Free Iowa Assessments (ITBS) practice test — Grade 4
10 original Iowa Assessments (ITBS)-style questions for Grade 4, 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.
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.
The keepers felt proud because —
- Athey earned a lot of money
- Bthey lived near the sea
- Cthe stairs kept them strong
- Dtheir light protected people they never met
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: D
The last sentence says exactly this — D. The other choices are not supported by the passage.
- Aphotosynthesis
- Bhibernation
- Cevaporation
- Ddigestion
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: A
Photosynthesis is how plants use sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide to make food in their leaves.
190 - 115 = ?
- A76
- B77
- C75
- D74
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
190 - 115 = 75 (C). 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 Tue?
- A2
- B10
- C3
- D4
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
Read each bar against the scale: Mon = 7, Tue = 3, Wed = 10, Thu = 8. So the answer is 3 — C.
a fragile vase
Fragile means about the same as —
- Aeasily broken
- Bexpensive
- Cempty
- Dshiny
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: A
"fragile" means easily broken — A. The other words describe things that might fit the scene, but none means "fragile".
Want to know if your child would pass the real thing?
The free Iowa Assessments (ITBS) diagnostic tests every section and shows a skill-by-skill readiness picture in minutes.
Start free diagnosticWhich word is spelled wrong?
- Awriting
- Bcaught
- Cmorening
- Dalways
- E(No mistakes)
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
"morening" is wrong; the correct spelling is "morning" (C).
Which line has a mistake in capitalization or punctuation?
- ANina packed a sandwich
- Bfor the long trip to
- CPortland, where her cousins
- Dlive near the river
- E(No mistakes)
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: D
Line D has the mistake: a sentence must end with the correct end mark. It should read "live near the river.".
Every fall, millions of monarch butterflies leave the cold fields of the north and fly south to the mountains of Mexico. The trip can be more than two thousand miles. No single butterfly has ever made the trip before, yet they find the same forests their great-grandparents rested in. Scientists believe monarchs use the position of the sun as a compass. On cloudy days they are not lost: tiny clues from Earth's magnetic field help them hold their course until the sun returns.
In this passage, "hold their course" means —
- Afly in circles
- Bkeep flying in the right direction
- Cland on a branch
- Dstop and rest
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
Context: they are not lost, they continue the route — B. The other choices are not supported by the passage.
- Asmoke
- Bhelium
- Coxygen
- Dcarbon dioxide
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
Plants take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen — the gas animals and people need to breathe.
299 + 166 = ?
- A465
- B455
- C466
- D475
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: A
299 + 166 = 465 (A). The other choices come from common slips: dropped carries or borrows, place-value slides, and off-by-one counting.
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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