STAAR Practice Test (Grade 3: Reading) 1 — Questions and Answers

Question 1: People do not only arrive to the train station to ride the train. They also have the opportunity to meet Catcha, the train station's manager who also happens to be a cat! The town of Catcha benefits from the millions of visitors it receives. Visitors spend money in restaurants, stores, and hotels when they visit. Catcha has aided in the collection of almost $12 million! Catcha is invited to stay at the railroad station, as the reader can see, because—

She gives tours.
She attracts passengers. (Correct answer)
She plays with other cats.
She rides on the trains.

Correct answer: She attracts passengers.

The passage explicitly states that 'The town of Catcha benefits from the millions of visitors it receives. Visitors spend money in restaurants, stores, and hotels when they visit. Catcha has aided in the collection of almost $12 million!' This directly shows that Catcha's presence attracts people, leading to significant economic benefits for the town. Therefore, she is invited to stay because she attracts passengers and visitors.

Question 2: Ken, the legendary Greek storyteller, told two stories in which a dog played a major role. In one, a hungry dog desires after a nice piece of cheese being consumed by a crow on a limb high above him. The dog compliments the crow on her beauty. He expresses his curiosity as to whether her voice is as lovely as her outward appearance. The cheese falls out of the crow's beak and is eaten by the dog when she displays her voice with a loud caw. The hungry dog in the other fable is attempting to obtain a bunch of grapes that hang high above his head. He can't manage to get to the grapes, no matter how hard he tries. As he goes away, the dog responds, Oh, well. “They were probably sour anyway.” What kind of character did Ken think a dog was based on these two stories?

nice
cruel
foolish
smart (Correct answer)

Correct answer: smart

In the first fable, the dog cleverly uses flattery to trick the crow into dropping the cheese, demonstrating cunning and intelligence. In the second fable, the dog rationalizes his inability to reach the grapes by declaring them 'sour anyway,' showing a quick-witted way to cope with disappointment. Both stories portray the dog as resourceful and intelligent.

Question 3: Dave spilled his glass of wine accidentaly. Which of the underlined words is incorrectly spelled?

milk
spilled
accidentaly (Correct answer)
glass

Correct answer: accidentaly

The word 'accidentaly' is misspelled. The correct spelling is 'accidentally,' which includes a double 'c' and a double 'l'. The other underlined words—'spilled,' 'glass,' and 'wine'—are all spelled correctly.

Question 4: Choose the adverb that best completes the sentence presented. The student ran __________ than the teacher.

more fast
faster (Correct answer)
fastest
All of the choices are corret

Correct answer: faster

The sentence uses a comparative structure ('than the teacher'), which requires the comparative form of the adverb. The comparative form of 'fast' is 'faster.' 'More fast' is grammatically incorrect, and 'fastest' is the superlative form, used when comparing three or more items.

Question 5: The Great Paper Airplane Fly-Off is held at the Pima Air Space Museum every year. The plane that travels the furthest distance wins! The winning design is utilized to make a massive paper airplane in the hopes that it would fly. Making paper airplanes stimulates scientific experimentation and invention. The reader can infer that the museum places a high importance on science since —

they encourage exploration in science and invention (Correct answer)
all museums are scientific
they encourage competition
paper airplanes are in museums

Correct answer: they encourage exploration in science and invention

Correct answer: they encourage exploration in science and invention The reader can conclude that the museum values science because they encourage exploration in science and invention.

Question 6: Which of the following words is a common noun?

Laura
Kings Street
Doctor (Correct answer)
Derik

Correct answer: Doctor

Correct answer: Doctor Doctor is the only common noun whereas the rest are Proper Nouns

Question 7: I brought Glenn a present. I couldn't wait to deliver it to __________. Choose the best word to fill in the blanks.

him (Correct answer)
I
me
her

Correct answer: him

Correct answer: him I brought Glenn a present. I couldn't wait to deliver it to him.

Question 8: Choose the adverb that best completes the sentence presented. Julia walked the route to school __________than her brother.

most slowly
more slowly (Correct answer)
All of the choices are correct
slowest

Correct answer: more slowly

Correct answer: more slowly In our sentence, we are comparing how Julia walked to school and how her brother walked to school so we have two actions; thus, we are looking for a comparative adverb. Also, looking at the adverbs in our answer choices, "slowly" and "slowest" we can tell that we are looking at the rule for more than one syllable. Remember, we have are looking at comparative adverbs, with more than one syllable. Looking back at our rules, "more" is the correct word to add before the adverb "slowly"; thus, the correct answer is "more slowly".

