Free reading check

See where your child is in reading. Free.

About 10 minutes. No login. A plain-language report shows what your child has mastered, what's coming next, and which books fit them right now.

Take the reading check
Once's ram and rat characters at a laptop — the friendly guides children meet during the Reading Check
Free
About 10 minutes
No prep needed
Plain-language report

What you'll learn

A 10-minute read of your child's foundational reading skills

Most reading feedback is just a comment at a parent-teacher conference. Sure, this is a brief check, not a formal diagnostic conducted by a trained reading specialist. But in just ten minutes, this Reading Check will give you an item-by-item look at four foundational skills with an approximate grade-level placement and recommendations for what to focus on next! A clear starting point.

An approximate reading level

Where your child sits on a Pre-K through 2nd grade scale, with seasonal markers (fall, winter, spring) — based on the four skills we assess. Concrete enough to act on, without false precision.

What they've mastered

An item-by-item view of how your child did on each skill we assess — letter names, letter sounds, word reading, sentence reading. Right-or-wrong answers, not subjective impressions.

What's next, and which books fit

Suggested skills to focus on next, plus book recommendations based on the placement. A practical place to start.

Why parents take it

Most parents come for one of three reasons

When the teacher says something

You want less subjective information.

Conferences move fast. You hear “they're doing fine” or “a little behind” and walk out without a real answer. The Reading Check gives you a concrete reading level and a specific list of skills — so you can ask better questions, follow up at home, or just sleep easier knowing where things stand.

When you're worried about progress

You see your child struggling and want a baseline.

Maybe they avoid reading. Maybe a sibling could read at this age and they can't. Maybe a sound-out is taking forever. The Reading Check shows you exactly which skills are solid and which ones to focus on — so you can act on something specific instead of worrying about something vague.

When you're just curious

You want to know where your child is — without a meeting.

You can do this even if you're not a teacher or reading specialist. The Reading Check puts the same milestones teachers use into your living room: letter names, letter sounds, word reading, sentence reading. It's 10 minutes that turns guesswork into clarity.

How it works

Ten minutes. Side-by-side. No prep.

The Reading Check is built for a kitchen table or a couch — not a clinic. You and your child go through it together.

  1. 01

    Sit side-by-side

    Open the Reading Check on a laptop or tablet. Sit next to your child, comfortable. No app, no login, no setup — about 30 seconds from click to start.
  2. 02

    Four short sections

    Letter names → letter sounds → word reading → sentence reading. Each section starts where your child is comfortable and stops when they hit their ceiling.
  3. 03

    You read prompts, they read aloud

    On-screen instructions tell you exactly what to say. Your child reads each letter, sound, or word out loud. You tap correct or incorrect. Total time: about 6 to 10 minutes.
  4. 04

    Get the report

    A plain-language report shows their reading level, what they've mastered, what to focus on next, and book recommendations based on their current ability. Save it, print it, share it with a teacher.

What we measure

The four skills behind early reading

These are the same skills used in school benchmark assessments.

Once's ram and snake characters teaching the letter r and the sound /r/

Letter names

Uppercase and lowercase letter recognition. The first foundational skill — and the one most preschool and kindergarten reading benchmarks start with.

Letter sounds

The phonemes each letter represents. This is the bridge from letters to reading and the bottleneck most struggling readers get stuck on.
All 44 phonemes

Word reading

Blending letters into words — both decodable words (cat, ship, stamp) and irregular sight words (the, was, said). Where reading starts to feel like reading.

Sentence reading

Reading whole sentences with accuracy and growing fluency. The Reading Check measures whether your child can hold reading together across multiple words, not just sound out one at a time.

The reading-level scale

Not “on track” or “behind.” A specific point.

The Reading Check places your child on a Pre-K through 2nd grade scale, with seasonal benchmarks (fall, winter, spring) — twelve distinct points instead of four vague ones. That precision is what turns a result into a plan.

  1. Pre-K

    Fall · Winter · Spring

  2. Kindergarten

    Fall · Winter · Spring

  3. 1st grade

    Fall · Winter · Spring

  4. 2nd grade

    Fall · Winter · Spring

Each grade is split into fall, winter, and spring benchmarks. Your child's report shows their current placement and the next benchmark up.

Built by Once

Why this isn't just another quiz

The Reading Check comes from a team that has spent years studying how 3-to-7 year olds learn to read. Same research, same standards, same skills — measured for free, in your living room.

