Schools and parents alike have struggled for years when it comes to improving the reading scores of their children and students. Unlike a subject like math that has clear outcomes, reading can sometimes feel like a blurry, insurmountable obstacle in the path of a student’s education. Improvement in math is often straightforward: teach building skills and have students practice them. Reading is a little more complicated–there aren’t as many clear skills or techniques to teach. Over and over again, research demonstrates that the most effective method to raise reading scores is for students to read more–everyday if possible! But what is a good daily reading goal for students to aim for?

This article delves into studies on childhood literacy as well as expert recommendations to compile a daily reading guide for students from third to twelfth grade. At a minimum, students of all ages should be reading between 15-20 minutes a day if they want to stay on track with their grade level and upwards of 30 minutes a day if they want to get ahead. 

Why Daily Reading Time Matters

In the early 1990s, educational researchers coined what they termed “the word gap”–this was a theory that children from less privileged backgrounds have heard 30 million fewer words than other children by the time they were three years old. The researchers suggested that this early deficit was at least partially responsible for the literacy gap that was seen between these two populations once they entered school.

While not foolproof, this research radically altered our approach to teaching reading and literacy. Guidance for teachers and parents changed to focus on closing this gap when it came to both spoken and written language. For example, a 12th grader who has spent 15-20 minutes reading each day has been exposed to millions of more words than a peer who seldom reads. 

Today, researchers still consistently find links between daily reading regimens and improving reading scores. The research agrees that more reading equates to greater gains in literacy for students of all ages. 

Links Between Independent Reading and Reading Achievement 

In a classic study on 155 Illinois fifth graders, data indicated a clear, positive correlation between minutes spent reading a day and percentile rank scores of students in English. The study found that students in the 90th percentile of reading achievement read on average about 21 minutes per day outside of school. Students in the 98th percentile read on average 65 minutes a day outside of school. 

The study also measured a number of other after school activities like listening to music and doing homework, and found no other variable saw such a clear, positive correlation when compared to reading achievement.

Despite this obvious correlation between reading time and English achievement, the study also found that the majority of students read fewer than five minutes a day outside of school. This means that although reading outside of school is the best way to raise English performance, it is not being done sufficiently by the majority of students.

Piqosity’s Daily Reading Recommendations By Grade Level

Based on expert data and our own experience educating students for over two decades, the table below shows Piqosity’s recommendation for students per day and week for different grade levels.

Reading Recommendations by Grade

Grade Band Minimum Time Students Should Read Daily Median WPM for Age Range Minimum Words Students Should Read Daily Average Word Per Page for Grade Appropriate Books Minimum Pages Students Should Read Daily Strong Weekly Reading Page Goal
K-2 15-20 mins 101 1,515-2,020 150* 10-14 80
3-5 15-25 mins 150 2,250-3,750 200 11-19 100
6-8 20-30 mins 177 3,540-5,310 250 14-22 130
9-12 20-30 mins 250 5,000-7,500 300 17-25 150

How Fast Should Students be Reading?

Since many estimates of how much students should read daily are given in time calculations rather than page calculations, it can be helpful to know the average reading pace for students.  For our estimations, we simply took the median WPM for a certain age range, as reported by research completed by Hasbrouck and Tindal (for grades 1-6) and Marc Brysbaert for other grade levels.

From here, we can estimate how many pages students should read a day, based on the average number of words there are on pages of grade-appropriate books. Kindergarten-2nd grade is by far the hardest to estimate since it has the widest range of books—picture books all the way up to early reader chapter books like Junie B. Jones and The Magic Treehouse. Focusing on these early chapter books, there tend to be a bout 50-100 words per page, so we went with high end of the estimate, 100.

The other grade bands are slightly easier to calculate. Most 3rd to 5th grade books have an average of about 200 words per page. For example, take Charlotte’s Web. Most prints of this book have between 150-200 words per page. Books written for 6th-8th graders have around 250 words per page. Gary Paulson’s middle grade classic Hatchet has about 225 words per page, while Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game has about 288 words per page. By the time students reach high school, the words per page of most books has reached an adult level: approximately 300. Take J.D. Salinger’s seminal coming-of-age classic Catcher in the Rye, which has about 304 words per page.

How Much Should Students in Kindergarten-2nd Grade Read a Day?

In this age range, the majority of reading that students will do is not independent–meaning instead of reading on their own, they will mostly be read to. That being said, by the first grade, students should be doing some, minimal independent reading. This might be done in bursts that are only a few minutes in length, and often in conjunction with non-independent reading (for example, having a student read a page or two of a book aloud). By the second grade, independent reading should be more prominent.  

Overall, students in kindergarten through 2nd grade should aim to read 15-20 minutes a day, outside of school, though much of that might be non-independent or quasi-independent. There is a lot of variance in words-per-page for books aimed for this age range, but a good estimate for most early reader chapter books is about 10-14 pages a day. 

