For teachers · September 11, 2026

Common Core Math Standards by Grade (1-5), Explained

The Common Core math standards by grade describe what students should understand and be able to do by the end of each school year. In grades 1–5 they're organized into the same few domains every year (operations, place value, fractions from 3rd grade, measurement and geometry), and each grade has a handful of big ideas that deserve most of the time. Below is a plain-language summary of each grade, with the codes you'll see on report cards and worksheets. It describes the standards rather than quoting them; for exact wording, check your state's education department, since many states use an adapted version.

How to read a standard code

Every standard has a code like 3.NF.A.2. Read it left to right:

• 3 is the grade.
• NF is the domain, here Number & Operations—Fractions.
• A is the cluster, a group of related standards inside the domain.
• 2 is the individual standard.

So 3.NF.A.2 is the second standard in a third-grade fractions cluster: understanding a fraction as a point on the number line.

You'll also see codes like MP.3, one of eight Standards for Mathematical Practice that apply at every grade (the FAQ below describes them). Explaining a mistake in worked math is a classic MP.3 task; see our guide to error analysis in math.

The domains in grades 1-5

Domain	Code	Grades	What it covers
Operations & Algebraic Thinking	OA	1–5	Meaning of operations, fact strategies, word problems, patterns, expressions
Number & Operations in Base Ten	NBT	1–5	Place value, rounding, multi-digit computation, decimals in grade 5
Number & Operations—Fractions	NF	3–5	Fractions as numbers, equivalence, comparing, fraction operations, decimal notation in grade 4
Measurement & Data	MD	1–5	Length, time, money, area, volume, angles, graphs and line plots
Geometry	G	1–5	Shapes and attributes, equal shares, lines and angles, the coordinate plane

Math standards for 1st grade

First grade centers on addition and subtraction and on the idea of tens and ones.

• Addition and subtraction within 20 (1.OA). Word problems, strategies like counting on and making ten (1.OA.C.5, 1.OA.C.6), unknowns in any position (1.OA.D.8), and deciding whether an equation is true (1.OA.D.7). Fluency is expected within 10.
• Place value (1.NBT). Counting to 120 (1.NBT.A.1), two-digit numbers as tens and ones (1.NBT.B.2), comparing with <, > and = (1.NBT.B.3), and adding within 100 using place value (1.NBT.C.4).
• Measurement and data (1.MD). Ordering and measuring lengths with same-size units, telling time to the hour and half hour (1.MD.B.3), and reading simple data.
• Geometry (1.G). Naming shapes by defining features rather than color or size, and splitting circles and rectangles into halves and fourths (1.G.A.3).

An On Level tens-and-ones page asks "96 = ___ tens and ___ ones" (9 tens, 6 ones), and the Challenge page also runs it in reverse: "4 tens and 7 ones =" (47).

See the 1st grade math worksheets for more.

Math standards for 2nd grade

Second grade extends place value to 1000 and builds fluency with two-digit addition and subtraction.

• Place value to 1000 (2.NBT.A). Hundreds, tens and ones (2.NBT.A.1), skip counting by 5s, 10s and 100s (2.NBT.A.2), expanded form and number names (2.NBT.A.3), and comparing three-digit numbers (2.NBT.A.4).
• Addition and subtraction. Fluency within 100 (2.NBT.B.5), adding and subtracting within 1000 (2.NBT.B.7), mentally finding 10 or 100 more or less (2.NBT.B.8), and one- and two-step word problems (2.OA.A.1). By year's end, students should know all sums of two one-digit numbers from memory (2.OA.B.2).
• Groundwork for multiplication (2.OA.C). Odd and even numbers (2.OA.C.3) and arrays written as repeated addition (2.OA.C.4).
• Measurement and data (2.MD). Measuring in standard units (2.MD.A.1), time to five minutes with a.m. and p.m. (2.MD.C.7), money word problems (2.MD.C.8), and bar graphs and line plots.
• Geometry (2.G). Shapes by their sides and angles, and equal shares named as halves, thirds and fourths (2.G.A.3).

Expanded form is a good snapshot of the year: "Write 743 in expanded form" (700 + 40 + 3) and, at Challenge, "600 + 80 + 5 =" (685). The 2nd grade math worksheets page lists the full set of skills.

Common Core math for 3rd grade

Multiplication, division and fractions all arrive in third grade.

• Multiplication and division within 100 (3.OA). Multiplication as equal groups and arrays (3.OA.A.1), division as sharing or grouping (3.OA.A.2), word problems (3.OA.A.3), properties of multiplication (3.OA.B.5), and knowing products of one-digit numbers from memory by the end of the year (3.OA.C.7).
• Fractions as numbers (3.NF). Unit fractions (3.NF.A.1), fractions on a number line (3.NF.A.2), and comparing fractions with the same numerator or denominator (3.NF.A.3). Third-grade work is limited to denominators of 2, 3, 4, 6 and 8.
• Place value (3.NBT). Rounding to the nearest 10 or 100 (3.NBT.A.1), fluent addition and subtraction within 1000 (3.NBT.A.2), and multiplying by multiples of ten (3.NBT.A.3).
• Measurement and geometry. Area by tiling and multiplying (3.MD.C.7), perimeter (3.MD.D.8), time to the minute and elapsed time (3.MD.A.1), grams, kilograms and liters (3.MD.A.2), scaled bar graphs, and sorting shapes by shared attributes (3.G.A.1).

