Is My Child Behind in Reading? A Parent-Friendly Guide to NYS Reading Standards by Grade
As former NYC teachers, we believe that reading is the most important academic skill your child will develop in elementary school. Parents often ask: “How do I know if my child is behind in reading?” or “What should my child be able to read in second grade?” Every child learns to read at a different pace. Development is rarely linear, and children acquire various reading skills in unique sequences. For many parents, it can be hard to know how to tell if your child is behind in reading or whether they are meeting grade-level reading expectations. Classroom work, teacher feedback, and report card language can feel opaque, leaving families unsure where their child stands.
Fortunately, there are clear, enumerated skills and expectations for what children should be able to do in reading at each grade level, as outlined by the NYS Reading Standards. But let’s be honest, no parent has time to read a 129-page document! Here, we break down what we feel are the most important reading skills by grade, from decoding in the early years to analysis and critical thinking in upper elementary grades, so you can understand what your child should be learning at each stage.
Reading Skills by Grade: NYS Reading Standards Summarized & Explained
Understanding what your child should be able to do in reading at each grade level can help you track their progress, support their growth, and identify areas where they may need extra help. Use this chart, or the below outline, as a roadmap for development of key skills in decoding, comprehension, fluency, and text analysis.
Grades K-1: A Focus on Decoding
Reading skills are generally divided into two main categories: decoding (actually reading the words) and comprehension (understanding and interpreting what is read). In the early grades, reading development emphasizes decoding, which is essential for building a foundation in literacy.
Kindergarten Reading Skills:
Decoding : Begin to read some regularly spelled words, but not yet independently reading whole texts.
Produce the primary sound of each letter (consonants and vowels)
Read some regularly spelled one-syllable words (e.g., cat, cup, top)
Read common high-frequency words by sight (e.g., the, he, she, and, they)
Comprehension: Engage with books and identify information, though not yet interpreting text.
Retell stories or share key details, identifying some supporting information
Identify characters, settings, major events, or pieces of information in a text
Make connections between self, text, and the world
1st Grade Reading Skills:
Decoding: Developing independence with reading beginner texts (books specifically designed for beginner readers) including beginning to self correct errors when reading out loud. Starting in first, readers begin to read aloud with improved fluidity (appropriate expression and rate).
Know letter-sound correspondences for blends and digraphs (e.g., sh, ch, th)
Decode long vowel sounds in regularly spelled one-syllable words (home, rain, cake)
Decode regularly spelled two-syllable words by breaking into syllables
Comprehension: Increased understanding of main ideas and description of story elements (plot, setting, characters).
Identify a main topic or central idea and retell key details in a text; summarize portions of a text
In literary texts, describe how characters respond to major events and challenges
In informational texts, describe the connections between ideas or a series of events
Structure:
Recognize different genres, including fiction vs. nonfiction
Grades 2-3: Pushing Towards Fluency with Comprehension
In the middle elementary years, fluency becomes a key skill. Fluency is the ability to read smoothly, with attention to punctuation, while also beginning to focus on comprehension. By grades 2-3, children are expected to read more independently and begin understanding text at a deeper level.
2nd Grade Reading Skills:
Decoding: Increased independent reading, including reading short chapter books.
Decode two-syllable words with short and long vowels
Read all common high-frequency words by sight
Use strategies to decode unknown words (compound words, context clues, roots, prefixes, suffixes)
Comprehension: Increased comprehension of story elements (setting, plot, character) and how they impact one another. Characters may face more than one problem.
Identify main topics or central ideas and summarize key details; summarize portions of a text
Early analysis of literary texts: describe how characters respond to events and challenges
Early analysis of informational texts: describe connections between ideas or events
Structure & Craft:
Describe the overall structure of a text, including describing how the beginning introduces the text and the ending concludes the text
Distinguish shades of meaning among closely related words (e.g., toss, throw, hurl; thin, slender, skinny, scrawny) and use this understanding to form more nuanced ideas
3rd Grade Reading Skills:
Decoding: Can decode almost any word (within reason…) and has increased fluidity with appropriate tone and pacing. Independently reading chapter books (note: these are still grade-level chapter books)!
Read multisyllabic and irregularly spelled words accurately
Understand and read words with common prefixes and suffixes
Independently read grade-level chapter books with appropriate rate and expression and self-correct errors to demonstrate understanding of what they have read
Comprehension: Deepening comprehension of longer, more complex, texts including determining a theme of a text.
Determine themes or central ideas and explain with supporting details and relevant text evidence
Describe character traits, motivations, or feelings with text evidence
Discuss how the reader’s point of view may differ from that of the author, narrator or characters in a text
Structure & Craft:
Recognize genres and connect to other texts, ideas, and cultural perspectives, and personal experiences
Determine meaning of figurative language, and content-specific or academic terms/phrases
Grades 4-5: Reading to Learn
By later elementary grades, students transition from “learning to read” to reading to learn. This stage emphasizes analysis, including understanding character development, themes, and making connections between texts and the real world.
4th Grade Reading Skills:
Decoding: Fluently decoding all texts 🙂
Use letter-sound knowledge, syllabication patterns, and morphology (roots/affixes) to read multisyllabic words
Comprehension: Increased comprehension of what is implicitly (rather than explicitly) stated in a text.
Make inferences based on what is both implicitly and explicitly said and refer to relevant text evidence to support those ideas
Compare and contrast the point of view of different stories, including difference between first-person and third-person narrations and their effect on the text
Structure & Craft:
Identify informational text structures (sequence, comparison, cause/effect, problem/solution)
Integrate knowledge from multiple perspectives on a topic and compare and contrast primary and secondary sources
Understand figurative language, including metaphors
5th Grade Reading Skills:
Comprehension: Increased comprehension of how the character’s/narrators/author's point of view impacts the text.
Analyze multiple nonfiction accounts of the same topic, comparing and contrasting the differing point of views
make informed judgments about the quality of texts and make connections to other texts, ideas, cultural perspectives, eras and personal experiences
Make informed judgments about the quality of texts and connect to other texts, ideas, cultural perspectives, or personal experiences
Structure & Craft:
In fiction texts, explain how a series of chapters, scenes, or stanzas fits together to determine the overall structure of a text
In nonfiction, compare overall structure across texts using terms such as sequence, comparison, cause/effect, and problem/solution
Analyze how visual and multimedia elements contribute to meaning of texts
Reading Benchmarks Are a Roadmap, Not a Diagnosis
If you review these skills and worry that your child seems “behind,” don’t panic. This progression is a roadmap, not a race, and children develop reading skills at different paces. These benchmarks are meant to help you notice patterns, ask thoughtful questions, and better understand the feedback you see on report cards or hear from teachers. If something feels off, reach out to your child’s teacher; they can clarify expectations, share classroom observations, and suggest supportive next steps. With the right information and a collaborative approach, you can help ensure your child gets what they need to grow as a confident, capable reader.