Fourth grade science in the four categories of Wisconsin's Forward Exam blueprint: life, physical, earth and space, and engineering.
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Unofficial practice questions, not affiliated with the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. Bank checked October 13, 2026.
The real test: Forward Exam science, grade 4
Questions
40
Questions and points
40 scored questions worth 40 points, plus 5 field test questions: 45 in all.
Sessions
Three, with 15 questions each. Each session has 3 scenarios, each followed by 3 or 4 questions, among its 15.
Time
Untimed. The suggested time, for scheduling only, is 35 minutes a session.
Points by category
Life Science 8 to 12, Physical Science 8 to 12, Earth and Space Science 8 to 12, Engineering 8 to 12. The engineering questions are embedded in the scenarios of
Question kinds
Multiple-choice, technology-enhanced and two-part evidence-based selected-response questions.
Results
Four performance levels: Developing, Approaching, Meeting and Advanced. In grade 4 science the scale runs from 300 to 725.
A bell rings and you hear it. Which list puts the steps in the right order?National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, How Do We Hear?; Wisconsin Standards for Science (2017), SCI.LS1.D.4 (Life Science)
Bats catch flying insects in the dark. Which sense do they mostly use to find them?National Park Service, Bats: Echolocation; Wisconsin Standards for Science (2017), SCI.LS1.D.4 (Life Science)
The cut stem of a white flower is placed in blue water. The next day the petals have turned blue. Which job of the stem does this show?Missouri Botanical Garden, Biology of Plants: Plant Parts; Wisconsin Standards for Science (2017), SCI.LS1.A.4 (Life Science)
Last week a dog chased a squirrel away from an oak tree. Now the squirrel stays away from that tree. What is guiding the squirrel?Wisconsin Standards for Science (2017), SCI.LS1.D.4 (Life Science)
Special cells at the back of the eye turn light into signals. Where do the signals go next?National Eye Institute, How the Eyes Work; Wisconsin Standards for Science (2017), SCI.LS1.D.4 (Life Science)
What do the roots of a plant do?Missouri Botanical Garden, Biology of Plants: Plant Parts; Wisconsin Standards for Science (2017), SCI.LS1.A.4 (Life Science)
Show all 40 questions (34 more)
Life Science, continued
What is the job of a flower?Missouri Botanical Garden, Biology of Plants: Plant Parts; Wisconsin Standards for Science (2017), SCI.LS1.A.4 (Life Science)
When you breathe in, what do your lungs move from the air into your blood?National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, How the Lungs Work; Wisconsin Standards for Science (2017), SCI.LS1.A.4 (Life Science)
Which internal structure pumps blood through the human body?National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, How the Heart Works; Wisconsin Standards for Science (2017), SCI.LS1.A.4 (Life Science)
Which part of most plants makes the plant's food?Missouri Botanical Garden, Biology of Plants: Plant Parts; Wisconsin Standards for Science (2017), SCI.LS1.A.4 (Life Science)
Physical Science 10
A bowling ball hits a pin. The pin flies off and the ball rolls on a little more slowly. Why does the ball slow down?Wisconsin Standards for Science (2017), SCI.PS3.C.4 (Physical Science)
A drummer hits a drum on a stage, and a moment later you hear it at the back of the room. How did the energy get to you?U.S. Energy Information Administration, Forms of energy; Wisconsin Standards for Science (2017), SCI.PS3.B.4 (Physical Science)
A lamp is plugged in and switched on. Which change of energy happens in the light bulb?Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, Performance Level Descriptors: Science, Grade 4; Wisconsin Standards for Science (2017), SCI.PS3.B.4 (Physical Science)
A lighthouse keeper sends a message to a ship with a lamp: two short flashes mean "safe" and three long flashes mean "danger". What idea does this show?Wisconsin Standards for Science (2017), SCI.PS4.C.4 (Physical Science)
A pebble falls into a still pond and waves spread out. A leaf on the pond bobs up and down as they pass but stays in about the same spot. What does this show?NOAA National Ocean Service, Why does the ocean have waves?; Wisconsin Standards for Science (2017), SCI.PS4.A.4 (Physical Science)
A rolling marble hits a marble that is sitting still. The second marble starts to roll. Why?Wisconsin Standards for Science (2017), SCI.PS3.C.4 (Physical Science)
A toy car is rolled into a wall of blocks three times. Rolled slowly, it knocks down 1 block. Rolled faster, it knocks down 3. Rolled fastest, it knocks down 6. What do the results show?Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, Performance Level Descriptors: Science, Grade 4; Wisconsin Standards for Science (2017), SCI.PS3.A.4 (Physical Science)
