Version 2.
Primary Level
ISEE Practice Test #2 Grade 3
(If possible, please print me double-sided!)
© 2024 Test Innovators
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RC 1
Section 1
Reading Comprehension
24 Questions Time: 28 minutes
This section includes four short reading passages. Each passage is followed by questions about
that passage. Answer the questions based on what is stated in or implied by the passage. You
may write in the test booklet. For each answer you choose, fill in the corresponding bubble.
Good luck!
STOP. Do not go on
until told to do so.
Primary-3 #2 v2.0 - RC
Questions 1-6
16 "Nothing more than nothing," the dove
17 answered.
18 "Then do let me tell you a story," the mouse
19 replied. "Once in winter, I was sitting on the branch
20 of a tall fir tree, close to its trunk, when snow began
21 to fall. It was falling just as it is now, without any
22 hurry at all. Since I had nothing much to do, I just
23 watched, counting the snowflakes as they settled on
24 the twigs and needles of the branch on which I sat.
25 Their number reached exactly 3,567,858. Then, as
26 the next snowflake fell onto the branch, 'nothing
27 more than nothing,' as you say, the branch broke,
28 tumbling down to the white earth below."
1 The first snow of winter began to fall as a wild
29 Having told his story, the forest mouse
2 dove and forest mouse navigated the forest
30 scampered away.
3 floor. It was crisp and chilly out. Because there
4 was so little moisture in the air, the snowflakes
5 weren't sticking together and clumping the way
6 they often do. Instead, they were gracefully falling,
7 one by one. As the dove and mouse passed one
8 another, they realized that they could see the
9 delicate patterns of each snowflake individually.
10 Each flake was unique and seemingly perfect,
11 resting briefly before melting on their warm
12 bodies. The dove and mouse exchanged glances,
13 both delighted by the beauty of this first snow.
14 "Tell me the weight of a snowflake," the forest
15 mouse requested of the wild dove.
© 2024 Test Innovators 8 Go on to the next page.
Primary-3 #2 v2.0 - RC
1. Which of the following is the main lesson of 5. What type of story is this?
the story? (A) biography
(A) Avoid places where it snows.
(B) fable
(B) Beware talking to animals.
(C) humor
(C) Little things can add up. (D) mystery
(D) It is better to climb trees in the
summer. 6. In line 28 of the passage, what does the
word “tumbling” mean?
2. According to the passage, the snowflakes
(A) wavering
were not sticking together the way they
often do because (B) floating
(A) it was freezing out. (C) plummeting
(B) the snowflakes were clumping (D) fluctuating
together.
(C) the air was less humid than usual.
(D) there was so much moisture in the air.
3. What did the wild dove most likely mean by,
"nothing more than nothing"?
(A) "Something is better than nothing."
(B) "Leave me alone, you silly mouse!"
(C) "Snowflakes have no mass, only
gravity."
(D) "Snowflakes don't weigh much at all."
4. According to his story, why did the mouse
count the snowflakes?
(A) He was incredibly bored.
(B) He had nothing specific to do.
(C) to distract himself from the cold
(D) to see how many it would take to
break the branch
© 2024 Test Innovators 9 Go on to the next page.
Primary-3 #2 v2.0 - RC
Questions 7-12
14 eyes! Compare that to the sun’s eight minutes, and
15 it makes sense why the sun feels so much more
16 powerful than other stars.
17 Although you cannot see the other stars during
18 the day, they are still there. However, their light is
19 lost in the more powerful light of the sun. When the
20 side of the Earth you are standing on turns away
21 from the sun at night, you get a break from the sun’s
22 powerful light and the more distant stars become
23 visible. However, even at night you cannot escape
24 the sun completely. The glow you see from the light
25 of the Moon is actually the light of the sun
26 reflecting off the Moon’s surface!
1 The sun is a star just like all the other stars you
2 see shining in a dark night sky. The reason that the
3 sun seems so much bigger than other stars twinkling
4 softly at night is due to its close proximity to Earth.
5 Scientists often use the speed of light to measure
6 distances in outer space because the distances are so
7 large. At approximately ninety-three million miles
8 away, the sun’s light takes an average of 8 minutes
9 and 20 seconds to reach Earth. The nearest stars in
10 our galaxy, apart from the sun, are 4.3 light years
11 away. That means the light you see from the stars
12 when you look up at the night sky has been
13 traveling for over four years before reaching your
© 2024 Test Innovators 10 Go on to the next page.
