The Early Gains Index: Bringing Transparency Where Learning Matters Most

Florida's education system has been a national model for innovation and accountability since the adoption of the A+ Plan 25 years ago. However, one glaring gap remains in how Florida measures and supports student achievement: the critical early elementary years, kindergarten through second grade. Florida’s accountability system does not measure student performance until the third grade and learning gains are not measured until the fourth grade. Because of this gap, student gains (or losses) in the early grades are largely invisible to educators, parents, and policymakers. The Early Gains Index fills this gap using student performance data Florida already collects to shine a light on these crucial years in order to promote continuous improvement and student success. 

Missed Opportunities in The Most Critical Period

The need to focus on student learning gains in the early grades is backed by clear and compelling science. Neuroscience confirms that brain development is most rapid from birth through age eight — a time when children’s experiences shape how they learn, think, and interact with the world. By third grade, the window to close early learning gaps is already beginning to close.

Florida’s kindergarten readiness data reinforces the urgency. In fall 2023, only 51 percent of Florida’s kindergarteners were deemed “ready” for school — a figure that has hovered around 50 percent for years. Readiness rates vary widely, from schools with 100 percent readiness to others in the single digits. Notably, children who are not ready are disproportionately concentrated in schools serving economically disadvantaged students (EDS). As the data shows, there is a 22-point readiness gap between high- and low-EDS schools.

To put the need into perspective: in order to bring all students who start behind up to grade level by third grade, Florida must help an additional 25,000 students catch up each year. Currently, only about 2,200 students make that leap annually — less than 10 percent of the need.

To guide the innovation, capacity-building, and hard work that is needed to close this gap, Florida’s early-grade “black box” must be replaced with the clear, objective measures and full transparency of the Early Gains Index.

How the early gain index works

Although Florida screens every kindergartener within their first month of school using the STAR Early Literacy test — and calculates a kindergarten readiness rate for each elementary school — these data points are not currently used to measure student growth in grades K–2.

To fill this gap, the Early Gains Index uses a school’s kindergarten readiness rate to calculate two complementary measures:

1. Readiness Rates for Each Grade

The Early Gains Index extends the concept of “kindergarten readiness” across all early elementary grades. Just as kindergarten readiness reflects the percentage of students prepared for kindergarten, the Index would define “first grade readiness,” “second grade readiness,” and so on — measuring the percentage of students ready for the next grade level each year.

Unlike kindergarten readiness, which reflects factors largely outside a school’s control, the change in readiness rates in subsequent grades directly measure a school’s effectiveness at supporting student growth. Schools that are accelerating early learning will show rising readiness rates year over year. Schools where gains are not being achieved will see those rates plateau or decline.

2. Six-Year Growth Snapshot

In addition to tracking readiness year by year, the Six-Year Growth Snapshot compares a school’s kindergarten readiness rate with its grade 5 performance — offering a cumulative measure of early-grade impact. This measure assumes that a school’s kindergarten readiness rate is relatively stable over time. Comparing it with fifth-grade outcomes provides a clear picture of total academic growth from entry to exit — highlighting schools that are driving long-term improvement across the elementary years.

Schools sorted by kindergarten readiness: the full picture

This analysis examines all elementary schools through the lens of their kindergarten readiness rates, comparing student performance between schools with above-average and below-average readiness. The green bars represent 1,013 schools with above-average kindergarten readiness rates. The orange bars represent 1,152 schools with below-average rates. Note the 28-point gap in kindergarten readiness. The average kindergarten readiness rate for these schools is 37 percent. Out of every 100 students at these schools, an average of 63 need extra support to reach grade level performance by grade 3.

The following four examples show the power and importance of early grade learning gains.  The first two examples draw from the 1,013 schools with above-average kindergarten readiness rates, contrasting high-impact schools that support student growth and struggling schools where performance declines sharply. In the last two examples, we do the same for schools with below-average kindergarten readiness rates. The following examples summarize these patterns.

Example 1: High Kindergarten Readiness + Early Grade Gains = Student Success

Among the 1,013 schools with above-average kindergarten readiness rates, 99 schools stand out for exceptional growth. These schools increased grade-level reading performance by at least 12.5 points above their starting kindergarten readiness rates, with an average gain of 17 points by grade five. The contrast with the 1,013 schools is stark. Instead of a one point loss, these schools supported a 17 point gain! 

