SBAC-style practice tests – Smarter Balanced, grades 3–8

These are US practice tests (grades, Common Core). In the UK? Try the UK version →

Free Smarter Balanced (SBAC)-style practice tests for 3rd to 8th grade math and ELA, written for the Common Core. Marked instantly with every answer explained. For 3rd to 8th grade (ages 8–14). In the UK, that's Year 4 to Year 9.

The tests

About these tests

Free practice in the style of the Smarter Balanced (SBAC) tests that California and several other states use for grades 3 to 8. Each math test draws 20 questions from a bank of 32 to 40 written for the grade’s Common Core math standards, so every try is different.

Each ELA test has an original reading passage and a student’s draft to revise and edit, like the reading and writing parts of the real test. These are practice tests written by Classfern: they copy the kinds of questions students meet (multiple choice, select-two, put-in-order and type-in answers), not real test items. The real tests are computer adaptive and include a performance task; long written answers and listening items are not included here, because they cannot be marked automatically.

Key facts

In California, the Smarter Balanced Summative Assessments for ELA and mathematics are given in grades 3–8 and grade 11. Source: cde.ca.gov
For 2026–27, each California school district picks its own testing window of at least 25 instructional days, within the statewide window of January 19 to June 30, 2027. Source: cde.ca.gov
The Smarter Balanced ELA and math tests are computer adaptive and include a performance task. Source: caaspp-elpac.org

How to use these tests

Choose Practice to see each answer straight away, or Test to see all the answers and explanations at the end.
Math tests pick 20 questions from a bank of 32 to 40, so trying again gives a different set. Have paper and a pencil ready for working.
In the ELA tests, you can look back at the passage and the draft at any time.

How we wrote these tests

Every passage and question was written by Classfern; none is copied or adapted from a real test. Each question is tagged with the Common Core standard it practices, and math answers are worked out by a program and re-checked by a separate one. Answers are checked by computer programs, and every test is reviewed by an independent AI checker that didn't write it. Spot a mistake? Use the Report button.

Plan the teaching

Use these tests for review at home or in class. See what to teach in California standards, Grade 3 Math, Grade 5 Math, Grade 8 Math, Grade 3 ELA, Grade 8 ELA, then plan lessons with the free Lesson Plan Maker.

Suggest a test – or, after a test, use “Report a problem with this question” on the answers screen.

Official sources

SBAC-style practice only. Not an official Smarter Balanced test and not affiliated with or endorsed by Smarter Balanced, the California Department of Education or any state.

Standards codes from the Common Core State Standards (copyright © 2010 National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers). Summaries are Classfern’s own words.