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    Texas 3rd Grade Curriculum & Standards Guide

    How Texas's third grade standards line up with Third Grade.

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    Texas standards

    Math

    Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) for Mathematics

    State's own standards · adopted 2012

    Texas writes its own standards and does not use Common Core; codes look like 3.4C. Adopted in 2012 and used in classrooms since 2014-15. Grade 3 reaches numbers to 100,000 and adds coins and bills, two-digit by one-digit multiplication, three-dimensional figures and personal financial literacy, while telling time to the minute and counting square units for area are Grade 2 work (2.9G, 2.9F).

    Official standards

    English Language Arts

    Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) for English Language Arts and Reading

    State's own standards · adopted 2017

    Adopted in 2017 and used in classrooms from 2019-20; codes look like 3.2D. Grade 3 adds cursive handwriting, alphabetizing to the third letter and writing letters and thank-you notes, while quotation marks in dialogue and irregular past-tense verbs wait until Grade 4 (4.11D(x), 4.11D(ii)). A required reading list adopted in 2026 applies to Grade 3 from 2030-31, not in 2026-27.

    Official standards

    Science

    Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) for Science

    State's own standards · adopted 2021

    Approved by the State Board of Education in December 2021 and used in classrooms since 2024-25; codes look like 3.9B. Grade 3 topics include matter, forces and energy, the Sun, Earth, Moon and planets, weather, soil, food chains, fossils and life cycles. Texas places severe weather in Grade 2 (2.10C), inherited traits and climate in Grade 4 (4.13B, 4.10C) and equal and unequal forces in Grade 5 (5.7A).

    Official standards

    Social Studies

    Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) for Social Studies

    State's own standards

    Grade 3 (adopted 2022, used from 2024-25) is about how people and ideas shape communities, with many named individuals; codes look like 3.8A. New standards adopted in June 2026 are not yet required: they start for Grade 3 in 2030-31, so the 2022 standards apply in 2026-27.

    Official standards

    Standard-by-standard crosswalk

    See every national third grade standard matched to Texas's own codes.

    • Math: 9 same · 17 close · 7 partly · 4 not in Grade 3
    • English Language Arts: 14 same · 44 close · 20 partly · 12 not in Grade 3
    • Science: 0 same · 4 close · 8 partly · 6 not in Grade 3
    Open the Texas crosswalk

    Grade 3 differences

    1. In Texas

      Math: children compose, decompose, compare and order whole numbers up to 100,000 (3.2A, 3.2B, 3.2D) and multiply a two-digit number by a one-digit number, including with the standard algorithm (3.4G). Common Core stays within 1,000 in Grade 3 and places this multiplication in Grade 4.

      Suggested swap in Third Grade

      Math Week 1 (place value and rounding): extend place value, comparing and ordering to five-digit numbers and 100,000. Math Week 16 (patterns, multiplying by multiples of 10): add problems such as 24 x 3, first with partial products and then with the standard written method.

    2. In Texas

      Math: personal financial literacy is part of Grade 3 math. Children find the value of a collection of coins and bills (3.4C), weigh planned and unplanned spending decisions (3.9C) and explain credit and interest (3.9D).

      Suggested swap in Third Grade

      Math Weeks 2-3 (add and subtract within 1,000): count a mixed set of coins and bills each day. Social Studies Week 30 (earning, banks and budgets): add a lesson on borrowing, credit and interest; Week 31 (save, spend, give): compare a planned purchase with an unplanned one.

    3. In Texas

      Science: Grade 3 includes solids, liquids and gases and changes from heating and cooling (3.6B, 3.6C), everyday forms of energy (3.8A), and the Sun, Earth, Moon and order of the planets (3.9A, 3.9B). The national science standards place matter and energy in other grades and do not ask for the order of the planets.

      Suggested swap in Third Grade

      Science Week 5 (flex week): investigate solids, liquids and gases and melting, freezing and evaporation; Week 14 (flex week): build a Sun, Earth and Moon model and put the planets in order; Week 23 (flex week): hunt for light, sound, heat and motion energy at home.

    4. In Texas

      Science: children explain how soil forms (3.10B), model rapid changes to Earth's surface such as volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and landslides (3.10C), and explain why and how to conserve natural resources (3.11B, 3.11C).

      Suggested swap in Third Grade

      Science Week 32 (flex week): look at sand, clay and garden soil with a hand lens and model a volcano, earthquake or landslide. Science Week 16 (local ecosystem study): add a lesson on reducing, reusing and recycling.

    5. In Texas

      ELA: children write complete words, thoughts and answers legibly in cursive (3.2D).

