Third grade is the first year Georgia students take the Georgia Milestones, and the ELA test asks a lot: three sections, stories and articles to read, a student’s draft to fix up, and an opinion essay written from sources. If you’re looking for Georgia Milestones 3rd grade ELA test prep that covers all of it, this workbook was made for you.
The Georgia Milestones 3rd Grade ELA Practice Test Workbook is aligned to Georgia’s K-12 English Language Arts Standards and built from the grade 3 ELA assessment blueprint and the testing guides published for the Georgia Milestones. Every passage and question is original, and a certified teacher reviewed the book.
It’s a Printable PDF, so you can print the pages you need for whole-class lessons, small groups, centers or homework. Below you’ll find what’s on the test, what’s inside the book, a look-inside video and a simple plan for the school year.
- An 18-question pretest, a Learn It lesson + test-style practice for all 22 skills, mixed review, test-taking strategies, 2 full-length practice tests and a complete answer key.
- Each practice test has three sections like the real Georgia Milestones: 41 questions and 60 points, with one opinion essay in Section 1.
- Printable PDF, 276 full-color pages, $9.99.
- An essay rubric and sample essays, bubble answer sheets, progress trackers and class data sheets.
- Free with a Have Fun Teaching membership.
What’s on the Georgia Milestones 3rd grade ELA test?
The Georgia Milestones End-of-Grade (EOG) tests are Georgia’s state tests for grades 3 to 8. In 3rd grade, the ELA test has three sections, and students take it on the computer. Paper is used only for students who can’t test on a device.
Three sections
Section 1 comes first, on its own day, with up to 90 minutes. Sections 2 and 3 allow up to 75 minutes each.
A research set
Section 1 gives a research question and two or three sources, such as articles and a short video, then a few questions about them.
An opinion essay
Section 1 ends with an opinion essay that uses facts from the sources, worth 8 points.
Student drafts
Many questions show a short draft by a third grader and ask how to revise or edit it.
41 questions, 60 points
Interpreting Texts is worth 34 points and Constructing Texts 26, plus 8 field-test questions that don’t count.
Once a year, in spring
The 2027 main testing window runs April 5 to May 14, with a grade 3 ELA retest window in late spring and summer.
Most questions are worth 1 point, and the 2-point questions (Part A/Part B, choose-two, tables, drop-down boxes and select-the-sentence) can earn partial credit. The essay is scored on three traits: purpose and organization, evidence and elaboration, and language usage and conventions. Scores fall into four achievement levels, from Beginning Learner to Distinguished Learner, and third graders also get a Reading Status that Georgia uses in grade 3 promotion decisions. Online, students click sentences or drag answers into tables; the practice tests in this workbook turn those into bubbles, boxes and tables students fill in on paper.
What’s inside the Georgia Milestones 3rd grade ELA test prep workbook
The workbook follows the order you’d teach it. Find out what students already know, teach the gaps one skill at a time, mix everything together, then rehearse the real thing twice.
Inside · PretestPretest18 questions and a scoring guide that shows which skills to teach first.
Inside · Learn ItLearn It pagesA short story, poem or article, a worked example and a tip for every skill.
Inside · ReviewMixed ReviewPassage sets mix reading, vocabulary and revising questions to keep earlier skills fresh.
Inside · Practice testFull practice testsTwo tests in three sections each: 41 questions and 60 points, essay included.
In each practice test, Section 1 is a research set: two sources (one is a short talk, printed as a script because the real test plays it as a video), three questions and the opinion essay. Sections 2 and 3 have a story, a poem, an informational pair and short student drafts to revise and edit. The answer key names the Georgia standard for every question and has a rubric and sample essays, so you can score the essay the way the state does.
Take a look inside (video)
Want to flip through it before you buy? This short look-inside video walks through the whole workbook, from the pretest to the class data sheets at the back.
How to use the printable workbook in class
Because it’s a PDF, you print only what you need, when you need it. Here’s how teachers tend to use each part.
Print the pretest
One sitting shows you which skills each reader and writer needs most.
Small groups + centers
Pull the Learn It and practice pages for the skills your groups need.
Test week rehearsal
Give Section 1 and the essay on day one, then Sections 2 and 3 later in the week, just like the real test.
Track the growth
Score with the answer key and essay rubric, then fill in the progress trackers and class data sheets.
5 tips to get 3rd graders ready for the Georgia Milestones
Read for evidence
Ask “How do you know?” every day. Part A/Part B questions ask for the sentence that proves the answer.
Practice with sources
Give a question, two short texts and a minute to jot facts from each. That’s the research set in miniature.
Revise someone else’s draft
Project a short paragraph and fix it together: a better transition, a stronger word, a missing comma.
Plan the essay first
Teach a short plan before every essay: state the opinion, pick reasons with facts from both sources, then end with a conclusion.
Build stamina
Section 1 can run up to 90 minutes. Stretch independent reading and writing time a little each month.
Printable PDF: $9.99, or free with a membership
The workbook comes as one Printable PDF with all 276 full-color pages. Print as many copies as your class needs, year after year.
