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New York 3rd Grade Curriculum & Standards Guide
How New York's third grade standards line up with Third Grade.
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New York standards
- Math
New York State Mathematics Learning Standards (2017 revision)
Based on Common Core · adopted 2017
Adopted by the Board of Regents in September 2017 as a revision of New York's Common Core standards, and in full use since September 2022. Codes start with NY-, for example NY-3.OA.7a. Grade 3 adds four-digit numbers and narrows geometry to sorting polygons by sides and corners.
- English Language Arts
New York State English Language Arts Learning Standards (2017 revision)
Based on Common Core · adopted 2017
A 2017 revision of New York's Common Core ELA standards, in full use since September 2022. Codes have no periods, for example 3RF3a, and stories and informational reading share one set of reading standards (3R1 to 3R9). Grammar, punctuation and spelling (3L1, 3L2) are one list of skills for Grades 3 to 5, expected by the end of Grade 5.
- Science
New York State P-12 Science Learning Standards
National science standards · adopted 2016
Adopted in 2016 and effective July 1, 2017. NYSED says they are based on the national framework, adapted for New York. Grade 3 keeps the national codes (for example 3-PS2-1) and adds one New York expectation, 3-ESS2-3.
- Social Studies
New York State K-8 Social Studies Framework
State's own standards
Grade 3 is 'Communities around the World' (framework revised February 2017). Key ideas are numbered 3.1 to 3.10, with lettered parts such as 3.2b. New York State and local history and government are studied in Grade 4.
Standard-by-standard crosswalk
See every national third grade standard matched to New York's own codes.
- Math: 30 same · 6 close · 1 partly · 0 not in Grade 3
- English Language Arts: 32 same · 45 close · 6 partly · 7 not in Grade 3
- Science: 18 same · 0 close · 0 partly · 0 not in Grade 3
Grade 3 differences
In New York
Social studies: Grade 3 is 'Communities around the World'. Families study at least three world communities from different regions, community types and kinds of government, while Third Grade studies U.S. communities (key ideas 3.1 to 3.10).
Suggested swap in Third Grade
Social Studies Weeks 13, 15 and 16 (movement and trade; culture; immigration): compare three world communities, for example one each in Africa, Asia and South America.
In New York
Social studies: children learn that governments around the world work in different ways and that citizens' roles differ (key idea 3.7).
Suggested swap in Third Grade
Social Studies Week 20 (three branches): compare U.S. government with the government of one world community you studied.
In New York
Social studies: children learn about universal human rights, and how prejudice and discrimination have kept people from justice and equality in different communities and times (3.8a, 3.8b).
Suggested swap in Third Grade
Social Studies Week 21 (citizens' rights and responsibilities): add a lesson on human rights and one example of people who were treated unfairly and how that changed.
In New York
Social studies: children locate world communities in relation to each other and to the equator and the Prime Meridian, using parallels and meridians (key idea 3.2).
Suggested swap in Third Grade
Social Studies Week 3 (maps and globes): add the equator, Prime Meridian, hemispheres and lines of latitude and longitude.
In New York
Math: children understand that the digits of a four-digit number show thousands, hundreds, tens and ones, and read and write such numbers as numerals, in words and in expanded form (NY-3.NBT.4a, NY-3.NBT.4b).
Suggested swap in Third Grade
Math Week 1 (place value and rounding): add a day on four-digit numbers in standard form, word form and expanded form.
In New York
Science: New York adds one Grade 3 expectation: plan and carry out an investigation of how weather and the movement of water through Earth's systems are connected (3-ESS2-3).
Suggested swap in Third Grade
Science Week 19 (weather tools): add a water cycle investigation, such as a covered bowl of water in the sun, and link evaporation, clouds and rain to the weather your child records.
In New York
ELA: children create a response to a text, author, theme or personal experience, such as a poem, play, story or artwork (3W4). The national standards have no matching Grade 3 standard.
Suggested swap in Third Grade
ELA Week 15 (poetry) and Week 34 (reader's theater): have your child write a poem or a short scene in response to a book read that week.
