Facts
Real facts about everything, written for your grade.
Elementary school is where kids go from kindergarten to about 5th grade. Most kids are there from about age 5 to 11.
Elementary school is where kids go to learn to read, write, add, and find out about the world. It usually covers kindergarten through 5th grade, so most kids are there from about age 5 to 11. In some places it goes up to 6th grade.
In many other countries, the same years are called primary school.
Your school may use a different set of grades, so check with your teacher if you are not sure.
In the US, elementary school usually runs from kindergarten through 5th grade, for children about 5 to 11 years old; some districts end it at 4th or 6th grade, and a K–8 school keeps children to 8th grade. The word elementary means the first, basic parts of a subject, the elements, which is what these grades teach: reading, writing and arithmetic. It is also called grade school or primary school.
The US Department of Education's statistics office, NCES, describes the shape this way: after kindergarten, children "ordinarily spend 6 to 8 years in elementary school", followed by 4 to 6 years of secondary school, and the structure varies from place to place (Digest of Education Statistics, chapter 1, read 29 October 2026). That is why one town's elementary school ends at 5th grade and the next town's at 6th.
| Grade | Typical age during the year | Peabody reading starts at | Peabody math |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 5 to 6 | Level 1 | Kindergarten math |
| 1st grade | 6 to 7 | Level 3 | 1st grade math |
| 2nd grade | 7 to 8 | Level 5 | 2nd grade math |
| 3rd grade | 8 to 9 | Level 7 | 3rd grade math |
| 4th grade | 9 to 10 | Level 8 | 4th grade math |
| 5th grade | 10 to 11 | Level 9 | 5th grade math |
| 6th grade (in some districts) | 11 to 12 | Level 10 | 6th grade math |
The ages follow from when kindergarten starts. In 44 of the 50 states and DC, state law sets kindergarten entry at age 5 by a cut-off date, and in 29 of them that date falls in September; in the others the school district decides (NCES State Education Practices, table 5.3, 2018 data, read 29 October 2026). A child with a birthday near the cut-off can be the youngest or the oldest in the class, so a 6 year old may be in kindergarten or 1st grade. The age at which school becomes required also differs by state, from 5 to 8 in that table.
The reading levels are Peabody's own, measured from each story's text; the column shows the level where a child who picks that grade starts, and the level moves with how the reading goes.
Each state sets its own standards, so this is the rough shape, not a rule:
Science, social studies, art, music and physical education run alongside. For what Peabody practises at each step, open a grade's math page or a reading level; for something to read at each grade, there are stories for 1st graders, 2nd graders and up.
They are the same stage with different names. Elementary school is the usual American term; primary school is used in England and many other countries. In England, children start in Reception at 4 to 5 and finish primary school after Year 6, at 10 to 11 (GOV.UK: the national curriculum, read 29 October 2026). So a US 5th grader is about the age of a Year 6 pupil in England. After elementary school comes middle school (often 6th to 8th grade) or junior high, then high school.
Peabody is free through the end of 2026, with no sign-up and no ads. A child starts from the front page with one tap; Peabody asks for their grade and starts the reading and math there. To browse first, try the learning games by grade or the library of stories sorted by reading level.
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