Primary-3 #2 v2.0 - RC
7. What is the best title for this passage? 10. According to the passage, how do scientists
(A) Outer Space has Many Wonders measure distances in outer space?
(A) by measuring the rotation of the Earth
(B) Why the Sun Wants to Be a Star
in comparison to other stars
(C) Why the Sun Doesn’t Twinkle like
Other Stars (B) by measuring the distance light travels
in one year
(D) We Will Soon Walk on Mars
(C) by measuring the amount of time it
8. Why does the sun look different from other takes to travel from the Earth to the
stars? sun
(A) Because light from the sun reflects off (D) by measuring the time it takes for the
the Moon’s surface. Earth to travel around the sun
(B) Because light from other stars takes a 11. In lines 13 and 14, what does the author
much shorter time to reach Earth. mean by “reaching your eyes”?
(C) Because the sun is larger and more (A) Your eyes may be injured if you look at
powerful than other stars. the stars too long.
(D) Because the sun is closer to Earth than (B) It is important to shield your eyes
other stars. when studying the stars.
9. Approximately how long does it take for the (C) You can actually see it.
sun’s light to reach Earth? (D) Starlight can be intensely bright.
(A) 9 minutes and 3 seconds
12. The passage gives information to answer
(B) 8 minutes and 4.3 seconds which question?
(C) 4.3 seconds (A) Why do scientists use light years to
(D) 8 minutes and 20 seconds measure distances in outer space?
(B) Approximately how long is one light
year?
(C) What is the distance from the Moon to
the sun?
(D) How long does it take for the Earth to
rotate around the sun?
© 2024 Test Innovators 11 Go on to the next page.
Primary-3 #2 v2.0 - RC
Questions 13-18
15 no one to see in this sweltering suburb is the worst.
16 I’m sure there is a group of kids floating on bright
17 blow-up tubes in someone’s pool right now. And
18 then there is me.
19 Slumping onto the couch, I grab my book, but
20 have no heart to read it. The easel in the corner of
21 the room holds the landscape that I’ve left half-
22 finished from back home. How can I ever finish it
1 Bam, Bam, Bam! I look up and see Mom up on 23 without being able to look at the scene? How can I
2 the roof, hammering in shingles. The sun is beating 24 capture the blues of the mountains against the
3 down, and I can see the waves of heat rising off the 25 grays of the sky without having them in front of me?
4 roof like transparent smoke. 26 I close my eyes to envision the horizon I knew so
5 “I’ll be done soon,” she calls down to me.
27 well. The waves of color and the shapes of the hills
6 Lifting her head, she wipes sweat off her face with 28 come rushing back to me behind my eyelids. I
7 the back of her arm. I take one last look to make
29 spring up from the couch.
8 sure she isn’t going to fall, and re-enter the house.
9 The cool air rushes as I pass through the entryway.
10 My eyes adjust to the dark room as the screen door
11 slams shut behind me.
12 I look around trying to figure out what to do
13 with myself. Moving here was hard enough, but
14 enduring a summer break with nothing to do, and
© 2024 Test Innovators 12 Go on to the next page.
Primary-3 #2 v2.0 - RC
13. What is the narrator communicating to the 17. What does the word “envision” (line 26)
reader for most of the story? mean?
(A) She is unhappy about her recent (A) unwind
move. (B) predict
(B) She loves to paint all the time. (C) understand
(C) She is worried about her mother. (D) imagine
(D) She is excited for the summer
vacation. 18. What can be inferred from the last
sentence?
14. The narrator most likely feels which of the (A) The narrator cannot focus due to the
following about her new home?
heat.
(A) confused
(B) The narrator cannot imagine the
(B) upset scene of her landscape from back
(C) fearful home.
(D) content (C) The narrator has decided to check on
her mother.
15. Why does the narrator “have no heart to (D) The narrator’s vision inspires her to
read” her book? work on her painting.
(A) She is worried that her mother might
fall off the roof.
(B) She would rather finish her painting.
(C) She does not want to be there.
(D) She would rather be swimming.
16. What does the reader know from the first
paragraph?
(A) the mother is hard working
(B) it is sweltering outside
(C) there are construction workers on the
roof
(D) the daughter wants her mother’s
attention
© 2024 Test Innovators 13 Go on to the next page.
Primary-3 #2 v2.0 - RC
Questions 19-24
19 of bird whistles have different meanings, and
20 can be used to gather children, call a mate, or
21 warn off predators.