In New York
Math: Grade 3 geometry is narrower. Children classify polygons by the number of sides and corners (NY-3.G.1); naming shapes such as parallelograms and rectangles by parallel sides and right angles is Grade 4 (NY-4.G.2b, NY-4.G.2c).
Suggested swap in Third Grade
Math Week 33 (polygons): sort triangles to hexagons by sides and corners. Week 34 (quadrilaterals) goes beyond New York's Grade 3 and can be taught as a preview of Grade 4.
Grade 3 public-school test
New York State Grades 3-8 English Language Arts and Mathematics Tests
The test page could not be opened during this check because of a connection error; check with NYSED for current details.
Shown for context. Homeschool testing rules are separate; see below.
Homeschool rules (unofficial summary)
Unofficial summary, not legal advice, and not endorsed by any state or agency; rules change, so check official sources and thirdgrade.com/states before acting.
Ways to homeschool
- Home instruction under the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education, 8 NYCRR 100.10.
Notice or filing
Send written notice of intent to the superintendent of your school district by July 1 each year, or within 14 days of starting mid-year. Within 10 business days the district sends a copy of the regulation and an IHIP form. Submit your Individualized Home Instruction Plan (IHIP) within four weeks of receiving them, or by August 15, whichever is later. The IHIP lists the child's name, age and grade; the syllabi, curriculum materials, textbooks or plan for each required subject; the dates of the four quarterly reports; and who will teach.
Where to file
Superintendent of the public school district where you live (not the state)
Filings go to your local district. Contact the superintendent's office of your public school district of residence; your nearest public school can confirm which district that is.
NYSED does not receive home instruction filings; its Q&A directs families to 'the office of the superintendent of the public school district in which you reside.' Whether a district accepts filings online or by email varies. New York City families: see NYC Public Schools' Home Schooling page (https://schools.nyc.gov/enrollment/enrollment-help/home-schooling).
Required subjects
Grades 1 to 6: arithmetic, reading, spelling, writing, the English language, geography, United States history, science, health education, music, visual arts, physical education, and bilingual education or English as a new language where needed. All grades: patriotism and citizenship; health education about alcohol, drug and tobacco misuse; highway safety and traffic regulation, including bicycle safety; fire and arson prevention and safety. At least once during grades 1 to 8: United States history, New York State history, and the Constitutions of the United States and New York State.
Instruction time
Grades 1 to 6: 900 hours a year, the substantial equivalent of 180 days.
Testing or evaluation
Four quarterly reports on the dates in your IHIP, each giving the hours taught, a description of material covered in each subject, and a grade or narrative evaluation for each subject. An annual assessment is filed with the fourth quarterly report. For grades 1 to 3, a written narrative by a New York-certified teacher or another person approved by the superintendent may be used instead of a standardized test. A test result is adequate if the composite score is above the 33rd percentile or shows one academic year of growth.
Records to keep
Attendance records for each child, to be produced on request. NYSED: 'there is no legal obligation for them to maintain any other records.' Keeping copies of your notice, IHIP, quarterly reports and assessments is recommended.
Parent or teacher qualifications
Instruction must be given by a competent person. No certificate is required.
Recent changes
No recent change to 8 NYCRR 100.10 found. Compulsory school age is 6 to 16; some districts, including New York City and Buffalo, may require attendance to 17.
Official sources
- Home Instruction · New York State Education Department
- Home Instruction Questions and Answers · New York State Education Department
- Laws and Regulations Relating to Home Instruction · New York State Education Department
- Home Schooling · New York City Public Schools
Other sources
Verified 2026-09-30
Sources
- New York State K-8 Social Studies Framework (Revised February 2017) · New York State Education Department
- New York State Mathematics Learning Standards · New York State Education Department
- NYS Mathematics Standards Grade 3 Crosswalk · New York State Education Department
- Mathematics (standards page) · New York State Education Department
- New York State English Language Arts Learning Standards · New York State Education Department
- NYSED 3rd Grade ELA Crosswalk · New York State Education Department
- English Language Arts (standards page) · New York State Education Department
- New York State P-12 Science Learning Standards, Grades 3-5 · New York State Education Department
- Science (standards page) · New York State Education Department
- Home Instruction · New York State Education Department
Verified 2026-10-08