Question 9: Play Pump may resemble a typical merry-go-round, but it is unlikely that your local merry-go-round provides you with water. In some places of the world, when clean water is nearly impossible to come by, Play Pumps are used. Play Pumps use the energy generated by merry-go-round movement to pump water from underground into a storage container for community usage. As a result, the reader can conclude that —

Play Pumps are impossible to find.
Play Pumps are very expensive.
Play Pumps are simple merry-go-rounds.
Play Pumps are important in some parts of the world. (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Play Pumps are important in some parts of the world.

Correct answer: Play Pumps are important in some parts of the world. The reader can conclude that play pumps are important in some parts of the world.

Question 10: Bong is composing a letter to the principal of his school. Which of the following greetings is NOT appropriate for the start of this letter?

Dear Mr. Derek,
Dear Principal Derek,
To Principal Derek,
Hey there Mr. Derek, (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Hey there Mr. Derek,

Correct answer: Hey there Mr. Jones, Answer choice D is correct because if a student is writing a letter to their principal it would need a more formal greeting than, ""Hey there Mr. Derek."" The principal could take this disrespectfully and disregard the letter.

Question 11: Determine who the target audience for the following passage is. He had a nose as long as his arm. The trees swayed when he sneezed. A meal may be smelled from a mile away.

news bulletin
class descriptive paragraph (Correct answer)
party invitation
class short story

Correct answer: class descriptive paragraph

Correct answer: class descriptive paragraph The appropriate audience of the following passage is a class descriptive paragraph.

Question 12: How many syllables does the given word have? Beautiful

two
five
four
three (Correct answer)

Correct answer: three

Correct answer: three When you say the word "beautiful" slowly, you should hear a "U" sound, an "I" sound and then another "U" sound. Even though there are five total vowels in the word "beautiful", the first "eau" all form together to make one vowel sound; thus, the word ""beautiful"" has three syllables.

Question 13: Albert came across a stranded and alone young hippo one day! He knows how to care for baby hippos as a game warden. Albert quickly adopted the hippo and gave him the name Jason. Jason quickly made himself at home with his new family, playing with the dogs and even sleeping indoors. Jason, on the other hand, developed swiftly and soon began smashing furniture! Albert had to begin locking Jason out of the house, but Jason remained a family member. The reader can conclude that this is unusual because —

humans to care about animals.
hippos to live with humans. (Correct answer)
Jason to break furniture.
Albert to play with wild animals.

Correct answer: hippos to live with humans.

Correct answer: hippos to live with humans. The reader can conclude this it is unusual for hippos to live with humans.

Question 14: Which of the following is not a noun that is commonly used?

Planet
Garden
William (Correct answer)
Magazine

Correct answer: William

Correct answer: William A, B and D are common nouns and only Choice C represents a Proper noun

Question 15: My seatmate and I have become instant friends. The following is a sentence:

a question
a command
an exclamation
a statement (Correct answer)

Correct answer: a statement

Correct answer: a statement The sentence above is a statement.

Question 16: How many syllables does the given word have? Pen

three
four
one (Correct answer)
two

Correct answer: one

Correct answer: one The word "pen" can be said in one sound, uninterrupted. Also, there is only one vowel sound; thus, the word "pen" only has one syllable.

Question 17: Albert came across a stranded and alone young hippo one day! He knows how to care for baby hippos as a game warden. Albert quickly adopted the hippo and gave him the name Jason. Jason quickly made himself at home with his new family, playing with the dogs and even sleeping indoors. Which of the following sentences best explains why Albert was able to care for Jason?

Jason quickly settled in with his new family.
One day, Albert stumbled upon a baby hippo stranded and alone.
Soon the stranded hippo was taken in by Albert and given the name Jason.
As a game warden, Albert knew how to feed baby hippos. (Correct answer)

Correct answer: As a game warden, Albert knew how to feed baby hippos.

Correct answer: As a game warden, Albert knew how to feed baby hippos. Albert can take care of the baby hipos because Albert knew how to feed them.

