Reading level checker
Is this story right for my child? Paste a bedtime story, a school book extract, or anything you’ve written to see its reading level by age and school year — plus all six classic readability scores.
Paste or type some text to see its readability scores.
Reading levels by age
Readability formulas report US school grades. Here’s how those line up with ages and UK school years, and what text at each level tends to look like.
| US grade | UK year | Ages | What the text looks like |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | Year 1 | 5–6 | Very short sentences, familiar one-syllable words, lots of repetition and rhythm. |
| Grades 1–2 | Years 2–3 | 6–8 | Short sentences and simple dialogue — first readers and early chapter books. |
| Grades 3–4 | Years 4–5 | 8–10 | Longer sentences, a wider vocabulary, and chapters with a proper plot. |
| Grades 5–6 | Years 6–7 | 10–12 | Complex sentences, figurative language, and several storylines at once. |
| Grades 7–8 | Years 8–9 | 12–14 | Abstract ideas and longer paragraphs — comfortable reading for most adults. |
| Grades 9–12 | Years 10–13 | 14–18 | Adult vocabulary and long, layered sentences. |
Reading alone vs reading aloud
A child’s listening level runs well ahead of their reading level for most of primary school. A six-year-old still sounding out “the cat sat” can happily follow a story with dragons, dilemmas, and words like “enormous” — as long as someone else is doing the reading. So the age the checker gives is for reading alone; for a bedtime story read aloud, the same text usually works for children a year or two younger.
Keeping a wriggly listener with you is its own skill — there are some ideas in how to read aloud to a child who won’t sit still.
How the checker works
The checker splits your text into sentences and words, estimates syllables, and runs six well-established formulas. The headline reading level is the average of the five that output a school grade — Flesch-Kincaid, Gunning Fog, SMOG, Coleman-Liau, and the Automated Readability Index — because no single formula is reliable on its own. Everything happens in your browser.
What readability scores can’t tell you
Formulas count lengths, not meaning. They can’t hear rhyme and repetition, which make picture books far easier than their scores suggest, and they can’t see illustrations that explain a tricky word. Invented words and unusual names can skew syllable counts. Most importantly, they say nothing about whether a story’s themes suit your child — that part is still down to you.
How to make a story easier to read
- Split any sentence over about 15 words — the checker lists the longest ones.
- Swap long words for everyday ones: “big” for “enormous”, “started” for “commenced”.
- Keep to one idea per sentence, and let dialogue carry the action.
- Keep a few delicious long words. A story is a good place to meet new vocabulary — just not too many at once.
- Read it aloud. If you stumble, a young reader will too.
Frequently asked questions
What reading level is right for my child?
For books they read on their own, aim at or slightly below their school year — reading should feel smooth, not like a puzzle. For stories you read aloud, you can go a year or two higher, because children understand far more than they can decode yet.
What’s the difference between reading level and age suitability?
Reading level measures how hard the words and sentences are. It says nothing about themes. A novel with short sentences can score at grade 3 while dealing with grief or violence, so always check the content as well as the score.
Why do the formulas give different grades?
Each one weighs different features — syllables, letters, or long words — and was calibrated on different readers. That’s why the checker averages five grade-level formulas instead of trusting just one.
Are readability scores accurate for picture books?
Only roughly. Formulas were built for prose, and picture books lean on rhyme, repetition, and illustrations that make harder words easy to follow. Treat the score as a starting point and read the book yourself.
Is the text I paste stored anywhere?
No. The scores are calculated in your browser, and your text is never sent to Dandle or anyone else.