Standardized Test Questions: How Would You Do?

By Michael Kress August 11, 2015

Are you smarter than a third grader? How about an eighth grader? The New York State Department of Education this week released some of the questions that were used on this year’s standardized tests, given to students between third and eighth grades.

According to the New York Times, "New York’s exams are considered some of the toughest in the country; last year, only 31 percent passed the reading tests and 36 percent passed the math exams."

Below are some sample math questions from the oldest and youngest kids’ tests, along with statistics on how many test-takers answered each one correctly. School-by-school results are set to be released next week.

Let us know how you did!

Third-Grade Math: Sample Questions

Alexis read 63 pages of a book in seven days. She read an equal number of pages each day. The equation below can be used to find the total number of pages she read each day.

63 ÷ 7 = ?

What is the total number of pages Alexis read each day?

A: 8

B: 9

C: 56

D: 70

Percentage of students who got it right: 81%
Answer: B

Noel read 90 minutes each day for 6 days. Tyra read 60 minutes each day for 8 days. What is the difference, in minutes, between the total amount of time Noel read and the total amount of time Tyra read?

A: 30

B: 40

C: 60

D: 80

Percentage of students who got it right: 33%
Answer: C

Eighth-Grade Math: Sample Questions

The speed of light in a vacuum is 299,792,458 meters per second. Which number, written in scientific notation, is the best approximation of the speed of light?

A: 0.3 × 107

B: 0.3 × 108

C: 3.0 × 107

D: 3.0 × 108

Percentage of students who got it right: 74%
Answer: D

Triangle M is similar to triangle N. Triangle M has two angles with measures of 32° and 93°. Which two angle measures could be included in triangle N?

A: 32° and 58°

B: 32° and 74°

C: 93° and 55°

D: 93° and 87°

Percentage of students who got it right: 42%

Answer: C

To see more questions, including those from all grades tested and from English as well as math tests, click here.