Stanford research

Built on rigorous reading science.

Once started in collaboration with researchers at Stanford University to bring the most evidence-backed early-reading instruction into a format families and schools could actually use. That same research foundation shaped the Reading Check.

Science of Reading

Aligned with how children actually learn to read.

The skills the Reading Check measures — letter names, letter sounds, word reading, sentence reading — follow the research-backed sequence at the heart of the Science of Reading. Same milestones used in K–2 classroom benchmark assessments.

ESSA Tier 3 evidence

Four ESSA-aligned studies completed.

The Once Early-Reading Program has been the subject of four federally aligned ESSA studies, including Tier 3 efficacy research. That same standard of evidence is what the Reading Check is calibrated against — not an opinion, a measurement.
Read the research behind Once

Common questions

Is the Reading Check actually free?
Yes — completely free, no credit card, no trial. We ask for an email so we can send you the report and any updates to your child's results, but Once does not require a paid signup to use the Reading Check or to receive the results. We built it as a public resource for families.
How long does it take?
About 6 to 10 minutes for most children. Each of the four sections (letter names, letter sounds, word reading, sentence reading) ends as soon as your child hits their ceiling, so younger or less-experienced readers actually finish faster than older ones.
What ages is the Reading Check designed for?
Roughly 3 to 7 years old — the developmental window where most children move from letter recognition to fluent early reading. The scale spans Pre-K through 2nd grade. If your child is already reading chapter books fluently, the Reading Check will hit its ceiling early and the report will tell you that.
Do I need to prep anything?
No. Open the link on a laptop or tablet, sit next to your child, and start. The Reading Check guides you through every prompt on-screen — you don't need a teaching background and you don't need to read anything in advance. We recommend a quiet space and 10 minutes when your child is awake and not hungry.
What if my child gets nervous, distracted, or shy?
That's expected — the Reading Check is designed to handle it. Sit close. Let them know there's no grade. If they freeze on an item, mark it incorrect and move on. You can pause and come back. If a session goes sideways, you can simply retake the Reading Check another day; we'll keep the most recent result.
How accurate is this compared to a school assessment?
The Reading Check measures the same foundational skills used in K–2 classroom benchmark assessments (letter names, letter sounds, word reading, sentence reading). It is not a diagnostic tool for dyslexia or learning differences — those require a trained specialist. But for the question “where is my child in early reading?”, the Reading Check gives you a concrete, research-aligned answer.
What does the report actually show me?
Your child's placement on a Pre-K through 2nd grade scale (with fall, winter, or spring precision); a clear list of skills they've mastered; the very next skills to focus on; and 3 to 5 book recommendations based on their current ability. Plain language throughout — no jargon, no clinical scoring rubric you have to decode.
Will you email me the results?
Yes. As soon as you finish, the report is on screen and emailed to the address you provide so you can save it, print it, or share it with a teacher. We do not share your email with third parties.
Will Once try to sell me something after?
We'll mention that Once also offers a paid early-reading program for families who want a structured next step — but the Reading Check is not a sales funnel. The report stands on its own and is genuinely useful even if you never come back to Once again. That's the deal.
Can teachers use this with their class?
Yes. Teachers regularly use the Reading Check as a quick, plain-language baseline for individual students or as a before/after measurement around interventions. If you're a teacher or principal interested in school-wide use, see Once for schools.
What if my child can't read any words yet?
Perfect — that's exactly the kind of result the Reading Check is designed to give you a clear answer on. The report will show which letters and sounds are solid, which letters and sounds are next, and concrete activities to work on. Pre-readers and emerging readers get just as much value as more advanced ones.
Is the Reading Check aligned with my state's standards?
The Reading Check measures the foundational reading skills explicitly named in nearly every state's K–2 ELA standards — letter recognition, phonemic awareness, decoding, and sentence-level fluency. For a deeper look at how Once's broader curriculum maps to specific standards, see our state standards alignment.
Who built the Reading Check?
Once — an early literacy education company that builds reading curriculum and assessments grounded in the Science of Reading. Once started in collaboration with researchers at Stanford University and has four ESSA-aligned efficacy studies behind its program. Learn about Once or read the research.

Ten minutes from now

Find out where your child actually is.

Free, about 10 minutes, plain-language report. No credit card, no login, no sales pitch.

Take the reading check