What grade level is The Great Gatsby?

The Great Gatsby is most commonly assigned in US schools in grades 10–12, with a Lexile measure of 1070L. Specific grade placement varies by curriculum — AP Literature and IB English Literature typically use it in grades 11-12.

What is the Lexile level of The Great Gatsby?

The Great Gatsby has a Lexile measure of 1070L according to MetaMetrics. Lexile measures text complexity, not content maturity — check the grade range and content notes separately for age-appropriateness.

How long does it take to read The Great Gatsby?

It takes about 3h 20m to read The Great Gatsby (180 pages) at an average adult reading pace of about 250 words per minute — roughly 200 minutes. Faster or slower readers will vary; the estimate is a planning guide for assigning the book.

Is The Great Gatsby hard to read for 10th grade?

At 1070L, The Great Gatsby falls within the typical 1050–1335L text-complexity range for 10th grade (Common Core Appendix A) — a grade-appropriate reading challenge. Lexile measures text complexity, not thematic maturity — check the content notes for age-appropriateness separately.

What curricula assign The Great Gatsby?

The Great Gatsby appears on reading lists for AP English Literature & Composition, Common Core State Standards (ELA). Each assignment on this site links to its primary-source citation.

The Great Gatsby

Name: The Great Gatsby
Availability: InStock
Author: F. Scott Fitzgerald
ISBN: 9780743273565

by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is assigned in US schools at grades 10–12, with a Lexile measure of 1070L. It appears across 2 curriculum references and 2 states, sourced from state DOE pages and AP/IB/Common Core syllabi. Every citation below links to the primary source.

This page shows where The Great Gatsby is assigned in US schools — curricula, states, grades, and the primary-source citations behind each placement. Not a summary or study guide.

Lexile: 1070L
Grade range: Grades 10–12
Difficulty for grade: Within the grade 9–10 band (1050–1335L)
Age range: Ages 15–18
Pages: 180
Reading time: about 3h 20m (est.)
First published: 1925
Genre: Literary Fiction
ISBN-13: 9780743273565

Reading difficulty: At 1070L, The Great Gatsby falls within the typical 1050–1335L text-complexity range for 10th grade (Common Core Appendix A) — a grade-appropriate reading challenge.

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About this book

Narrator Nick Carraway moves to 1920s Long Island and becomes entangled in the world of his wealthy, mysterious neighbor Jay Gatsby. The novel tracks Gatsby's obsession with Daisy Buchanan, the wife of an old-money rival, against a Jazz Age backdrop of decadence and moral emptiness. Widely studied for its prose style, symbolism, and critique of the American Dream.

Why widely assigned

This Literary Fiction title, reads at young-adult to upper-middle-grade complexity, typically at grades 10–12. Written in the 1920s; pairs with curriculum units on American Dream and wealth and class; cited across 2 curriculum frameworks.

Themes

American Dream · wealth and class · obsession · illusion and reality · Jazz Age · unrequited love

Content notes

infidelity · alcohol use · vehicular death · domestic violence

Common Sense Media recommends age 14+.

Where this book is assigned

AP English Literature & Composition
- recommended·11th grade source: AP Lit summer-reading expectation — rising AP Lit student
- required·11th grade source: AP Lit — commonly cited in free-response question 3
Common Core State Standards (ELA)
- recommended·11th grade source: CCSS ELA Appendix B, grades 11-CCR exemplar
- recommended·11th grade · Massachusetts source: MA ELA Framework aligned reading
- recommended·11th grade · New York source: NYC DOE grade 11 ELA core text
- recommended·11th grade · New York source: NY Next Gen Learning Standards aligned reading
- recommended·12th grade source: CCSS ELA Appendix B, grades 11-CCR story exemplar

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See all books like The Great Gatsby→ — matched on theme + reading level.

Common questions

What grade level is The Great Gatsby?: The Great Gatsby is most commonly assigned in US schools in grades 10–12, with a Lexile measure of 1070L. Specific grade placement varies by curriculum — AP Literature and IB English Literature typically use it in grades 11-12.
What is the Lexile level of The Great Gatsby?: The Great Gatsby has a Lexile measure of 1070L according to MetaMetrics. Lexile measures text complexity, not content maturity — check the grade range and content notes separately for age-appropriateness.
How long does it take to read The Great Gatsby?: It takes about 3h 20m to read The Great Gatsby (180 pages) at an average adult reading pace of about 250 words per minute — roughly 200 minutes. Faster or slower readers will vary; the estimate is a planning guide for assigning the book.
Is The Great Gatsby hard to read for 10th grade?: At 1070L, The Great Gatsby falls within the typical 1050–1335L text-complexity range for 10th grade (Common Core Appendix A) — a grade-appropriate reading challenge. Lexile measures text complexity, not thematic maturity — check the content notes for age-appropriateness separately.
What curricula assign The Great Gatsby?: The Great Gatsby appears on reading lists for AP English Literature & Composition, Common Core State Standards (ELA). Each assignment on this site links to its primary-source citation.

Why this book is on this list

Each dimension below is sourced from a public reference. The full framework is documented on the classification standard page.

Lexile measure: 1070L — sourced from MetaMetrics’ Lexile Hub.
Grade band: Grades 10–12 — drawn from state ELA frameworks and AP/IB syllabi citing this book.
Curriculum alignment: Cited in 2 curricula on this site (see “Where assigned” above for primary-source links).
State-level evidence: Cited in 2 states ELA frameworks or DOE list (see citations above).
Removal / banning records: No tracked removal or challenge records in cited sources.
Seasonal / contextual tags: Tagged for: summer.