22 Humans and animals both like to dance, too.
23 Consider the famous "Waggle Dance," which
24 bees use to tell each other the location of
1 Humans, unlike animals, use language to 25 food sources. Although they may not dance for
2 communicate ideas and dreams to one another. 26 amusement, they still follow patterns and rules
3 We can talk and write to each other about an 27 for their dances, just as we do.
4 infinite number of ideas and dreams. However, 28 There are numerous other ways that animals
5 much of our non-verbal communication 29 communicate, many of them similar to human
6 resembles the ways that other animals 30 communication. Some, like stink bugs, use
7 communicate. 31 odors to communicate, while others, like
8 For example, we hold up our arms and wave 32 whales, use songs. Gorillas even stick out
9 to greet people and to say goodbye to them. 33 their tongues when they're mad! It's easy to
10 Crabs also wave their claws to attract each 34 think that humans are distinctive, but when it
11 other's attention! Sometimes, waving our arms 35 comes to non-verbal communication, we're not
12 and screaming can be a way to signal danger. 36 so different from other animals.
13 Animals do this too, by roaring or growling at
14 something dangerous.
15 Humans also use whistles to communicate—
16 a loud whistle is a good way to get your friend to
17 turn around and notice you! Birds also
18 communicate through whistles. Different kinds
© 2024 Test Innovators 14 Go on to the next page.
Primary-3 #2 v2.0 - RC
19. According to the passage, bees dance in 22. According to the passage,
order to (A) birds only communicate through
(A) warn each other about incoming different types of whistles
predators (B) humans use both verbal and non-
(B) attract mates verbal communication
(C) threaten potential rivals (C) waving is a universal form of
(D) reveal where promising food sources communication
exist (D) many animals use smells to scare away
predators
20. The passage is primarily about
23. According to the passage, which of the
(A) how to communicate well
following is true about gorillas?
(B) different types of animal
communication (A) They are happy animals
(C) similarities between human and (B) They sometimes get angry
animal communication (C) They are very large
(D) why humans are better (D) They do not rely on communication
communicators than animals
24. What does the word “distinctive” mean in
21. From the fourth paragraph (lines 22–27), we line 34?
can infer that
(A) communicative
(A) humans sometimes dance for fun (B) silly
(B) the "Waggle Dance" is a social event (C) unique
for bees
(D) verbal
(C) bees are unable to communicate
locations
(D) bees dance in order to tell each other
when something is wrong
© 2024 Test Innovators 15 STOP. Do not go on
until told to do so.
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M 2
Section 2
Mathematics
24 Questions Time: 26 minutes
For this section, read each question and choose the best answer from the four listed answer
choices. You may write in the test booklet, but you may not use a calculator. For each answer
you choose, fill in the corresponding bubble. Good luck!
STOP. Do not go on
until told to do so.
Primary-3 #2 v2.0 - M
Part One - Word Problems
Directions: Choose the best answer from the four choices given.
1. Cai is stacking blocks. She first stacks 14 4. The school cafeteria is preparing apple
green blocks, and then balances 9 blue slices for the day's lunch. So far, there are
blocks on top of these before the entire 468 slices prepared. If 19 of the slices are
stack topples. How many blocks total did dropped on the ground and must be
Cai successfully stack before they fell over? composted, how many apple slices remain?
(A) 5
(B) 13
(C) 19
(D) 23 (A) 448
(B) 449
2. If Δ + Δ + Δ = 24, what number must Δ
(C) 459
stand for?
(D) 487
(A) 6
(B) 7 5. Diana’s father kept track of the number of
shots she took in her basketball games
(C) 8
against other teams.
(D) 21
3. What pair of numbers comes next in the
pattern?
(5, 2); (4, 4); (3, 6); (2, 8); __
(A) (1,10)
(B) (3,8)
(C) (4,7)
(D) (0,9)
Against which two teams did Diana take a
combined total of 16 shots?
(A) Dolphins and Blue Jays
(B) Squirrels and Sharks
(C) Bears and Tigers
(D) Tigers and Blue Jays
© 2024 Test Innovators 18 Go on to the next page.
Primary-3 #2 v2.0 - M
6. Skyla goes to the beach every week to look 8. A writer had 13 story books and 24 picture
for starfish. In her journal, she makes a note books sitting on a table. Her cat jumped up
of how many starfish she finds. The on the table and knocked off 12 picture
numbers are: books. How many total books are still on the
table?
5, 3, 4, 7, 1, 9, 1, 12, 3, 2, 10
(A) 12
If Skyla sorts these numbers from smallest
to largest, which number will be in the (B) 17
middle of the list? (C) 20
(D) 25
9. If you cut a rectangle diagonally through
two opposite corners, what shapes remain?