Above is 3.NF.A.2 at three levels. The Support page uses halves, thirds, fourths and sixths between 0 and 1, such as an arrow at 2/3. On Level adds eighths, like 6/8. Challenge stretches the line to 2, so students name points like 9/8 and write them as mixed numbers (1 1/8). The 3rd grade math worksheets page lists every third-grade skill.

Math standards for 4th grade

Fourth grade focuses on multi-digit arithmetic, fraction equivalence and operations, and sorting shapes by their lines and angles.

• Multi-digit whole numbers (4.NBT). Each place is worth ten times the place to its right (4.NBT.A.1), reading and comparing large numbers (4.NBT.A.2), rounding to any place (4.NBT.A.3), fluent addition and subtraction with the standard algorithm (4.NBT.B.4), multiplying up to four digits by one digit and two digits by two digits (4.NBT.B.5), and dividing up to four-digit numbers by one digit (4.NBT.B.6).
• Operations and algebraic thinking (4.OA). "Times as many" comparisons (4.OA.A.1, 4.OA.A.2), multi-step word problems, including interpreting remainders (4.OA.A.3), factors, multiples and primes (4.OA.B.4), and patterns from a rule (4.OA.C.5).
• Fractions (4.NF). Equivalent fractions (4.NF.A.1), comparing unlike fractions (4.NF.A.2), adding and subtracting with like denominators, including mixed numbers (4.NF.B.3), multiplying a fraction by a whole number (4.NF.B.4), and tenths and hundredths as decimals (4.NF.C.5 to 4.NF.C.7).
• Measurement and geometry. Unit conversions (4.MD.A.1), area and perimeter formulas (4.MD.A.3), line plots with fractions (4.MD.B.4), measuring and adding angles (4.MD.C.5 to 4.MD.C.7), parallel and perpendicular lines (4.G.A.1), classifying shapes (4.G.A.2), and lines of symmetry (4.G.A.3).

Fraction times a whole number ties multiplication to fractions: 5 × 2/3 is five groups of two-thirds, or 10/3, which is 3 1/3. Challenge problems put it in context: "Each of 3 friends drinks 4/5 liter of water. How many liters in all?" (2 2/5).

Browse the 4th grade math worksheets for every fourth-grade skill.

Math standards for 5th grade

Fifth grade finishes the elementary work on fractions and decimals and introduces volume and the coordinate plane.

• Fractions (5.NF). Adding and subtracting with unlike denominators, including mixed numbers (5.NF.A.1) and word problems (5.NF.A.2), fractions as division (5.NF.B.3), multiplying fractions (5.NF.B.4, 5.NF.B.6), multiplication as scaling (5.NF.B.5), and dividing unit fractions by whole numbers and whole numbers by unit fractions (5.NF.B.7).
• Place value and decimals (5.NBT). How a digit's value changes across places (5.NBT.A.1), powers of ten (5.NBT.A.2), decimals to thousandths (5.NBT.A.3), rounding decimals (5.NBT.A.4), and all four operations with decimals to hundredths (5.NBT.B.7).
• Whole-number computation (5.NBT.B). Fluent multi-digit multiplication with the standard algorithm (5.NBT.B.5) and division with two-digit divisors (5.NBT.B.6).
• Expressions and patterns (5.OA). Parentheses and brackets (5.OA.A.1), writing and interpreting expressions (5.OA.A.2), and two related patterns graphed as ordered pairs (5.OA.B.3).
• Measurement and geometry. Converting units (5.MD.A.1), line plots in fractions of a unit (5.MD.B.2), volume by counting cubes and by formula (5.MD.C.4, 5.MD.C.5), the coordinate plane (5.G.A.1, 5.G.A.2), and the hierarchy of shapes (5.G.B.4).

In order of operations, 9 × (3 + 2) - 7 is 38 because the parentheses come first. At Challenge, brackets appear too: 6 × [(5 + 6) - 5] = 36. For all fifth-grade skills, see the 5th grade math worksheets.

How the big ideas build from grade to grade

Each grade leans on the one before, so when a student struggles, the gap is often a year or two back.

Thread	Grade 1	Grade 2	Grade 3	Grade 4	Grade 5
Place value	Tens and ones	Hundreds	Rounding	Any place in whole numbers	Decimals to thousandths
Operations	Add and subtract within 20	Within 100, then 1000	Multiply and divide within 100	Multi-digit multiply and divide	Standard algorithm, two-digit divisors
Fractions	Halves and fourths of shapes	Adds thirds	Fractions as numbers	Equivalence, like denominators	Unlike denominators, multiply and divide
Measurement	Length units, half hours	Rulers, five minutes, money	Area, perimeter, elapsed time	Angles, conversions	Volume, conversions

A fifth grader stuck on adding 2/3 + 1/4 may need to revisit fourth-grade equivalence first. A fourth grader who can't regroup may need second-grade place value.

Using the standards at home or in class

• Search by code. A code like 4.NF.A.1 is a faster search than a description.
• Look back a grade. If a skill won't stick, find the related standard in the grade below and check that first.
• Check which part of a standard a page covers. Many standards have several parts.
• Keep skills in rotation. Standards taught in the fall still show up in spring. Our guide to spiral review in math shows a simple way to keep them fresh.

Every skill in the Math Practice Library is built to a Common Core code, and each pack practices the part of its standard named in its title. It's practice and review, not a full curriculum. A placement screener for each grade routes every missed item to the pack to assign. You can see sample pages in the free 16-page sampler.

Frequently asked questions

Keep reading

• What Does a Math Interventionist Do? Role and Daily Work
• Spiral Review in Math: A Simple Weekly Plan for Grades 3-5
• Small Group Math: What to Do at the Teacher Table