Already a member? The Printable PDF is included with your Have Fun Teaching membership, so you can download it today at no extra cost.
When do 3rd graders take the Georgia Milestones ELA test?
The Georgia Milestones End-of-Grade tests are given once a year, in the spring. For the 2026–27 school year, the main testing window runs from April 5 to May 14, 2027, and each district picks its testing days inside it. There is also a grade 3 ELA retest window from May 10 to July 9, 2027. Here’s an easy way to spread your Georgia Milestones 3rd grade ELA test prep across the year so spring never turns into a cram session.
Now: give the pretest
Score it with the guide and circle the skills each student needs most.
Winter: teach the gaps
Use one Learn It + practice set a few times a week, in the order your pretest points to.
Every week: mix it up
Mixed review keeps reading, vocabulary and editing skills fresh while you teach new units.
Early March: Practice Test 1
Run all three sections like test week, essay included, then reteach what slipped.
Late March: Practice Test 2
New passages, new drafts and a new research question build stamina and show real growth.
Test week: celebrate
They’ve seen every question type already. Tell them so.
Check your school calendar for your district’s dates. For the official test details, visit the Georgia Department of Education Georgia Milestones page, and to see what 3rd graders are expected to learn, read about Georgia’s K-12 English Language Arts Standards. Our Georgia test prep page has every Georgia Milestones workbook, and test prep by state keeps every state in one place.
Members: it’s already yours
With a Have Fun Teaching membership, the Printable PDF of this workbook is included, along with every other state test prep workbook PDF and the whole resource library. See membership plans.
3rd grade ELA worksheets to pair with it
When the pretest flags a skill, a single-page worksheet is an easy way to add one more round of practice. These three line up with big 3rd grade reading skills on the test.
3rd · WorksheetMain Idea and Three DetailsFind the main idea of an article and the details that support it.
3rd · WorksheetSimilesComplete, explain and write similes, the figurative language students meet in stories and poems.
3rd · WorksheetContext CluesUse the words around a new word to figure out what it means.
Keep exploring
Try a sample question: Georgia Milestones 3rd grade ELA
Here is a new practice passage written by Have Fun Teaching in the style of the Georgia Milestones — not a real test item. Read it, answer each question, then tap to check.
Honeybees work as a team. Some bees gather nectar from flowers. Others guard the hive or care for the young bees.
1. What is the main idea?
Honeybees work as a team — the other sentences give examples of the jobs bees share.
2. What does gather mean here?
Collect — the bees collect nectar from flowers.
3. Name one job a honeybee can do.
Gather nectar, guard the hive, or care for young bees — the passage lists all three.
Get it included with a membership
This workbook, plus 6,600+ resources
Members get the Printable PDF of every state test prep workbook, plus the whole library. Try it free for 3 days.
- Georgia Milestones 3rd Grade ELA: Printable PDF included
- Every printable, song and video, Preschool–6th
- Every state test prep workbook PDF
- Unlimited downloads, new resources added every week
Georgia Milestones 3rd grade ELA test prep: questions teachers ask
Is this workbook made by the Georgia Department of Education?
No. Have Fun Teaching wrote every passage and question from scratch, and a certified teacher reviewed the book. It is aligned to Georgia’s K-12 English Language Arts Standards and built from the published Georgia Milestones grade 3 ELA assessment blueprint, but it is an independent practice resource and does not use real test items.
How long is the Georgia Milestones 3rd grade ELA test?
Third graders take the ELA test in three sections. Section 1, the research set and opinion essay, comes first on its own day and allows up to 90 minutes. Sections 2 and 3 allow up to 75 minutes each. The test has 41 scored questions worth 60 points, plus 8 field-test questions, so each practice test in this workbook has 41 questions worth 60 points in three sections.
What kind of essay do 3rd graders write on the Georgia Milestones?
One opinion essay at the end of Section 1. Students read two or three sources about a research question, then write their opinion with reasons and facts from the sources. It is worth 8 points: 3 for purpose and organization, 3 for evidence and elaboration and 2 for language usage and conventions. Both practice tests in the workbook end Section 1 with an opinion essay, and the answer key has a rubric and sample essays.
How much does the workbook cost?
The Printable PDF is $9.99 for all 276 full-color pages, and you can print as many copies as your students need. With a Have Fun Teaching membership, the PDF is included at no extra cost, along with the Printable PDF of every other state test prep workbook and the rest of the library.
When should I start Georgia Milestones 3rd grade ELA test prep?
Start with the pretest in the fall, then teach the skills it flags a few times a week through winter. Give Practice Test 1 in early March and Practice Test 2 a few weeks later. The 2026–27 main spring testing window runs from April 5 to May 14, 2027, and each district picks its testing days inside it.
Walk into test day ready.
Start with the pretest this week, and have every standard covered by spring.
Georgia Milestones is the state assessment of the Georgia Department of Education. Have Fun Teaching, LLC is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Georgia Department of Education. Not an official test.