Question 18: A thirsty crow discovered a pitcher with only a few drops of water in it. He could almost touch the water with his long, delicate beak, but he couldn't obtain a drink. The crow saw a lot of little stones nearby as he looked around. He patiently picked up the stones one by one, filling the pitcher with water until it was high enough for him to drink. What does this fable's moral imply?

Look before you leap.
He who hesitates is lost.
Haste makes waste.
Where there's a will, there's a way. (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Where there's a will, there's a way.

Correct answer: Where there's a will, there's a way. The only saying that matches the actions of the thirsty crow is, "where there's a will, there's a way." The crow wanted the drink so he came up with a way in which to get to the water that at first was unreachable.

Question 19: Which of the students has a capital letter in the proper place?

cats like to Purr.
cats Like to purr.
cats like to purr.
Cats like to purr. (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Cats like to purr.

Correct answer: Cats like to purr. Letter D is the correct answer.

Question 20: Choose the response option that has an antonym for the given word: small

tiny
big (Correct answer)
pretty
ugly

Correct answer: big

Correct answer: big An antonym is a word that means the opposite of another word. The word "small" means to be little. The opposite of little is big; thus, big is the correct answer.

Question 21: Which of the following sentences best supports the assumption that potato chips are popular today?

Potato chips began as an accidental success.
Potato chips are a crunchy and salty snack.
Grocery stores sometimes have a hard time keeping bags of potato chips on their shelves before they sell out. (Correct answer)
Potato chips have come a long way from their beginnings are fried potatoes.

Correct answer: Grocery stores sometimes have a hard time keeping bags of potato chips on their shelves before they sell out.

Correct answer: Grocery stores sometimes have a hard time keeping bags of potato chips on their shelves before they sell out. Letter C is the sentence that best support the idea that potato chips are well-liked today and popular.

Question 22: Aladdin demonstrated the dusty old lamp to his mum. "Perhaps if we polish it up first, we can sell it," she speculated. A genie appeared while Aladdin began polishing the lamp! "I'm the lamp's spirit, and I'm here to help! I am obedient to your command." Aladdin was overjoyed, so he requested the genie for food, and a feast appeared. Aladdin began to fantasize about the fantastic things he could accomplish with the genie's assistance. New clothes, a large house to live in, and camels to ride would be on his wish list. What evidence do you have that Aladdin and his mother are poor?

The genie grants his wishes.
He has an old lamp instead of a new one.
He wants to help his mother.
He wishes for new clothes. (Correct answer)

Correct answer: He wishes for new clothes.

Correct answer: He wishes for new clothes. You can tell that Aladdin and his mother are poor because they want to try to sell the old lamp. The first thing they ask the genie for is food. When Aladdin starts to think of what the genie's magical powers can do, he thinks of new clothes and a new house, so they must need those things.

Question 23: Which of the end marks is incorrect?

The rat ran fast.
The rat ran fast] (Correct answer)
The rat ran fast?
The rat ran fast!

Correct answer: The rat ran fast]

Correct answer: The cat ran fast] A sentence should not end with "]"

Question 24: Choose an answer option that has a synonym for the specified word: small

big
flexible
large
tiny (Correct answer)

Correct answer: tiny

Correct answer: tiny The word "small" means to be little. Tiny is another word that means to be little; thus, tiny is the correct answer.

Question 25: Drake wants to compete in a 5K race in his hometown. He was scared that he might not finish because he had never raced before. He put in a lot of effort and practiced every day. He even had a coach to help him out. Drake not only finished the event, but he also took first place in his age category, much to his surprise! T he reader can conclude that Drake worked with a coach because -

Drake had never raced and wanted the extra help. (Correct answer)
Drake's parents made him work with a coach.
Drake would not practice on his own.
Drake's goal was to win the race.

Correct answer: Drake had never raced and wanted the extra help.

Correct answer: Drake had never raced and wanted the extra help. The reader can conclude that Drake trained with a coach because Drake had never raced and wanted the extra help.

STAAR Practice Test (Grade 3: Reading) 1

People do not only arrive to the train station to ride the train.
They also have the opportunity to meet Catcha, the train station's manager who also happens to be a cat! The town of Catcha benefits from the millions of visitors it receives.
Visitors spend money in restaurants, stores, and hotels when they visit.
Catcha has aided in the collection of almost $12 million! Catcha is invited to stay at the railroad station, as the reader can see, because—

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