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Common Core ELA Standards

All 455 Common Core English language arts standards from kindergarten to 12th grade: reading, writing, speaking and listening, and language. Each one is explained in plain English, with an example and practice.

ELA Standards by Grade

Kindergarten to 12th grade. Lettered parts like L.3.1a sit on their parent standard’s page.
Kindergarten41 standards6 with free practice1st Grade41 standards6 with free practice2nd Grade40 standards7 with free practice3rd Grade42 standards5 with free practice4th Grade43 standards5 with free practice5th Grade43 standards5 with free practice6th Grade41 standards1 with free practice7th Grade41 standards1 with free practice8th Grade41 standards1 with free practiceGrades 9–1041 standardsExplained in plain EnglishGrades 11–1241 standardsExplained in plain English
Literacy in history, science and technical subjects. From 6th grade, separate ELA standards cover reading and writing in those classes.See the Literacy Standards

The Six Strands

Every grade’s ELA standards fall into six strands, and each code starts with its strand: RL.3.1 is in Reading: Literature, L.3.1 in Language.

RL

Reading: Literature

Stories, drama and poetry: what they say, how they are built, and how they compare.

Kindergarten to 11–12 · 9 standards per grade

RI

Reading: Informational

Nonfiction, like articles, biographies, explanations and arguments.

Kindergarten to 11–12 · 10 standards per grade

RF

Foundational Skills

Print concepts, phonological awareness, phonics and word recognition, and fluency.

Kindergarten to 5th Grade · 2 to 4 standards per grade

W

Writing

Opinion writing (argument from 6th grade), informative and narrative writing, plus the writing process and research.

Kindergarten to 11–12 · 7 to 10 standards per grade

SL

Speaking & Listening

Discussions, listening, asking and answering questions, and presenting.

Kindergarten to 11–12 · 6 standards per grade

L

Language

Grammar and usage, capitalization, punctuation and spelling, and vocabulary.

Kindergarten to 11–12 · 5 to 6 standards per grade

How the Anchor Standards Link the Grades

Every ELA standard is a grade-level step toward one of 32 College and Career Readiness anchor standards: 10 for reading, 10 for writing, 6 for speaking and listening and 6 for language. The number in a code tells you which anchor it builds toward, so RL.3.1, RI.3.1 and RL.4.1 all lead to Reading anchor 1.

Reading Anchor 1 · Where It Ends Up

Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.

  1. RL.K.1With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
  2. RL.1.1Ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
  3. RL.2.1Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text.
  4. RL.3.1Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.
  5. RL.4.1Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
  6. RL.5.1Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
  7. RL.8.1Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
  8. RL.11-12.1Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain.

Questions About the Common Core ELA Standards

Common Core State Standards © Copyright 2010. National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers. All rights reserved. Official wording from the Common Core State Standards PDFs at corestandards.org, last checked October 14, 2026.