10 Most Common 3rd Grade IAR Math Questions
TL;DR: Third grade is when multiplication and division stop being side dishes and become the main course — and the IAR math test reflects that shift hard. Alongside times tables and division, your child will see place value, basic fractions, telling time, area as repeated multiplication, perimeter, and beginning measurement. These ten sample questions show what 3rd graders actually face most often on the Illinois Assessment of Readiness, so you know what to practice and where to focus your prep time.
Key takeaways:
- Multiplication and division facts within 100 — especially fluency with the times tables — are central.
- Telling time to the minute and computing elapsed time appear often.
- Fractions are introduced as parts of a whole and parts of a set; comparing fractions with the same numerator or denominator is a key skill.
- Area is taught as repeated multiplication (\( \ell \times w \) using arrays) and as counting unit squares.
- Two-step word problems (multiplication then addition, division then subtraction, etc.) are common.
B. \(1:45 PM\)
C. \(1:15 PM\)
D. \(12:15 PM\)
6- Olivia has \(84\) pastilles. She wants to put them in boxes of \(4\) pastilles. How many boxes does she need?
A. \(20\)
B. \(21\)
C. \(24\)
D. \(28\)
7- A football team is buying new uniforms. Each uniform costs \($20\). The team wants to buy \(11\) uniforms.
Which equation represents a way to find the total cost of the uniforms?
A. \((20 × 10) + (1 × 11) = 200 + 11\)
B. \((20 × 10) + (10 × 1) = 200 + 10\)
C. \((20 × 10) + (20 × 1) = 200 + 20\)
D. \((11 × 10) + (10 × 20) = 110 + 200\)
8- There are \(92\) students from Lexington Elementary School at the library on Tuesday. The other \(54\) students in the school are practicing in the classroom. Which number sentence shows the total number of students in Riddle Elementary School?
A. \(92 + 54\)
B.\(92 -54\)
C. \(92 × 54\)
D. \(92 ÷54\)
9- Use the picture below to answer the question.
Which fraction shows the shaded part of this square?
A. \(\frac{92}{100}\)
B. \(\frac{92}{10}\)
C. \(\frac{90}{100}\)
D. \(\frac{8}{100}\)
10- Which number correctly completes the number sentence \(90 × 25 =\)?
A. \(225\)
B. \(900\)
C. \(1,250\)
D. \(2,250\)
Best 3rd Grade IAR Math Prep Resource
Answers:
1- C
\(3\) times of \(8\) rows of chairs with \(4\) chairs per day are: \(3 × 8 × 4\)
2- 42
\(3\) spaghetti with meatballs cost: \($3 × $8 = $24\)
\(3\) bowls of bean soup cost: \(3 × $6 = $18\)
\(3\) spaghetti with meatballs \(+ 3\) bowls of bean soup cost: \($24 + $ 18 = $42\)
3- C
\(1\) day: \(24\) hours so \(7\) days \(= 7 × 24 = 168\) hours
4- B
Three-digit odd numbers that have a \(6\) in the hundreds place and a \(3\) in the tens place is \(637\), \(632\) and \(636\) are even numbers.
5- A
Subtract hours: \(14- 1 = 13\)
Subtract the minutes: \(15 – 30 = -15\)
The minutes are less than \(0\), so:
• Add \(60\) to minutes ( \(-15 +60 =45\) minutes)
• Subtract \(1\) from hours \((13 – 1 =12)\)
6- B
Olivia wants to divide \(84\) pastilles into boxes of \(4\) pastilles, so \(84 ÷ 4 = 21\) is the number of boxes.
7- C
The football team should buy \(11\) uniforms that each uniform cost \($20\) so they should pay\((11×$20) $220\).
Therefore, choice C is the correct answer:
\((20 × 10) + (20 × 1) = 20(10+1) =20×11=220\)
8- A
Add \(92\) and \(54\) students to know the whole number of students.
9- A
The model for the fraction is divided into \(100\) equal parts. We shade \(92\) parts of these \(100\) parts that it’s equal to \(\frac{92}{100}\)
10- D
\(90 × 25 =2,250\)
Looking for the best resource to help you succeed on the 3rd Grade IAR Math test?
The Best Books to Ace the 3rd Grade IAR Math Test
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the 3rd grade IAR math test?
The Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) is Illinois’s spring state test for grades 3–8 in math and English language arts. The 3rd-grade math portion aligns to the Illinois Learning Standards (essentially the Common Core for Grade 3 math).
Which topics show up most on 3rd grade IAR?
Multiplication and division within 100, multiplication-and-division word problems, place value through 1,000, rounding to the nearest 10 or 100, fractions as parts of a whole/set, comparing simple fractions, telling time and elapsed time, area and perimeter, and basic data interpretation with bar graphs and picture graphs.
How long is the test?
About 75–90 minutes total, split across two sessions. Calculators are NOT allowed at 3rd grade. Scratch paper is provided.
Are calculators allowed on 3rd grade IAR?
No. Third graders take the entire IAR math test without a calculator. Building solid mental and paper-and-pencil arithmetic skills is essential.
How can I help my child memorize their multiplication facts?
Short, daily drilling beats long sessions — five to ten minutes a day for a few weeks builds fluency. Use a mix of flashcards, fact families (so 3 × 4 = 12 also gives 12 ÷ 3 = 4), and skip-counting songs. Test only one or two times tables at a time, not all twelve at once.
How do I find elapsed time?
Count forward on a clock or number line. From 9:45 to 11:20: 15 minutes brings you to 10:00, then 1 hour to 11:00, then 20 minutes to 11:20 — total 1 hour 35 minutes. Or use the subtraction approach with regrouping in time units.
How do I compare fractions with the same numerator?
When numerators match, the fraction with the SMALLER denominator is larger — bigger pieces, fewer cuts. So \( 1/3 > 1/5 \). Drawing two same-size rectangles cut into 3 and 5 pieces makes this immediately visible.
What’s the area of a rectangle at 3rd grade?
Area = length × width, measured in square units. A 6-by-4 rectangle has area \( 6 \times 4 = 24 \) square units. Third graders also learn to find area by counting unit squares inside a shape — both approaches give the same answer.
How is performance reported?
Illinois reports a 5-level scale. Levels 4 (\”meeting\”) and 5 (\”exceeding\”) indicate the student is on track for the next grade; levels 1–3 indicate the student needs additional support.
What’s the best practice strategy for a 3rd grader?
Aim for short, daily practice — twenty minutes is plenty. Mix a few times-tables drills, one or two word problems, and a quick fraction or time question. Steady weekly practice for a month beats one big weekend session right before the test.
Related Lessons You May Like
- Place value up to thousands
- How to tell time
- How to multiply by multiples of ten
- How to find the area of rectangles
- How to find equivalent fractions
If you want a workbook that lines up with these questions, Mastering Grade 3 Math walks every third-grade standard topic by topic with worked examples and short practice sets. For extra reps on translating words into math, Mastering Grade 3 Math Word Problems drills the same skills inside real-world stories.
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