North Carolina Standards
North Carolina Kindergarten Math Standards
All 23 North Carolina math standards for kindergarten, each explained in plain English. The official wording is in North Carolina Department of Public Instruction's document, linked at the end of this page.
23 standards
Counting and Cardinality
7 standardsNC.K.CC.1
Say the counting numbers aloud to 100, one at a time and by tens, noticing patterns like 31, 32, 33 echoing 1, 2, 3.
NC.K.CC.2
Start counting from any number, like 7, and keep going without going back to 1.
NC.K.CC.3
Write the numerals 0 to 20 and write the number that shows how many objects are in a group, with 0 for none.
NC.K.CC.4
Touch each object once while saying one number, know the last number said is the total however things are spread out, and see up to 5 at a glance.
NC.K.CC.5
Count out up to 20 objects on request, tell the new total when one more is added, and count 20 in a line, array or circle or 10 scattered.
NC.K.CC.6
Tell whether one group of up to 10 objects has more, fewer or the same as another, by matching them up or counting each group.
NC.K.CC.7
Look at two written numbers from 0 to 10 and tell which one is greater, like knowing 8 is more than 5.
Operations and Algebraic Thinking
6 standardsNC.K.OA.1
Show adding and taking away within 10 in many ways, like fingers, objects, drawings, sounds or acting it out, and link the ways together.
NC.K.OA.2
Use objects or drawings to solve story problems within 10, like 3 birds joining 4 birds, or the ways 6 apples could be split between two bags.
NC.K.OA.3
Break numbers up to 10 into two parts in different ways with objects or drawings, and record each one, like 5 = 2 + 3 and 5 = 4 + 1.
NC.K.OA.4
Find the partner that makes 10 for any number from 0 to 10 using objects or drawings, and record it, like 7 needs 3 more.
NC.K.OA.6
See small groups at a glance and put them together for totals up to 5, like spotting 2 dots and 3 dots as 5.
NC.K.OA.5
Add and subtract within 5 quickly and accurately, like knowing 3 + 2 and 4 - 1 without counting.
Number and Operations in Base Ten
1 standardNC.K.NBT.1
Build and break apart the numbers 11 to 19 as a group of ten ones plus some extra ones, with objects or drawings, and record it, like 14 = 10 + 4.
Measurement and Data
3 standardsNC.K.MD.1
Describe things about an object that can be measured, like its length or weight, and name several of them for one object.
NC.K.MD.2
Put two objects side by side to see which is longer, heavier or holds more, and describe the difference between them.
NC.K.MD.3
Sort objects into groups, like by color, count how many are in each group, and put the groups in order by how many.
Geometry
6 standardsNC.K.G.1
Use shape names to describe things around them, and tell where objects are with words like above, below, beside, in front of and behind.
NC.K.G.2
Name flat and solid shapes whatever their size or the way they are turned, like circles, triangles, squares, rectangles, hexagons, spheres, cubes, cones and cylinders.
NC.K.G.3
Tell whether a shape is flat or solid, sorting circles, triangles, squares, rectangles and hexagons from cubes, cones, cylinders and spheres.
NC.K.G.4
Look closely at flat and solid shapes of any size or position and compare them in everyday words, like a can and a ball both rolling.
NC.K.G.5
Draw and build circles, squares, triangles, rectangles and hexagons, and build solid cubes, cones, cylinders and spheres, to model objects around them.
NC.K.G.6
Put simple shapes together to make bigger shapes, like joining two triangles to make a square.
The official North Carolina documents
- North Carolina K-12 Mathematics Standard Course of Study · adopted June 2017 · since 2018-19, through 2027-28
- North Carolina Standard Course of Study, K-8 Mathematics · adopted June 2017 · since 2018-19, through 2027-28
- 2026 K-12 Mathematics Standard Course of Study · coming next · adopted October 2026 · installation years 2026-27 and 2027-28
The plain-English lines on this page are EMStudio's own explanations of North Carolina's standards, not the official wording, which North Carolina Department of Public Instruction publishes in the documents above. Codes and strand names identify each standard.