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Colorado Standards

Colorado 3rd Grade Math Standards

All 11 Colorado math standards for 3rd grade, each explained in plain English. The official wording is in Colorado Department of Education's document, linked at the end of this page.

11 standards

Number and Quantity

2 standards
MA.3.NBT.A
Round whole numbers to the closest 10 or 100, add and subtract within 1,000 fluently, and multiply one-digit numbers by multiples of 10 like 6 × 70, using place value.
MA.3.NF.A
Explain a fraction as equal parts of a whole, place fractions on a number line, find equivalents like 3/6 = 1/2 and 4/4 = 1, and compare fractions with the same top or bottom number.

Algebra and Functions

4 standards
MA.3.OA.A
Read 5 × 7 as 5 groups of 7 and 56 ÷ 8 as equal sharing, solve multiplication and division word problems within 100, and find the unknown number in equations like 4 × ? = 36.
MA.3.OA.B
Use properties like switching, regrouping, or splitting factors to multiply and divide, and solve division as a missing factor, like 42 ÷ 6 as 6 × ? = 42.
MA.3.OA.C
Multiply and divide within 100 quickly using related facts and properties, and know every product of two one-digit numbers by heart by the end of the year.
MA.3.OA.D
Solve two-step word problems with all four operations, writing equations with a letter for the unknown and checking by estimating, and explain patterns like 4 times any number being even.

Data, Statistics, and Probability

4 standards
MA.3.MD.A
Tell time to the nearest minute, solve elapsed-time problems in minutes, and measure, estimate, and solve one-step problems with liquid volumes and masses in liters, grams, and kilograms.
MA.3.MD.B
Draw scaled picture and bar graphs, like one symbol for every 2 books, solve how many more or fewer problems from them, and line-plot lengths measured to the half or quarter inch.
MA.3.MD.C
Find area by counting unit squares or multiplying a rectangle's side lengths, show the distributive property with area models, and split L-shaped figures into rectangles to add their areas.
MA.3.MD.D
Solve perimeter problems for polygons, including finding a missing side, and show rectangles with equal perimeters but different areas, or the reverse.

Geometry

1 standard
MA.3.G.A
Explain why rhombuses, rectangles, and squares are all quadrilaterals, draw four-sided shapes that fit none of those groups, and split shapes into equal areas named as unit fractions.

The official Colorado documents

The plain-English lines on this page are EMStudio's own explanations of Colorado's standards, not the official wording, which Colorado Department of Education publishes in the documents above. Codes and strand names identify each standard.