How Much Should Students in Grades 3-5 Read a Day?

At Piqosity, we recommend that 3rd-5th grade students read a minimum of 15-25 minutes a day outside of school, in some combination of independent reading and being read to. For 3rd-5th graders, this translates to approximately 11-19 pages a day from grade-level appropriate books. 

A Closer Look at the Data for Daily Reading for Grades 3-5

The National Center for Educational Statistics collects data about student performance on the NAEP reading assessment compared to a wide variety of variables. The NAEP is a test that is administered every other year to 4th grade students across the United States, and it is scored on a scale of 0-500. 

Below is a chart showing NAEP reading assessment scores for 4th graders compared to two variables:

  1. number of pages a student reads daily (represented by the teal line) and
  2. frequency of a student reading for fun (represented by the indigo line).
  3. note that the red horizontal line that represents the average score on the assessment for 4th graders, here a 217. 

Higher scores are better. Percentile scores for the NAEP reading assessment:

  • 10th percentile: 162 (bottom 90%)
  • 25th percentile: 192
  • 50th percentile: 217 (average)
  • 75th percentile: 246
  • 90th percentile: 266 (top 10%)

(Data from 2022)

The first and most important conclusion this data lead us to is that reading more pages daily and/or reading for fun more frequently is significantly positively correlated with higher scores on the NAEP reading assessment. 

On average, students who read more than 20 pages a day outperform their peers who read five or fewer pages a day by 18 points. Similarly, students who read almost everyday for fun score 19 points higher than students who never or hardly ever read for fun.

The other conclusion that can be drawn from this data is that all it takes for a student to be statistically likely to perform better than average on the NAEP reading assessment is reading between 11-15 pages a day and reading for fun once or twice a month. 

Independent Reading vs. Being Read To

In this age range, many students are still being read to by parents or guardians on a daily or semi-daily basis. In fact, some experts like Judy Newman, president of Scholastic Book Clubs, have suggested that one of the reasons there’s a steep decline in reading enjoyment around eight years old is at least partially because this is when parents often stop reading aloud to their children. 

Although it’s important for students in third through fifth grade to practice independent reading skills, there are benefits to being real aloud to as well. Reading aloud to students can expose them to more advanced vocabulary words and can help support them through the jump between picture books to short chapter books, a transition that many children struggle with. 

Given this information, an ideal reading regiment for this age group would include both independent reading time and time spent being read aloud to. 

How Much Should Students in Grades 6-8 Read a Day?

At Piqosity, we recommend that students in grades 6-8 read a minimum of 20-30 minutes a day outside of school. At this age range, the majority, if not all of this reading should be completely independently by the student. For 6th-8th graders, this translates to approximately 14-22 pages a day from grade-level appropriate books. 

A Closer Look at the Data for Daily Reading for Grades 6-8

Below is a chart showing NAEP reading assessment scores for 4th graders compared to two variables:

  1. number of pages a student reads daily (represented by the teal line) and
  2. frequency of a student reading for fun (represented by the indigo line). There is also
  3. the red horizontal line that represents the average score on the assessment for 8th graders, here a 260.

Higher scores are better. Percentile scores for the NAEP reading assessment:

  • 10th percentile: 209 (bottom 90%)
  • 25th percentile: 236
  • 50th percentile: 260 (average)
  • 75th percentile: 287
  • 90th percentile: 307 (top 10%)

(Data from 2023)

As we saw with 4th graders, there is a clear positive correlation between higher scores on the NAEP reading assessment and both number of pages read daily and frequency of reading for fun. 

Students who read 20+ pages a day score 17 points higher than those who only read five or fewer pages a day. Even more significantly, students who read almost everyday for fun score 29 points  higher than those who never or hardly ever read for fun.

Another similarity between this data and that for 4th graders, is that all it takes for students to be likely to score above average on the assessment is to read 11-15 pages daily and/or read for fun once or twice a month. 

How Much Should Students in Grades 9-12 Read a Day?

At Piqosity, we recommend that students in grades 9-12 read a minimum of 20-30 minutes a day outside of school. For 9th-12th graders, this means approximately 17-25 pages a day from grade-level appropriate books. 

A Closer Look at the Data for Daily Reading for Grades 9-12

Below is a chart showing NAEP reading assessment scores for 12th graders compared to two variables:

  1. number of pages a student reads daily (represented by the teal line) and
  2. frequency of a student reading for fun (represented by the indigo line).
  3. the red horizontal line that represents the average score on the assessment for 12th graders, here a 287.

Higher scores are better. Percentile scores for the NAEP reading assessment:

  • 10th percentile: 233 (bottom 90%)
  • 25th percentile: 261
  • 50th percentile: 287 (average)
  • 75th percentile: 315
  • 90th percentile: 337 (top 10%)

(Data from 2012)

Again, we see the same positive correlation between the variables and NAEP reading assessment scores, but here they are the greatest that we’ve seen: a 27 point difference between students who read 20+ pages a day and those who read five or fewer, and a 30 point difference between students who read almost everyday for fun and those who never or hardly ever read for fun. 