In a wave tank, the tops of the waves are 10 centimeters apart. Which property of the waves does this measure?NASA Science, Anatomy of an Electromagnetic Wave; Wisconsin Standards for Science (2017), SCI.PS4.A.4 (Physical Science)
Two sleds that are exactly alike slide down a hill. At the bottom, sled A is moving faster than sled B. Which sled has more energy of motion?U.S. Energy Information Administration, Forms of energy; Wisconsin Standards for Science (2017), SCI.PS3.A.4 (Physical Science)
You can see a book lying on a table in a lit room. What has to happen for you to see it?Wisconsin Standards for Science (2017), SCI.PS4.B.4 (Physical Science)
Earth and Space Science 10
A river has cut a canyon through flat rock layers that were never disturbed. A shell fossil lies in the bottom layer and a leaf fossil lies in the top layer. Which fossil is older?U.S. Geological Survey, Fossils, Rocks, and Time: Rocks and Layers; Wisconsin Standards for Science (2017), SCI.ESS1.C.4 (Earth and Space Science)
A town sits beside a river that floods after heavy spring rains. People cannot stop the rain. Which plan would best reduce the harm from floods?Wisconsin Standards for Science (2017), SCI.ESS3.B.3,4 (Earth and Space Science)
A town wants to make electricity from a source that nature keeps replacing. Which source should it choose?U.S. Energy Information Administration, Sources of energy; Wisconsin Standards for Science (2017), SCI.ESS3.A.4 (Earth and Space Science)
A tree seed sprouts in a small crack in a boulder. Many years later, the boulder has split in two around the tree. What does this show?National Geographic Society, Weathering; Wisconsin Standards for Science (2017), SCI.ESS2.E.4 (Earth and Space Science)
A world map marks every large earthquake and volcano. Most of the marks fall in long, narrow lines, with many around the edge of the Pacific Ocean. What does the map show?U.S. Geological Survey, What is the "Ring of Fire"?; Wisconsin Standards for Science (2017), SCI.ESS2.B.4 (Earth and Space Science)
After a heavy rain, the water in a clear stream turns brown. What does the brown color show?National Geographic Society, Erosion; Wisconsin Standards for Science (2017), SCI.ESS2.A.4 (Earth and Space Science)
Fossil seashells are found in the rock of a dry hillside, far from any ocean. What does this tell about that place long ago?UC Museum of Paleontology, Understanding Evolution: Fossil evidence; Wisconsin Standards for Science (2017), SCI.ESS1.C.4 (Earth and Space Science)
Thousands of years ago, a sheet of ice that was thousands of feet thick moved over much of Wisconsin. What did the ice and its meltwater do to the land?Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey, Ice Age Geology; Wisconsin Standards for Science (2017), SCI.ESS2.A.4 (Earth and Space Science)
Water seeps into a crack in a rock and freezes on cold nights, winter after winter. What happens to the rock?National Geographic Society, Weathering; Wisconsin Standards for Science (2017), SCI.ESS2.A.4 (Earth and Space Science)
Why are coal, oil and natural gas called nonrenewable?U.S. Energy Information Administration, Sources of energy; Wisconsin Standards for Science (2017), SCI.ESS3.A.4 (Earth and Space Science)
Engineering 10
A class is designing a bird feeder. Which statement is a criterion, a feature the finished feeder should have?Wisconsin Standards for Science (2017), SCI.ETS1.A.3-5 (Engineering)
A class tests three paper airplane designs to see which flies farthest. What must stay the same for the test to be fair?Wisconsin Standards for Science (2017), SCI.ETS1.C.3-5 (Engineering)
A lunch box should keep food cold for at least 4 hours and must cost less than $10. Design A keeps food cold for 5 hours and costs $8. Design B keeps food cold for 6 hours and costs $14. Which design should be chosen?Wisconsin Standards for Science (2017), SCI.ETS1.A.3-5 (Engineering)
A team builds a toy boat and tests it only in calm water. Why should they also test it in waves?Wisconsin Standards for Science (2017), SCI.ETS1.B.3-5 (Engineering)
A team designs a backpack that is very strong, but it is also heavy and costs a lot. What does this show about engineering?Wisconsin Standards for Science (2017), SCI.ETS3.C.3-5 (Engineering)
Engineers keep changing the design of bicycle helmets. What is the most likely reason?Wisconsin Standards for Science (2017), SCI.ETS2.B.3-5 (Engineering)
In test after test, a paper tower bends at the same joint just before it falls. How should the team use this result?Wisconsin Standards for Science (2017), SCI.ETS1.B.3-5 (Engineering)
People once sent news in letters that took days to arrive. Today a text message arrives in seconds. What does this show about new technology?Wisconsin Standards for Science (2017), SCI.ETS2.B.3-5 (Engineering)
