Placement guide, language arts
Which level of Easy Peasy Language Arts should my child start?
How Easy Peasy Language Arts levels line up with school grades, how its placement test works, what to do if your child lands between two levels, and the mistakes parents most often make.
The short answer. Easy Peasy uses levels, not grades, and reading and language arts are separate courses whose levels can differ for the same child. Reading 1 is not a learn-to-read course: the publisher says Level 1 students already read chapter novels, after finishing the separate learn-to-read courses. English 8 is the high school course Literature and Composition I, and the same course is the starting point for 9th graders new to Easy Peasy.
Use the publisher's own placement tool to choose the level (free, online). If you are not sure where your child really is, or the result surprises you, check the level first: it is quicker than a wrong book.
Easy Peasy Language Arts levels and the grades they usually suit
| Level | Usually suits grade | Main topics |
|---|---|---|
| Reading 2 | 2 | Poetry, short stories and full-length novels such as The Adventures of Old Mr. Toad, retelling and summarizing, reading aloud, vocabulary from the literature |
| Reading 3 | 3 | Novels such as Heidi and Five Little Peppers, main idea and supporting details, reading response questions, a personal vocabulary dictionary |
| Reading 4 | 4 | McGuffey Third Reader, Swiss Family Robinson (abridged for EP), The Railway Children, A Little Princess, nonfiction, comprehension and vocabulary |
| Reading 5 | 5 | Classic literature such as Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Little Men and Pollyanna, McGuffey's 4th Reader, poetry, vocabulary |
| Reading 6 | 6 | The Jungle Book, Gulliver's Travels, Black Beauty, short stories by Twain and London, poetry by Sandburg and Frost, nonfiction |
| Reading 7 | 7 | Anne of Green Gables, The Call of the Wild, Treasure Island, a wide poetry selection, speaking and vocabulary |
| Intermediate Reading | Not given by the publisher | Bridge course for students ahead in language arts but behind in reading: a chapter a day, one new word a day, book reports |
| Language Arts 3 | 3 | Paragraph writing, plays, stories and poems, copywork penmanship, spelling rules, capitalization, punctuation, nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives |
| Language Arts 4 | 4 | Creative and researched writing, sentence variety, paragraphs with introductions and conclusions, essay structure, a research report |
| Language Arts 5 | 5 | Book reviews, expository and compare-and-contrast essays, short story and novel writing, voice and word choice, spelling and grammar |
| Language Arts 6 | 6 | Literary analysis, summaries, persuasive and biographical essays, a research report, sentence structures and poetic devices, peer editing |
| Language Arts 7 | 7 | Poetry, book review, expository and compare-and-contrast essays, point of view, a novel, literary devices, spelling and grammar |
| Intermediate Language Arts | Not given by the publisher | Bridge course for students ahead in reading but behind in language arts: daily grammar lesson, editing practice and writing |
| English 8 (Literature and Composition I) | 8-9 | High school level literature and composition course with grammar review, hosted on the EP high school site |
| Literature and Composition II | Not given by the publisher | Second course in the recommended high school English order, followed by American, British and Advanced Literature and Composition |
Grades are the publisher's own guide. Many children sit a level above or below, especially after switching programs.
How Easy Peasy Language Arts placement works
- A free online test with separate sections for language arts, reading and math, for preschool through Level 7.
- The student takes it alone: the parent must not help or read answers.
- The student first enters age and the grade they think they are in, and the test starts with items a little below that grade (in the language arts test, a 3rd or 4th grader starts with Level 2 items).
- It ends with a recommended level and a list of the items answered, plus the reminder that this is a recommendation and the written placement guides can help.
- Parents then fine-tune with the reading guide (a sample passage per level) and the language arts guide (a skill checklist per level, for example Level 5 needs a paragraph with intro, details and conclusion, and nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs).
Open the publisher's placement page
If your child lands between two levels
The publisher says to place the child where they will be successful, because work that is too hard makes them shut down. For reading, it advises not choosing a level above the child's natural grade, and says the right level has new words but a story the child can still follow. If a child is ahead in only one of reading or language arts, the Intermediate Reading or Intermediate Language Arts course lets the other catch up before Literature and Composition I. The beginning of every course is review. The test does not place high school courses.
Problems parents often run into
- Parents report that in the online version a child can mark lessons done without doing them, for example opening a video link without watching it.
- Many lessons send the child to outside websites, and families need a device for each child or must take turns.
- The reading list is older classics, several abridged by Easy Peasy, and the publisher warns that subjects in books for older students may not suit young advanced readers.
- From Language Arts 6 on, lessons ask the student to get essay feedback from a peer or another reader, which the family has to arrange.
Point of Progress in 20 seconds
Ready to see where your child stands?
See where they stand →Switching to Easy Peasy Language Arts from another program
- New to Easy Peasy in grades K-8: take the placement test, then check the result against the reading and language arts guides.
- Already using Easy Peasy: the publisher says not to take the placement test again and to continue in the recommended order.
- 9th graders who have never used Easy Peasy start with Literature and Composition I on the high school site.
- The publisher says the placement test is not an assessment and should not be used to measure progress after using Easy Peasy.
When you don't need a whole level
A placement test answers one question: which book. If your child is mostly on track but shaky in one area, say fractions or paragraph writing, a full lower level means months of review they do not need. Practising just the gaps is faster, and keeps them in the book that fits the rest of their skills.
Questions parents ask
How long is a Easy Peasy Language Arts lesson?
20-30 minutes per subject for elementary (180 daily lessons per course)
Is it bad if my child places below their grade?
No. Programs pace topics differently, so a lower level often reflects the order things were taught, not how able a child is. What matters is starting where the work makes sense.
Do I need a placement test at all?
If you are switching programs or your child has had a hard year, yes. Starting too high is the most common reason a new curriculum stalls in the first month.
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Sources
- allinonehomeschool.com/placement-guides/
- epallinone.com/placement/
- epallinone.com/placement/placementLA.html
- epallinone.com/placement/resources/js/testLA.js
- allinonehomeschool.com/reading-placement-guide/
- allinonehomeschool.com/language-arts-placement-guide/
Know where they stand before you buy the book.
About forty minutes at home, math and reading & writing, grades 3 to 10. The report is ready as soon as the test finishes.
Test your child, $9.99 →or with the ten-week workbook, $19.99This page is Point of Progress's own research, compiled in November 2026 from publishers' websites, placement materials and parent reviews. Publishers update their products, levels, placement tests and prices from time to time, so please verify all information with the provider before you buy. Point of Progress is independent and is not affiliated with any publisher named here.