For this age range, students are statistically likely to achieve an above-average score if they read 11-15 pages a day, and/or if they read for fun a few times a year. 

Does the Quality of Reading Material Matter?

Of course, reading time is not the only thing to be considered; there’s also the matter of the quality of the material being read. If a student is reading non-traditional texts like comic books or social media posts, do they see the same benefits to their academic performance as when they read traditional published fiction/nonfiction texts? In short, yes, quality of a text does matter. Overall, students see the best academic results when they read texts that have been selected and edited by professionals.

Below is a review of some of the evidence based on text type.

  • Graphic Novels/Comic Books: often use comparably high-level and unusual vocabulary words (think of all those mad scientists!) and can help students learn to interpret texts that have both visual and textual elements. On the other hand, some evidence indicates that students who exclusively read comic books tend to see more sluggish gains when it comes to academic performance.
  • Social Media and Chats: rarely expose students to anything beyond basic vocabulary and simple syntax. Some studies have linked social media use to weaker reading skills and worse memories in adolescents, likely due to the lack of continuity or analysis required, and their tendency to train students to “skim” texts rather than reading them properly.
  • Fanfiction and Blogs: vary widely in content and quality of writing, making them hard to quantify. There is little agreement in the data that exists: some studies link excessive reading of online texts (articles, blog posts, etc.) to worse reading achievement; however, some show the opposite and report that students who spend a lot of time reading online tend to be very proficient readers. For the most part, they seem to do no harm to readers, helping students practice reading skills in an informal setting, though perhaps not doing much to expand skills.
  • Fiction Books: expose students to diverse vocabulary and literary techniques. Of all the texts examined here, fiction tends to have the most significant impact on reading performance in academic settings.
  • Nonfiction Books: runner-up to fictional texts when it comes to increasing student performance on vocabulary and comprehension assessments. Nonfiction books expose students to some vocabulary and teach students how to analyze informational texts.

Importance of “Choice” in Independent Reading

Choice is often cited as an important part of independent reading regimens, and this is almost certainly true. In the above dissection of text-types, the main factor discussed is academic performance, but that’s not the only important effect of independent reading. Enjoyment and motivation to read are also important factors to consider–reading texts that are more “fun” should not be discounted simply because they don’t result in as much of an academic boost as more complex texts do. Aside from promoting general literacy, they can also act as a stepping stone for reluctant readers on the path to more serious reading.

Overall, a diverse diet of texts is optimal for independent reading. Lighter texts for engagement and motivation and more complex works for vocabulary acquisition and reading comprehension.

Conclusions About Daily Reading

Across grade levels, the data is remarkably consistent. There is a clear correlation between reading more pages daily and reading more often for fun and better performance on reading assessments and higher percentile rankings.

As the old statistics adage goes, correlation does not imply causation, which is, of course, true here as well. But there are clear links between these two counts that can lead us to presume some level of causation: If a student is reading at the lower end, five or fewer pages a day, by the end of their high school career they will have read a maximum of around 6.5 million words. In that same time, their more reading-inclined peers will have read a minimum of around 26 million words. This is a 19.5 million word difference! 

That kind of extended exposure means that kids who read more are almost certainly going to have larger and higher level vocabularies, better understandings of the structure and relationships of and between texts, and be far better at deciphering meaning than their less well-read peers. 

Increased daily reading can also have effects beyond just better scores in English class–there are some studies that suggest links between students who read more for pleasure and higher scores on standardized tests across topics, including math and science. Since all tests are text based, a strong understanding of language can be crucially important to performing well even on assessments not explicitly testing English-based skills. 

Is 15-Minutes of Independent Reading a Day Sufficient? 

You might have read elsewhere that 15 minutes a day is a sufficient amount of outside reading for students. But since you’re reading this article at Piqosity, you’re probably not willing to settle for sufficient! While the NAEP assessment data examined above shows that comparatively little independent reading is needed a day in order to score above average, it becomes much tougher to score in the 75th percentile or above. For all grades looked at, the top percentile ranking scores (75th and 90th) were far above the average score of students who reported reading 20+ pages a day. This tells us that the top students are likely far exceeding this page minimum.

While any reading outside of school can be helpful for boosting academic performance and any reading is better than no reading, it is vital that students who want to be top-ranked read a minimum of 20-30 minutes a day.

Strategies to Help Increase Daily Reading

Piqosity has a number of resources to help students improve their English skills. In addition to our ELA courses, which include both ELA lessons and grade-appropriate texts, we also have a number of reading lists for students of all kinds.

Check out some of the booklists our experts at Piqosity have assembled for different grade levels:

Other reading lists and resources:

Students can also use Piqosity’s Monthly Reading Tracker in order to keep of track of the time they’ve spent reading each day and the numbers of pages they’ve read. Happy reading!