      Suggested swap in Third Grade

      All year: add 10 minutes of cursive practice two or three days a week, starting in ELA Week 1.

    6. In Texas

      ELA: children identify primary and secondary sources (3.13D), tell paraphrasing from plagiarism (3.13F), create a works cited page (3.13G), identify the claim in an argumentative text (3.9E(i)) and explain hyperbole (3.10G).

      Suggested swap in Third Grade

      ELA Weeks 28-30 (research report): sort sources into primary and secondary, practice putting notes in your own words and end the report with a works cited page. ELA Week 8 (opinion writing): find the claim in a short argument. ELA Week 26 (figurative language): add hyperbole.

    7. In Texas

      Social studies: children identify the purposes of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution, including the Bill of Rights (3.8A), describe 'consent of the governed' (3.8B), and study people who shaped communities, including Pierre-Charles L'Enfant, Benjamin Banneker and Benjamin Franklin (3.1B).

      Suggested swap in Third Grade

      Social Studies Week 20 (three branches): read what the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights are each for, and talk about what 'consent of the governed' means; Week 8 (how our community began): add short biographies of L'Enfant, Banneker and Franklin.

    8. In Texas

      Math: children classify three-dimensional figures such as cones, cylinders, spheres, prisms and cubes (3.6A) and show data in frequency tables and dot plots as well as pictographs and bar graphs (3.8A, 3.8B). Texas has no Grade 3 standard on measuring to the half or quarter inch and making a line plot.

      Suggested swap in Third Grade

      Math Week 33 (polygons): add a day sorting cones, cylinders, spheres, prisms and cubes. Math Week 35 (scaled picture and bar graphs): make a frequency table and a dot plot from the same data.

    Grade 3 public-school test

    State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR)

    Grade 3 public-school students take STAAR mathematics and reading language arts, with Spanish versions available in Grades 3-5.

    About this test

    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

    • Homeschool as a private school. In Leeper v. Arlington ISD (1994), the Texas Supreme Court held that home-schooled children are exempt from compulsory attendance to the same extent as private school students.
    • Enroll in a public virtual or charter program (a public school, with its rules).

    Notice or filing

    None. TEA 'does not regulate, index, monitor, approve, register, or accredit' home school programs. To withdraw from a public school, 'a signed and dated letter from the parent or guardian stating that the student is being homeschooled and the date homeschooling began is sufficient documentation.' A district that becomes aware of a possible home-schooled student may ask in writing for a letter of assurance; TEA says 'a letter of this type is not required each year.'

    Where to file

    No filing required by state law

    Office website

    Texas Education Agency home schooling page. TEA general contact: 1701 N. Congress Avenue, Austin, TX 78701; (512) 463-9734.

    Required subjects

    TEA: the curriculum should be designed to meet basic education goals including reading, spelling, grammar, mathematics, and a study of good citizenship. Under Leeper, the curriculum must be pursued in a bona fide manner and use written materials (books, workbooks or other written materials, including on a screen).

    Instruction time

    None.

    Testing or evaluation

    None required.

    Records to keep

    None required by law.

    Parent or teacher qualifications

    None.

    Recent changes

    Texas Education Freedom Accounts (Senate Bill 2, 89th Legislature, 2025) begin with the 2026-27 school year. A participating home-schooled child may receive up to $2,000 a year (Education Code 29.361(b-1)). The annual norm-referenced testing in SB 2 (Education Code 29.358(b)(2)(B)) is a condition for private schools and applies to grades 3 to 12; the law does not impose it on home-schooled participants. Program rules are set by the Texas Comptroller. Compulsory school age is 6 to 19.

    Official sources

    Other sources

    Verified 2026-09-30

    This is an unofficial, high-level summary of selected state homeschooling requirements, prepared for general information only. It is not endorsed by, affiliated with, or reviewed by any state, government agency, school district, court or other organization named in it. It is provided "as is," without warranties of any kind, express or implied, including as to accuracy, completeness or fitness for a particular purpose. It is not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws, regulations, agency guidance, forms, addresses, phone numbers and procedures change, sometimes without notice. This summary was accurate to the best of our knowledge as of the verification date shown for each state, and we do not undertake to update the printed edition. Relevant rules may also appear in other statutes, regulations, local policies or case law not covered here, and your situation (for example, a child with special needs, a move between states or districts, or enrollment in a scholarship, charter or umbrella program) may be governed by additional rules. Before acting, consult the official sources listed for your state and, where applicable, your local school district or county office. For advice about your own situation, consider consulting a qualified attorney licensed in your state. For updates, check thirdgrade.com/states.

    Sources

    Verified 2026-10-08