Question
What are the academic benchmarks for Kindergarten?
For example, should my son be able to read new 3 or 4 letter words with ease and no hesitation by the end of the school year?
What should I look out for?
Is there an article/video/podcast I could listen to to educate myself on this?
He is doing well in Kinder and the teacher is happy with his performance but I want to understand and gauge the academic part of it.
Little reminder: My frame of reference is skewed since his brother was reading like a pro since PK4. So it’s sometimes painful to hear my youngest trying to read a word out loud and take forever when in fact he’s probably at the level where he’s supposed to be at.
Answer
Sounds like he is right on track. Being able to sound out words is key to phonics and reading. Knowing the sound of a letter helps them read lots of words. It's not the word count that is important, it's the kindergartener understanding the sound of a letter. This way they can figure out a word the way you are witnessing him do this.
So yes, the unusual one was your older son. PK4 students are not supposed to read like a pro.
In case you want to dive in deeper, here are the Florida standards for what a Kindergartener should know by the end of year: https://www.fldoe.org/.../GK_LanguageArts_Florida...
Also always check in with your teacher on their progress, they know your child's academic achievement best