Students must build a model bridge. They may use only 50 craft sticks and one bottle of glue. What are the 50 sticks and one bottle of glue?Wisconsin Standards for Science (2017), SCI.ETS1.A.3-5 (Engineering)
Students want to design a rain barrel for the school garden. What should they do first?Wisconsin Standards for Science (2017), SCI.ETS1.B.3-5 (Engineering)
How this list was compiled: Outline: Forward Science Exam Blueprint, Grades 4 and 8, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, https://dpi.wi.gov/media/26844/download?inline, and Wisconsin Forward Exam 2026 Test Designs, https://dpi.wi.gov/media/26486/download?inline, both linked from Forward Exam Resources, https://dpi.wi.gov/assessment/forward/resources, read 2026-10-13: the reporting categories, their score points and the number of questions. Each question names the performance indicator it practices in the Wisconsin Standards for Science (2017), https://dpi.wi.gov/media/28493/download?inline, read 2026-10-13; the grade 4 Performance Level Descriptors for science, https://dpi.wi.gov/media/26896/download?inline, were read the same day to see which indicators the grade 4 test reports on. The fact in an answer is one the indicator gives, or is worked out from the data in the question. 24 of the 40 questions also rest on a public page named under the answer, each opened 2026-10-13: Missouri Botanical Garden, Biology of Plants: Plant Parts; National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, How the Heart Works; National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, How the Lungs Work; National Eye Institute, How the Eyes Work; National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, How Do We Hear?; National Park Service, Bats: Echolocation; U.S. Energy Information Administration, Forms of energy; Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, Performance Level Descriptors: Science, Grade 4; NOAA National Ocean Service, Why does the ocean have waves?; NASA Science, Anatomy of an Electromagnetic Wave; U.S. Geological Survey, Fossils, Rocks, and Time: Rocks and Layers; UC Museum of Paleontology, Understanding Evolution: Fossil evidence; National Geographic Society, Weathering; National Geographic Society, Erosion; Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey, Ice Age Geology; U.S. Geological Survey, What is the "Ring of Fire"?; U.S. Energy Information Administration, Sources of energy. Licence: Own work. Questions, answer choices and explanations were written for this site. Nothing is copied or reworded from a Forward Exam, the department's practice test, a sample item, a workbook or another practice test. The department's grade 4 science practice test was not read.
How it works
Unofficial practice for the grade 4 science section of the Wisconsin Forward Exam: 40 questions of our own, the number the real test scores, 10 in each reporting category. Not affiliated with the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.
Read the full guide
What the grade 4 Forward Exam asks in science
The blueprint gives each of four reporting categories 8 to 12 of the 40 points. In grade 4 the Wisconsin Standards for Science put plant and animal structures and the senses under Life Science; energy, collisions, waves and light under Physical Science; and rock layers, erosion, maps of earthquakes and volcanoes, energy resources and natural hazards under Earth and Space Science.
Engineering sits inside the other three
The blueprint lists no separate engineering scenarios. Its questions are embedded in three or four of the question sets from the other subjects, or stand alone. They ask about criteria and constraints, fair tests, and how a test result should change a design.
On the real test most questions come in sets of three or four about one scenario, so read the scenario before the first question.
Questions and answers
How many questions are on the 4th grade Forward Exam science test?
45, in three sessions of 15. Of those, 40 are scored, for 40 points, and 5 are field test questions that do not count.
How long is the Forward Exam science test?
It has no time limit. For scheduling only, the department suggests 35 minutes for each of the three science sessions and says students may take more time or less.
What score is Meeting on the 4th grade Forward Exam in science?
From 496 to 542, on a scale that runs from 300 to 725. Developing and Approaching are below it, and Advanced starts at 543.
Which grades take the Forward Exam in science?
Grades 4 and 8. English language arts and mathematics are given in grades 3 to 8, and social studies in grades 4, 8 and 10.
Is there a Forward Exam science practice test for grade 4 from the state?
Yes. The Department of Public Instruction lists a grade 4 science practice test on its Forward Exam practice test page, linked in the box under the questions.