What's on the Mark Twain Science and Computer/Math Talent Tests

The Science talent test: format and topics

Mark Twain describes its Science Talent entrance exam as a traditional paper-based test of 50 multiple-choice questions. Notice how little of the topic list is memorized facts. Most of it is thinking like a scientist: reading a graph, spotting a pattern in data, deciding whether an experiment is fair, and following a written procedure step by step. Reading comprehension is on the list too, so a child who reads carefully and slowly through a passage about an experiment has a real edge. The school does not publish the time limit, so plan to practice at a steady pace rather than to a specific clock. If Science at Twain is your child's first choice, the school says to list it first on the application.

Three original Science practice questions

These are original practice questions we wrote in the style of the topics Twain lists (data tables, fair tests, drawing conclusions). They are not from Mark Twain or the DOE, and the real test may look different. Have your child answer before reading the explanation, then talk through the why together.

1. Original practice question in the style of the Mark Twain Science talent test.

   Maya measured a bean plant every two days. Day 1: 2 cm. Day 3: 5 cm. Day 5: 8 cm. Day 7: 11 cm. If the plant keeps growing the same way, how tall will it be on Day 9?

   A) 12 cmB) 13 cmC) 14 cmD) 16 cm

   Answer: C) 14 cm. The plant grows 3 cm every two days, so 11 + 3 = 14.

2. Original practice question in the style of the Mark Twain Science talent test.

   Maya wants to test whether salt water freezes more slowly than plain water. She puts one cup of each in the freezer. Which of these should be DIFFERENT between the two cups?

   A) The amount of water in each cupB) Whether salt is addedC) The size of the cupsD) Where in the freezer the cups sit

   Answer: B) Whether salt is added. In a fair test only one thing changes; everything else must stay the same.

3. Original practice question in the style of the Mark Twain Science talent test.

   A toy car rolls 120 cm on a wooden floor, 80 cm on a rug, and 40 cm on thick carpet, pushed the same way each time. Which conclusion do these results best support?

   A) Heavier cars roll fartherB) Rougher surfaces make the car stop soonerC) The car rolls faster on carpetD) Wood is heavier than carpet

   Answer: B) Rougher surfaces make the car stop sooner. Only the surface changed, and distance dropped as the surface got rougher (more friction).

The Computer/Math talent test: format and topics

The Computer/Math Talent exam is also paper-based with 50 multiple-choice questions. Despite the name, children do not need to know a programming language. The coding topics are about computational thinking: following a loop by hand, tracing what an if/else rule does, finding the bug in a short set of instructions, and putting steps in the right order. The rest is strong 5th-grade math stretched a little further: number sense, patterns, early algebra, shapes and spatial reasoning, and simple probability, often wrapped in word problems. As with Science, Twain does not publish the time limit, and if Computer/Math is your first choice you list it first.

Three original Computer/Math practice questions

Again, these are original practice questions we wrote in the style of the listed topics (loops, patterns, conditions). They are not official samples. The best habit to build here is tracing: writing down the value after each step instead of doing it in your head.

1. Original practice question in the style of the Mark Twain Computer/Math talent test.

   A program starts with x = 3. It runs this step 4 times: x = x × 2. What is x at the end?

   A) 11B) 24C) 48D) 96

   Answer: C) 48. 3 → 6 → 12 → 24 → 48; the loop doubles x four times.

2. Original practice question in the style of the Mark Twain Computer/Math talent test.

   What number comes next? 2, 5, 11, 23, __

   A) 35B) 46C) 47D) 49

   Answer: C) 47. Each number is doubled, then 1 is added: 23 × 2 + 1 = 47.

3. Original practice question in the style of the Mark Twain Computer/Math talent test.

   A program reads a number n. If n > 10 it prints BIG. Otherwise, if n > 5 it prints MEDIUM. Otherwise it prints SMALL. What does it print when n = 10?

   A) BIGB) MEDIUMC) SMALLD) Nothing

   Answer: B) MEDIUM. 10 is not greater than 10, so the first check fails; 10 > 5 is true, so it prints MEDIUM.

A six-week prep plan that fits a school year

Register by Monday, November 2, 2026, then count back six weeks from the testing date that appears in your child's MySchools account in late December (Twain has posted tentative January dates). Twenty to thirty minutes, four days a week, is plenty for a 10-year-old. MiloMint Learn has a Mark Twain section built for exactly this: a Science bank of 250 questions and a Computer Science bank of 300 questions, each with short lessons and a glossary, topic practice and timed full tests. Turn on “Read first” so your child reads the question before the answers appear, and use the parent view to see progress and the missed questions to revisit together. It is practice in the style of the topics, not an official test, and it is part of Milo+ ($3.99 a month or $29.99 a year).