Free Iowa Assessments (ITBS) practice test — Grade 3
10 original Iowa Assessments (ITBS)-style questions for Grade 3, with answers and full explanations. No signup needed.
These free Iowa Assessments™ (ITBS) practice questions match the formats your child will actually see — picture-based vocabulary, listening, and word analysis at K–2, and reading, language, and math through grade 8.
Every question is original with a full explanation. Younger levels mirror the real test's three-choice picture format; upper levels use the four-choice format with 'No mistakes' language items.
The bread on your table starts as a field of wheat. In summer, giant machines called combines cut the wheat and separate the grain from the stalks. Trucks carry the grain to a mill, where heavy rollers crush it into soft white flour. At the bakery, the baker mixes flour with water, salt, and yeast. The yeast is alive: it eats sugars in the dough and breathes out tiny bubbles of gas. Those bubbles are what make the bread rise, giving each loaf its light, airy inside.
What happens at the mill?
- ARollers crush the grain into flour
- BYeast is added to the dough
- CThe bread is sliced
- DThe wheat is planted
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: A
The mill turns grain into flour — A. The other choices are not supported by the passage.
- Athe leaves
- Bthe flower
- Cthe roots
- Dthe stem tip
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
Roots grow into the soil and absorb water and nutrients for the plant.
- Aa calendar
- Ba map
- Ca recipe
- Da diary
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
A map is a drawing of an area that shows where places like cities, rivers, and roads are located.
3 × 6 = ?
- A21
- B15
- C17
- D18
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: D
3 × 6 = 18 (D). The other choices come from common slips: dropped carries or borrows, place-value slides, and off-by-one counting.
Use the graph to answer: How many for Dara?
- A7
- B3
- C2
- D1
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
Read each bar against the scale: Ana = 7, Ben = 3, Cole = 10, Dara = 2. So the answer is 2 — C.
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Start free diagnostica swift runner
Swift means about the same as —
- Ayoung
- Btired
- Cquick
- Dtall
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
"swift" means quick — C. The other words describe things that might fit the scene, but none means "swift".
Which word is spelled wrong?
- Atogether
- Boutsid
- Cthought
- Dmorning
- E(No mistakes)
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
"outsid" is wrong; the correct spelling is "outside" (B).
Which line has a mistake in capitalization or punctuation?
- ADidn't nina say that
- Bpractice starts early on
- CTuesday morning this week
- Dbecause of the big game?
- E(No mistakes)
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: A
Line A has the mistake: a person's name must be capitalized. It should read "Didn't Nina say that".
Long before ships had radios, sailors depended on lighthouses. Each lighthouse flashed its light in its own special pattern, like a name written in light. A captain far from shore could count the flashes, check a chart, and know exactly which coast was near. Lighthouse keepers lived beside the tower all year. Every evening they climbed the winding stairs to light the great lamp, and every morning they climbed again to put it out. It was lonely work, but keepers were proud: their light kept strangers they would never meet safe from the rocks.
When did keepers light the great lamp?
- AOnly during storms
- BEvery morning
- CEvery evening
- DOnce a week
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
Evenings to light, mornings to put out — C. The other choices are not supported by the passage.
- Aa robin
- Ba lizard
- Ca dolphin
- Da goldfish
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
Dolphins are mammals — they breathe air and feed their babies milk. Fish, birds, and lizards belong to other animal groups.
Iowa Assessments (ITBS) FAQ
What does the Iowa Assessments test?
Depending on level: Vocabulary, Word Analysis, Listening, Reading, Language, and Mathematics — with Science and Social Studies joining from grade 1 and Computation at grades 3+.
Is the ITBS the same as the Iowa Assessments?
Yes — the Iowa Test of Basic Skills was renamed the Iowa Assessments (Form E and later). Schools use both names for the same battery.
What is a good Iowa Assessments score?
Scores are reported as national percentile ranks; many schools flag the 90th+ percentile for advanced programs, but each school sets its own bar.
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