Grades 3-4 paper · Math Kangaroo 2027
Math Kangaroo
grade 3 practice
Third grade is the first year on the Math Kangaroo grades 3-4 paper. Your child sits the same 24 questions as fourth graders, but is scored and ranked only against other third graders. Here is what that means for practice, with five full grade 3 papers to sit online.
Math Kangaroo 2027 for a grade 3 student
| What | Grade 3 |
|---|---|
| Competition day | Thursday, March 18, 2027 |
| Paper your child sits | Grades 3-4 (Math Kangaroo USA “Levels 3 & 4”) |
| Ranked against | 3rd graders only, nationally and by state |
| Questions and time | 24 multiple-choice questions in 75 minutes, about 3 minutes and 7 seconds each |
| Points | 8 questions each worth 3, 4 and 5 points; top score 96; nothing lost for a wrong answer |
| Calculators | Not allowed |
| Level rule | Your child sits the level for their school grade; a lower level is not allowed |
| Regular registration | September 15 to December 31, 2026 ($20 per student) |
| Late registration | January 1 to February 1, 2027 ($35 per student) |
Source: Math Kangaroo USA's scoring rules, registration page, logistics page and 2027 host letter, checked October 21, 2026. Internationally, the Kangourou sans Frontières association's regulations call roughly this age band Ecolier, though each country groups its levels its own way.
Where grade 3 sits on the grades 3-4 paper
For most third graders this is the first time the paper is shared with an older year. Math Kangaroo USA publishes one set of practice materials for "Grades 3-4 (Levels 3 & 4)", so the problems were chosen with fourth graders in mind too. Expect a few questions that use ideas your child has not met in class yet.
That is less worrying than it sounds, because the rankings are by single grade. The top 20 scores nationally and the top 3 in each state are listed at each grade, so a third grader is compared with third graders, not with the fourth graders in the same room.
Wrong answers cost nothing, so a third grader should answer every question, even the ones that look too hard. A sensible guess on a 5-point question can only add points.
The 4th grade page covers the other year on this paper: Math Kangaroo grade 4 practice.
How scoring works on the grades 3-4 paper
| Question value | How many | Points available |
|---|---|---|
| 3 points each | 8 | 24 |
| 4 points each | 8 | 32 |
| 5 points each | 8 | 40 |
| Whole paper | 24 | 96 |
A grade 3 student who answers every 3- and 4-point question correctly and misses all 8 of the 5-point ones scores 56 out of 96. Each 5-point question is worth about 5.2% of the top score, so the 5-point third of the paper carries the most weight. A wrong answer costs nothing, so a blank is never better than a guess.
Results are ranked among 3rd graders only. The top 20 scores nationally and the top 3 in each state are listed, students who tie on the top score all rank first, and the percentile shows the share of 3rd graders, in the state and in the country, who scored lower.
Math Kangaroo USA's own practice for this level includes online past exams by year and practice sets sorted by point value (3-point, 4-point and 5-point questions), plus PDF exams and written solutions going back to 1998. Find them on its grades 3-4 practice page.
Two grade 3 practice problems
Written by us in the Kangaroo style, five answer choices each. Try them before opening the answer.
A snail is at the bottom of a staircase with 11 steps. Every day it climbs up 3 steps, and every night it slides back down 1 step. On which day does it first reach the top step?
- (A) Day 4
- (B) Day 5
- (C) Day 6
- (D) Day 10
- (E) Day 11
Show answer
Day 5. Track the morning of each day. The snail ends day 1 on step 3 and slides to 2; ends day 2 on 5 and slides to 4; then 7 and 6, then 9 and 8. On day 5 it climbs from 8 to 11, the top, so the night slide never happens. Day 6 is the trap: it comes from saying "2 steps a day, 11 steps, so 6 days" and forgetting the snail can finish in the daytime.
Mia has only 5-cent and 10-cent coins. She has 7 coins worth 50 cents in all. How many 10-cent coins does she have?
- (A) 2
- (B) 3
- (C) 4
- (D) 5
- (E) 7
Show answer
3. Pretend all 7 coins are 5-cent coins: that is 35 cents, which is 15 cents short. Swapping one 5-cent coin for a 10-cent coin adds 5 cents, so three swaps are needed. Check: three 10s and four 5s make 30 + 20 = 50 cents.
What our grade 3 papers ask
Our five grade 3 papers are our own, hand-written on the SOF olympiad blueprint rather than the Kangaroo format: 35 questions for 40 marks in 60 minutes, ending with 5 Achievers questions worth 2 marks each. The thinking carries across. Across the five papers you will find:
- Two-digit numbers and digit puzzles, such as a missing digit that appears twice in one sum.
- Adding and subtracting measures with mixed units: kilograms and grams, metres walked over a week.
- Perimeter of shapes built from equal squares, like a staircase of 10 squares.
- Folding and punching paper, and telling a turned shape from a flipped one.
- Skip counting and simple multiples: which fence posts can be divided by 2 or by 3.
- Calendar and line-up puzzles that need careful reading rather than big numbers.
Every answer is explained, and every wrong option names the mistake that leads to it. For the official grades 3-4 past papers, go to mathkangaroo.org.
A practice plan for grade 3
- Start with one of our grade 3 papers untimed, so your child gets used to multiple-choice puzzles before the clock matters.
- Then sit the official grades 3-4 past papers on mathkangaroo.org under the real 75 minutes. 24 questions in 75 minutes is a little over 3 minutes each.
- After each paper, go through the wrong answers together. Most wrong choices come from one specific slip, and naming the slip is what stops it next time.
Grade 3 Math Kangaroo questions parents ask
Do third graders take the same Math Kangaroo test as fourth graders?
Math Kangaroo USA publishes one set of practice materials and past papers for grades 3 and 4 together, titled "Grades 3-4 (Levels 3 & 4)". Rankings, however, are by single grade: the top 20 nationally and the top 3 in each state are ranked at each grade.
How many questions are on the Math Kangaroo test for grade 3?
24 multiple-choice questions in 75 minutes. A third of them are worth 3 points, a third 4 points and a third 5 points, so the best possible score is 96. No points are taken off for a wrong answer.
When is Math Kangaroo 2027?
Thursday, March 18, 2027. Regular registration runs from September 15 to December 31, 2026 at $20 per student, and late registration from January 1 to February 1, 2027 at $35.
Can my third grader take the easier grades 1-2 Math Kangaroo test?
No. Math Kangaroo USA says the level of participation is the student's school grade, and taking a level lower than the actual school grade is not allowed. A third grader takes the grades 3-4 paper.