Convert Released State Tests into Classwork Activities

State departments of education release prior-year test forms each year. This article shows you how to find your state's released test, get it into Classwork, and add interactions so students practice in the exact format they will see on test day.

Workflow Overview

1. Find your state's released test
2. Download or export the PDF
3. Upload the PDF to Classwork
4. Add question interactions
5. Tag standards

Step 1: Find Your State's Released Test

Use the table below to go directly to your state's official released test or practice test portal. Each link goes to the state department of education's assessment page where released items or practice tests are posted.

Note for Texas and Florida teachers: STAAR and FAST no longer publish a downloadable PDF. Both states deliver released tests exclusively through an online platform. See Step 2 for the PDF export workaround.

* URL verified against official state DOE domain. Confirm the link is active before sharing with students. State portals may update annually. Grade Band Key: Elem = Grades 3–5 | MS = Grades 6–8 | HS = Grades 9–12 / End-of-Course.

Step 2: Get the PDF

On most state portals, look for a link labeled Released Test, Released Items, or Item Sampler. Click to open or download the PDF, then save it to your computer.

Texas (STAAR) and Florida (FAST): no downloadable PDF

Both states deliver released tests exclusively through Cambium's online testing platform. There is no official PDF file available for direct download. To create a usable file, export from your browser:

1. Open the released test in your browser on the state portal.
2. Press Ctrl+P (Windows) or Cmd+P (Mac) to open the print dialog.
3. Set the destination to Save as PDF.
4. Save the file and proceed to Step 3.

Important: Technology-enhanced items such as drag-and-drop, inline dropdowns, and multi-select grids will appear as static images or incomplete questions in the exported PDF. You will need to manually recreate those interactions inside Classwork after uploading.

Step 3: Upload the PDF to Classwork

1. From your Activities page, click the green + New File button.
2. In the pop-up window, click UPLOAD a file
3. Choose your saved PDF from your computer or Google Drive, or drag and drop it onto the upload option.
4. Once the file processes, select which pages to include using the thumbnails. Selected pages will be highlighted in blue.
5. Click Submit to open the activity in the editor.

For full details on creating an activity, see Creating Activites in Classwork.com.

Step 4: Add Question Interactions

Once the PDF is loaded in the editor, use the Question Type menu on the right to place an interaction on top of each question. Most released state test questions use one of these three types:

• Multiple Choice - Select Multiple Choice from the Question Type menu. Your cursor will change to crosshairs. Click to place the interaction box, then drag to resize it over the answer choices. Click the correct answer bubble to set the answer key.
  
  
• Multi-Select - Use this for questions that ask students to select more than one correct answer. Place and resize the interaction the same way as Multiple Choice, then click each correct answer bubble to mark all correct responses.
  
  
• Constructed Response - Use this for open-ended and short answer questions. Place the interaction box in the student response area. These are teacher-graded and do not auto-score.
  
  

For technology-enhanced items that did not export cleanly from the state portal, use the closest available interaction type.

For a walkthrough tutorial, see Add Auto-Scored Interactions in Classwork.com.

Step 5: Tag Standards

Released test questions are already aligned to your state's standards. Tagging each question in Classwork lets you generate reports showing which standards students need more practice on before the test.

1. Open the activity in Edit mode. If the activity is already assigned, open the Answer Key instead.
2. Click the question you want to align.
3. Click Standard(s) from the top toolbar, or open Edit and select Item Standard(s).
4. Click Search Standards, then select your State, Subject, and Grade Level.
5. Click the standard that applies to the question, then click Save Changes.

Most state portals include an answer key or item rationale document alongside the released test. These documents list the standard code for every question, which makes tagging straightforward.

Tip: Classwork remembers your recently used standards. After tagging your first question, you can select from your recent list without searching by state and subject again. You can also duplicate a tagged question with Ctrl+D and edit the answer, keeping the standard alignment.

For full details, see Add Standards to Activities.

Pro Tip

Released tests typically include an answer key and item rationale document on the same page where you found the test. Download both before you close the portal. The item rationale document identifies which standard each question measures, so you have everything you need to complete Steps 4 and 5 in one session.