🇦🇺 📖 Australia · Year 3

Free Year 3 reading test

Find out in 12 minutes. Free.

This free Year 3 reading test takes about 12 minutes. Your child reads four short stories and articles written for children, answering questions after each one. The texts adapt as they go, and you get an estimated reading level and reading age, plus their strengths across four reading skills, matched to the Australian Curriculum (v9.0).

  • Free and no sign-up to start
  • Matched to your curriculum
  • Made by teachers at 70+ Success Tutoring centres in Australia, New Zealand, the US, Canada and India

Start the free check

Where do you live?

Questions follow the Australian Curriculum (v9.0).

No sign-up needed. About 12 minutes. Best done with your child, on any phone, tablet or computer.

What Year 3 children learn in reading

In Year 3, children read chapter books and information texts, find key details quickly, and begin to infer feelings and messages the writer does not state.

What the Year 3 check looks at

Finding information

Finding facts and details the text states.

  • Finding information (story)
  • Finding information (facts)

Try at home: After reading together, ask your child “who, what, where, when?” questions and let them find the answer in the text.

Word meaning

Working out what words mean from the words around them.

  • Word meaning (story)
  • Word meaning (facts)

Try at home: When your child meets a new word, ask them to guess its meaning from the sentence before you look it up.

Reading between the lines

Working out what the writer suggests but does not say.

  • Reading between the lines (story)
  • Reading between the lines (facts)

Try at home: Ask “how do you think they feel?” and “how do you know?” as you read, so your child links clues in the text.

The big picture

The main idea, the message and why the text was written.

  • The big picture (story)
  • The big picture (facts)

Try at home: At the end of a chapter or article, ask your child to sum it up in one sentence.

Try a Year 3 text

This is one of the texts at this level, with some of its questions. The check picks texts that suit your child as they go.

Story

The Kite Contest

Every spring, the town held a kite contest on the hill. This year Aria had made her own kite from newspaper, sticks and string. The other kites were bright and shop-bought, and Aria felt her cheeks go hot when a boy laughed at hers.

When the whistle blew, the wind was so strong that the fancy kites tangled together and crashed. Aria’s light kite climbed higher and higher. She kept the string tight and walked slowly backwards, just as Grandpa had shown her.

The judges gave her a ribbon for the highest flight. The boy who had laughed asked if she could help him make one.

What did Aria make her kite from?

Show the answer

Newspaper, sticks and string. The second sentence tells us.

In the story, “tangled” means…

Show the answer

twisted together. The kites got twisted together and crashed.

Why did Aria’s cheeks go hot?

Show the answer

She was embarrassed. A boy laughed at her kite.

How it works

  1. Your child reads 4 short stories and articles, answering 4 questions on each. The next text gets easier or harder depending on how they went.
  2. See how they’re going. On track, a little behind, or needs support, for their year level.
  3. Get the full report. Strengths and gaps in 4 areas, emailed to you, plus a free assessment at your nearest Success Tutoring centre if you’d like one.

Start the free Year 3 check →

Questions parents ask

What is a reading age?

A reading age compares the texts a child can read and understand with what is typical at each age. This check estimates it from the hardest text your child read well. It is a guide, not a formal, standardised score.

What does the Year 3 reading test check?

Four skills: finding information in a text, working out word meanings, reading between the lines, and understanding the main idea and the writer’s purpose.

Is it free?

Yes. The test and the full report are free, and there is no sign-up to start.

Should I help my child read?

Let them read on their own so the result shows what they can do now. Younger children can have the text read aloud, but then the result is a guide to listening comprehension rather than reading.

How can I help my child’s reading at home?

Read every day, talk about what you read, and ask questions that go beyond the words on the page, like “why do you think she did that?”. Our report suggests one thing to try for each skill.

Other year levels

Year 1 · Year 2 · Year 3 · Year 4 · Year 5 · Year 6

🇳🇿 New Zealand: Year 4 · 🇺🇸 United States: 3rd Grade · Free Year 3 learning games