Study guide

The Stanford 10 (SAT 10) is a paper-and-pencil multiple-choice test published by Pearson Assessments. Florida uses it as the alternative assessment for students who didn't demonstrate proficiency on FAST and need to clear the third-grade reading promotion gate. Florida administers the Primary 3 level for third graders.

The format and skills overlap heavily with FAST itself, with state ELA tests in other states, and with the Florida Portfolio Plus / Benchmark Education workbook formats students see in class. Practicing for one is practicing for all of them.

• Reading Vocabulary — about 20 items
• Reading Comprehension — about 50 items across multiple passages
• Math Problem Solving (if administered) — about 50 items
• Math Procedures (if administered) — about 30 items

Timing rules — how long you have, whether breaks are allowed, when sections start and stop — are set by the student's school and proctor. Always follow what the teacher or test administrator tells you on test day. The Florida Good Cause path requires ≥ 45th National Percentile Rank on the Reading subtest. Math is administered when math promotion concerns also apply.

Item counts above reflect current Stanford 10 Primary 3 specifications and may shift in future test editions. Sources: Pearson Stanford 10 documentation; Florida Administrative Rule 6A-1.094221, F.A.C.; Florida Portfolio Plus Grade 3 (Benchmark Education Company).

Reading Vocabulary uses three task types (synonym, multiple-meaning words, vocabulary in context). Reading Comprehension draws from three text types (literary, informational, functional). Knowing the mode changes the strategy.

A huge slice of Florida Portfolio Plus, FAST, and many state ELA tests use a two-part question format. They are the most common reason students lose points fast.

• Part Aasks the comprehension question — the main idea, the inference, what the character's perspective is, how the character changed.
• Part Basks “Which sentence from the passage supportsthe answer to Part A?” Part B's options are quoted lines from the passage.

The strategy for two-part questions:

1. Answer Part A first. Pick the comprehension answer based on the whole passage.
2. Now read Part B's options as evidence. One sentence will directly provewhat you said in Part A. The others are real lines from the passage but don't prove your answer.
3. If Part B has no good support for your Part A answer, change Part A. Both parts must agree. Treat them as one question with two halves.

Some questions ask for two correct answers instead of one — usually written as “Which TWO events should be included in a summary?” or “Which two details support the central idea?” They have five choices (A–E) instead of four, and the test will say how many to pick.

• Read the directions twice.A “pick two” only counts if you bubble exactly two — not one, not three.
• Eliminate first.Rule out the options that are obviously detail-traps or unsupported. You're usually picking 2 from 3 plausible ones.
• Both correct answers must work together. A good summary uses two events that connect. A good support pair both back the same idea.

Beyond plain vocabulary, the test asks “What does -lessmean in breathless?” or “Which word is a compound word?” The trick: knowing a handful of word parts unlocks dozens of words you've never seen.

The word parts that show up most on Grade 3 tests:

• Suffixes (end of a word): -less = without (fearless, harmless, breathless), -ful = full of (joyful, useful), -ly = in a way that is (gently, quickly), -tion = the act or state of (reflection, eruption).
• Prefixes (start of a word): un- = not (unhappy, unfair), re- = again (rebuild, reread), pre- = before (preview, preheat), dis- = not / opposite of (dislike, disappear).
• Roots (the core meaning): audi = to hear (audio, audience), bio = life (biology), mal = bad (malfunction), -ology = the study of (geology, zoology), micro = small (microscope).
• Compound words: two real words stuck together — sunlight (sun + light), birdhouse (bird + house), playground (play + ground), backpack (back + pack).
• Contractions:two words shortened with an apostrophe — wouldn't (would not), shouldn't (should not), they're (they are), I'd (I would).
• Proper nouns:specific names of people, places, or things — they always start with a capital letter (New York, France, Bartholdi, Lady Liberty). When a question shows a list of capitalized words and asks “What do they have in common?” — the answer is almost always proper nouns.

The full Word Study tab in the glossary drills all of this with examples.

1. Read the passage twice. The first read is for the story or topic. The second read is for the details. Most kids who fail FAST read once and answer from memory.
2. Read the question carefully. Underline the keyword (main idea, ALWAYS, NEVER, BEST, MOST LIKELY, SUPPORTS).
3. Eliminate at least one obviously wrong answer. Cross it out — physically. This trains the brain to think in subtraction.
4. Find proof in the passage. For every remaining option, ask: where does the text say this? Underline the proof line.
5. Pick the answer with the strongest proof. If two are close, the better answer is usually the more specific one — but only when backed by the text.
6. Check Part B if there is one.The evidence line you underlined should be one of the Part B options. If it's not, rethink Part A.
7. Bubble it.Don't leave blanks. There is no penalty for guessing.

1. Define the capital word in your head first. Don't look at the choices yet.
2. Test each option as a substitute. Read the sentence with each option swapped in. Does it still make sense?
3. Watch for trap synonyms. If a word has more than one meaning, the test sometimes lists synonyms for the wrong meaning.
4. For multi-meaning questions, plug back into BOTH sentences. The right answer fits the original AND the choice. The wrong ones fit only one.
5. If unsure, eliminate opposites first. Words that mean the opposite are easier to spot than near-misses.

1. The detail trap. The wrong answer is a real detail from the passage — just not what the question asked.
2. The almost-right. The answer is mostly true but one word is off. Re-read carefully.
3. The opposite. One option flips the meaning. Easy to miss when reading fast.
4. The unsupported. The answer sounds reasonable but the passage never says it.
5. The too-broad. True but too general — not specific enough to count as the main idea.
6. The too-narrow. A detail that's true but only covers one paragraph, not the whole passage.
7. The wrong-meaning synonym. A real synonym for the test word — but for the wrong meaning of it.

The exact timing rules are set by the school and the test proctor. Listen to the teacher's instructions on test day and follow them. The student's job during the test is the question in front of them, not the clock on the wall.

Pacing tips that hold up no matter what the school's rules are:

• Read every passage twice. First pass for the story, second pass for details. Skipping the second pass is the single biggest reason kids miss reading questions.
• If a question is hard, mark it and move on. Come back. Spending five minutes on one question costs the questions you could have answered.
• Never leave a bubble blank. No penalty for guessing. Always pick something before moving on, even if you flag it for review.
• When stuck, eliminate first.Cross out the two you know are wrong. Now you're guessing between two, not four.
• Steady beats fast. Slow on hard passages, normal on easy ones. The test is built for working pace, not racing pace.

For most third graders this is the first long-form, high-stakes test. Sitting still for 30+ minutes without screens is a physical skill, not just a cognitive one. Build it during the week:

• Practice in 30-minute blocks. Phone away. Quiet room. Same chair.
• No music, no TV. The real test will be silent.
• One short bathroom break between sections is fine. Skip snacks during the block.
• If they get up mid-section in practice, gently bring them back. The test won't allow it.

• Sleep 9-10 hours. No screens after dinner.
• Protein breakfast — eggs or peanut butter, not sugar cereal.
• Layers. Test rooms run cold.
• Bathroom right before. Empty bladder = clearer head.
• Three rounds of 4-7-8 breathing in the parking lot. (Inhale 4, hold 7, exhale 8.)
• Anchor phrase, said out loud once: “I read every passage twice. I find proof. I never leave a bubble blank.”