Placement guide, math
Which level of Khan Academy should my child start?
How Khan Academy 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. A 'Get ready for 4th grade math' course is the review that leads into 4th grade math, not the 4th grade course itself. The mastery percentage is also easy to misread: it is the share of all skills in a course at Proficient or Mastered, so 25 percent can mean a strong child who has simply not touched most units yet.
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.
Khan Academy levels and the grades they usually suit
| Level | Usually suits grade | Main topics |
|---|---|---|
| Get ready for [grade] courses | Not given by the publisher | Review courses that sit before each grade course. A grade course page points children who are 'not feeling ready' to the matching Get ready course, for example Get ready for 4th grade math. |
| 3rd grade math | 3 | Intro to multiplication and division, 1-digit multiplication, addition and subtraction with estimation, understanding and comparing fractions, area, perimeter, time, measurement, data. |
| 4th grade math | 4 | Place value, multi-digit addition and subtraction, multiplying by 1- and 2-digit numbers, division, factors and multiples, equivalent fractions, adding, subtracting and multiplying fractions, decimals, angles, area and perimeter, units. |
| 5th grade math | 5 | Decimal place value and all four decimal operations, adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing fractions, multi-digit multiplication and division, powers of ten, volume, coordinate plane, algebraic thinking, unit conversion. |
| 6th grade math | 6 | Ratios, rates and percentages, arithmetic with rational numbers, exponents and order of operations, negative numbers, expressions, equations and inequalities, area, coordinate plane, 3D figures, statistics. |
| 7th grade math | 7 | Proportional relationships, percentages, operations with integers and rational numbers, expressions, equations and inequalities, statistics and probability, scale copies, geometry. |
| 8th grade math | 8 | Numbers and operations, solving equations, linear equations and functions, systems of equations, geometry, geometric transformations, data and modeling. |
| Pre-algebra | Not given by the publisher | Topic course outside the grade sequence: factors and multiples, ratios, percentages, exponents, expressions, one- and two-step equations, proportional relationships, linear models, systems. |
| Algebra 1 | Not given by the publisher | Linear equations, inequalities and graphs, systems, functions, sequences, absolute value, exponents and radicals, exponential growth, quadratics. |
| High school geometry | Not given by the publisher | Transformations, congruence, similarity, right triangles and trigonometry, analytic geometry, conic sections, circles, solid geometry. |
| Algebra 2 | Not given by the publisher | Polynomials, complex numbers, rational exponents and radicals, exponential models, logarithms, transformations of functions, trigonometry, modeling. |
Grades are the publisher's own guide. Many children sit a level above or below, especially after switching programs.
How Khan Academy placement works
- There is no separate placement test for families.
- Khan's homeschool guidance is to assign the Course Challenge to gauge which skills in a course need more practice, with the Get Ready for 3rd Grade Course Challenge as its example.
- Each mastery-enabled course ends with a Course Challenge that samples skills from the whole course.
- Answers move each skill up or down: on a mixed-skill test a correct answer moves a skill from Not started or Attempted to Familiar, from Familiar to Proficient, and from Proficient to Mastered, while missed questions move it down.
- Course mastery is the percentage of the course's skills at Proficient or Mastered.
- Khan's adaptive Readiness Check (about 36 questions, below the child's grade only) is offered only to US partner districts, not to family accounts.
Open the publisher's placement page
If your child lands between two levels
If a child is not ready for a grade course, Khan points to the matching Get ready course. After a Course Challenge, work the units whose skills stayed Attempted or Familiar, then use quizzes, unit tests and Mastery Challenges to level skills up. Mastery Challenges are 6 questions over 3 skills, unlock after Familiar on 3 skills and Proficient on 1, and can be taken once every 12 hours.
Problems parents often run into
- Mastery percentages can drop without the child doing anything when Khan adds skills to a course. Khan's own example is 90 of 100 skills becoming 90 of 110, which moves mastery from 90 to 82 percent.
- Khan announced course restructures for the 2026 school year, including Illustrative Math course changes and new Math Essentials courses, and warns that mastery progress may be affected.
- Reviewers note that younger children, and children who struggle with long stretches of video, usually need a parent involved to stay on track.
- Parents look for the Readiness Check they have heard about from school, but it is only available to US partner districts.
Point of Progress in 20 seconds
Ready to see where your child stands?
See where they stand →Switching to Khan Academy from another program
- A parent creates the child's account from the Parent Dashboard (for children under 13) or connects to an existing account, then assigns courses or Course Challenges from the Assignments tab.
- If the child also uses Khan at school, the Parent Dashboard activity report shows home and school work together, by course.
- Families who need to fill gaps outside the grade sequence can use the Arithmetic and Pre-algebra topic courses as well as the Get ready courses.
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
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
- support.khanacademy.org/hc/en-us/articles/36065978206221-How-can-I-use
- support.khanacademy.org/hc/en-us/articles/115002552631-What-are-Course
- support.khanacademy.org/hc/en-us/articles/5548760867853--How-do-Khan-A
- support.khanacademy.org/hc/en-us/articles/48411237993357-How-is-my-mas
- support.khanacademy.org/hc/en-us/articles/360037494231-What-are-Master
- support.khanacademy.org/hc/en-us/articles/360037127892-What-are-Master
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.