah Practice Books and Flashcards
Utah's State Tests at a Glance
In grades 3 through 8, Utah's RISE tests cover English language arts and math every year, science in grades 4 through 8, and a separate writing test in grades 5 and 8. RISE is given on a computer, and every answer is submitted online. The tests are computer adaptive: each student gets a unique set of questions that become harder or easier based on the student's answers. RISE is not timed, so students work at their own pace; the times below are the testing times the state lists for each test. Testing takes place in a statewide spring window, and each district chooses eight weeks within it.
English Language Arts
| Grade | Format | Time | What’s tested |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grades 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 | Online; computer adaptive; three reading passages with questions, plus one reading cluster of related multi-part questions | Untimed; the state lists a testing time of 90 to 135 minutes | Reading literature and reading informational text |
The ELA test is a reading test. It no longer covers speaking and listening, and it no longer includes editing tasks; writing is tested separately in grades 5 and 8.
Writing
| Grade | Format | Time | What’s tested |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grades 5 and 8 | Online; an essay written in response to a prompt about a set of reading passages; the essay is informative or argumentative | Untimed; the state lists a testing time of 60 to 90 minutes | Writing the essay (scored 1 to 6); conventions of writing (scored 0.5 to 3); the two scores are not combined |
Students use evidence from the passages to support their essay. Scorers use one rubric for the essay itself and a separate rubric for conventions such as punctuation, capitalization, sentence formation and spelling.
Mathematics
| Grade | Format | Time | What’s tested |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | Online; computer adaptive; no calculator; no reference sheet | Untimed; the state lists a testing time of 90 to 135 minutes | Operations and algebraic thinking (29 to 38%), fractions (27 to 31%), number and operations in base ten (18 to 22%), measurement and data and geometry (18 to 22%) |
| Grade 4 | Online; computer adaptive; no calculator; no reference sheet | Untimed; the state lists a testing time of 90 to 135 minutes | Number and operations in base ten (28 to 32%), fractions (28 to 32%), operations and algebraic thinking (18 to 22%), measurement and data and geometry (16 to 22%) |
| Grade 5 | Online; computer adaptive; no calculator; no reference sheet | Untimed; the state lists a testing time of 90 to 135 minutes | Number and operations in base ten (30 to 36%), fractions (28 to 34%), measurement and data and geometry (18 to 22%), operations and algebraic thinking (16 to 20%) |
| Grade 6 | Online; computer adaptive; two segments: no calculator in the first, an on-screen four-function calculator in the second; no reference sheet | Untimed; the state lists a testing time of 90 to 135 minutes | Ratios and proportional relationships (28 to 32%), expressions and equations (28 to 34%), the number system (18 to 22%), geometry and statistics and probability (16 to 20%) |
| Grade 7 | Online; computer adaptive; on-screen scientific calculator, and students may use an approved handheld one; no reference sheet | Untimed; the state lists a testing time of 90 to 135 minutes | Ratios and proportions (22 to 26%), the number system (18 to 22%), geometry (18 to 22%), statistics and probability (18 to 22%), expressions and equations (16 to 20%) |
| Grade 8 | Online; computer adaptive; on-screen scientific calculator, and students may use an approved handheld one; no reference sheet | Untimed; the state lists a testing time of 90 to 135 minutes | Geometry and the number system (34 to 40%), functions (20 to 24%), expressions and equations (20 to 24%), statistics and probability (16 to 20%) |
Students must know the formulas named in their grade's standards; any other formula is given in the question. When an answer must be rounded, the question says so. The percentages are the state's targets; because the test adapts, each student's mix of questions varies.
Science
| Grade | Format | Time | What’s tested |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 4 | Online; questions in clusters that each begin with a science phenomenon; on-screen four-function calculator, and students may use an approved handheld one | Untimed; the state lists a testing time of 90 to 135 minutes | Organisms functioning in their environment, energy transfer, wave patterns, and observable patterns in the sky (25% each) |
| Grade 5 | Online; questions in clusters that each begin with a science phenomenon; on-screen four-function calculator, and students may use an approved handheld one | Untimed; the state lists a testing time of 90 to 135 minutes | Characteristics and interactions of Earth's systems (37.5%), properties and changes of matter (37.5%), cycling of matter in ecosystems (25%) |
| Grade 6 | Online; questions in clusters that each begin with a science phenomenon; on-screen four-function calculator, and students may use an approved handheld one | Untimed; the state lists a testing time of 90 to 135 minutes | Structure and motion within the solar system, energy affects matter, Earth's weather patterns and climate, and stability and change in ecosystems (25% each) |
| Grade 7 | Online; questions in clusters that each begin with a science phenomenon; on-screen scientific calculator, and students may use an approved handheld one | Untimed; the state lists a testing time of 90 to 135 minutes | Forces are interactions between matter, changes to Earth over time, structure and function of life, reproduction and inheritance, and changes in species over time (20% each) |
| Grade 8 | Online; questions in clusters that each begin with a science phenomenon; on-screen scientific calculator, and students may use an approved handheld one | Untimed; the state lists a testing time of 90 to 135 minutes | Matter and energy interact in the physical world (30%), energy is stored and transferred in physical systems (30%), life systems store and transfer matter and energy (20%), interactions with natural systems and resources (20%) |
The science test is built on Utah's Science with Engineering Education (SEEd) standards. Each cluster asks students to make sense of a phenomenon using science and engineering practices, crosscutting concepts and core science ideas. Each student is tested on a sample of the standards within each strand, so all of the standards should be covered in class.