It depends. Four things matter most: where your child is starting and how big the gaps are, the quality of the instruction (explicit, step-by-step, multisensory teaching works better than more of the same), how often lessons happen, and a little practice at home. In the first few weeks you often see early wins like a better attitude and firmer sound skills. Over a few months decoding usually becomes more accurate, while fluency, spelling, and stamina take longer. For children with dyslexia, that last stage can take well over a year.

The first signs usually are not test scores. Your child sighs less when it is time to read, letters and sounds come back faster, they stop guessing from the first letter or picture and look at the whole word, and they say something proud like “I got that one.” These early wins matter because confidence fuels continued effort.

Yes. Learning to read does not move in a straight line, and a plateau is often a skill settling in and becoming automatic. But if several months go by with no measurable growth, no one can clearly explain the plan, or your child is becoming more discouraged, it is time for a conversation. Ask for a baseline assessment, how progress is tracked, and what the next goal is.