(A) rectangles
(B) squares
(C) parallelograms
(A) 3
(D) triangles
(B) 4
(C) 5 10. Rose had three of each of these coins:
pennies, dimes, and quarters. How much
(D) 7
more money would she need if she wanted
7. Which shows the greatest amount? to buy a pen that costs $1.25?
(A) $23.13 (A) No more; she has enough.
(B) $0.05
(B) $26.42
(C) $0.17
(C) $23.31
(D) $0.32
(D) $26.24
11. What is the sum of the odd numbers in the
following set:
34, 45, 22, 12, 21, 43, 66, 31
(A) 95
(B) 105
(C) 134
(D) 140
© 2024 Test Innovators 19 Go on to the next page.
Primary-3 #2 v2.0 - M
12. Akela was born in 2003 and her mother was 15. Juan is on the corner of A Street and 2nd
born in 1978. How old was Akela’s mother Avenue. Which way will he have to go in
when Akela was born? order to catch his school bus?
(A) 18
(B) 22
(C) 25
(D) 35
13. Assad is baking cookies, some of which he is
adding chocolate chips to. His cookie sheet
has eight cookies on it, only half of which
have chocolate chips. For the cookies with
chocolate chips, there are 5 chocolate chips
on each cookie. How many chocolate chips
in total are on the cookies on the cookie
sheet? (A) One block to the right (east) and two
blocks up (north)
(A) 20
(B) Two blocks to the right (east) and
(B) 30
three blocks up (north)
(C) 40
(C) One block to the right (east) and three
(D) 50 blocks up (north)
14. Saul spent 90 minutes on homework and 45 (D) One block to the left (west) and two
minutes practicing judo. How much time blocks up (north)
did he spend total on his two activities?
(A) 1 hr. 35 min
(B) 2 hr. 15 min.
(C) 2 hr. 25 min.
(D) 2 hr. 30 min.
© 2024 Test Innovators 20 Go on to the next page.
Primary-3 #2 v2.0 - M
16. Jamaal asked his classmates to each pick 19. What fraction of the circle below is shaded?
their favorite snack from the options below.
He then organized the information into a
chart.
(A) 1
Based on the chart, how many students are 3
in Jamaal’s class? 2
(B) 3
(A) 27
(C) 3
(B) 28 4
(D) 3
(C) 31 2
(D) 32
20. Use the number line to answer the question.
17. Samantha wants to show 6 + 5 using
objects from her home. Which is a way she
could show 6 + 5 ?
What is the value of X?
(A) 6 carrots that are 5 inches long.
(A) 2.00
(B) 5 stacks of 6 pennies each.
(B) 2.10
(C) 6 rows of 5 stamps each.
(C) 2.25
(D) 5 purple cards and 6 blue cards.
(D) 3.25
18. Kamala starts next to a tree and runs 30 feet
away, then turns around and runs straight
back to the tree. How many yards did she
run?
(A) 15 yards
(B) 20 yards
(C) 30 yards
(D) 60 yards
© 2024 Test Innovators 21 Go on to the next page.
Primary-3 #2 v2.0 - M
21. Using the portion of the inch ruler below, 22. Adrian helps out at his mom’s ice cream
how long is the cloud? shop on Saturday. Throughout the day, he
counts how many people are waiting in line
and records the results in the table below.
(A) 0.12 inches
(B) 0.50 inches
(C) 0.75 inches
(D) 1.4 inches
According to the data, what would be the
best prediction of the number of people in
line at 1:30 P.M.?
(A) 20
(B) 21
(C) 23
(D) 26
23. Coach Jamie uses 9 volleyballs, 4
basketballs, 6 soccer balls, and 10 tennis
balls for her gym classes every day. At the
end of the month, Coach Jamie is missing 3
volleyballs, 1 soccer ball, and 2 tennis balls.
How many balls does Coach Jamie have left?
(A) 6
(B) 23
(C) 29
(D) 35
© 2024 Test Innovators 22 Go on to the next page.
Primary-3 #2 v2.0 - M
24. The library had 74 books returned last week.
The table lists the days of the week and how
many books were returned each day.
What is the best conclusion from the data in
the table?
(A) The library had more books returned
near the beginning of the week.
(B) Most people waited until the weekend
to return their books.
(C) Thursday was the day when the fewest
books were returned.
(D) The library had more people check out
books near the end of the week.
© 2024 Test Innovators 23 STOP. Do not go on
until told to do so.
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