Example 2: High Kindergarten Readiness + Early Grade Losses = Missed Opportunities

Within the same pool of high-readiness schools, 86 schools show an average drop of 20+ points in grade-level reading performance by grade 5. By grade 3, performance has dropped 16 points—from 67 to 51 percent. By grade 5, only 41 percent of student are reading at or above grade level. The average drop from the starting kindergarten readiness rate is 26 points.

The underperformance in reading at these schools extends across all subjects. By grade 5, students score 18 points below the state average in math and 10 points below in science. The rate of high-achieving students (levels 4 and 5) is 9 points below the state average, while struggling students (level 1) exceed the state average by 6 points.

Example 3: Low Kindergarten Readiness + Early Grade Gains = Transformational Growth

Now we turn to the 1,152 schools with below-average kindergarten readiness rates. These schools face significant challenges, serving an average of 93 percent economically disadvantaged students and 78 percent minority students, with 1,050 qualifying as Title I schools.

Notwithstanding these challenges, 95 schools demonstrate what's possible with effective early-grade instruction. Starting with an average kindergarten readiness rate of 31 percent (20 points below the state average), these schools achieved remarkable gains: 20 points of growth by grade 3 and an additional 10 points by grade 5, reaching 61 percent—6 points above the state average.

Individual school stories within this group are inspiring: one school moved from 15 percent kindergarten readiness to 41 percent grade-level performance by grade 3; another grew from 41 percent to 68 percent over the same period.

Example 4: Low Kindergarten Readiness + Early Grade Losses = Compounding Disadvantage

Unfortunately, not all high-challenge schools achieve these gains. Among the 1,152 schools with below-average kindergarten readiness, 88 schools show an average drop of 10+ points in grade-level performance by grade 5. These schools serve 96 percent economically disadvantaged students and 80 percent minority students, with 83 qualifying as Title I schools.

Starting with a kindergarten readiness rate 8 points below the state average, these schools see performance drop an additional 8 points by grade 3 and continue declining to just 28 percent by grade 5—27 points below the state average.

These academic challenges appear across all subjects, with students scoring 25 points below the state average in math and 23 points below in science by grade 5. In grade 5, 39 percent of students score at the lowest level in ELA, and 40 percent in math. Each year, these students are falling further and further behind.

These four examples demonstrate why the Early Gains Index is essential. By measuring growth from each school's unique starting point, the Index provides fair, objective data that reveals both exceptional progress and urgent needs for intervention. Without this transparency, both successes worth replicating and failures demanding immediate attention remain hidden. Until this is changed, student gains in the early grades will remain elusive.

The power of transparency to drive transformation

Many schools have already unlocked extraordinary early-grade gains — achieving student growth roughly seven times the state average. Yet these outstanding educators are not being recognized or celebrated. Florida should be learning from and scaling these successes — but instead, they remain hidden.

Meanwhile, other schools are failing students during the very years when intervention could be most impactful. Without transparency, the changes needed to better support early learning simply don’t happen.

Florida can and must do better.

The Early Gains Index provides the missing transparency that empowers all stakeholders to act on what the data reveals. Educators can identify and learn from high-impact schools leading sustained student growth across grades K–5, while focusing targeted support and innovation where it’s most needed. Parents gain access to honest, meaningful information about how well their child’s school supports growth in the foundational years. Policymakers receive clear signals about where the system is delivering — and where it is falling short of its promise to provide high-quality public education for all.

The Early Gains Index would fill a critical blind spot — transforming kindergarten through second grade from a “black box” into a period of intentional growth and continuous improvement. This isn’t about adding complexity to the system — it’s about using data Florida already collects to provide clear, actionable insight into student gains and losses in the early grades.

The Early Gains Index is more than a measurement tool — it’s a catalyst for the academic growth and high expectations that Florida’s students deserve. It will highlight schools where students are thriving and reveal those where students are falling further behind.

The question isn’t whether Florida has the capacity to dramatically improve early learning outcomes — these examples prove not only that it can be done, but that it’s already being done.

The real question is whether education leaders will commit to the sustained focus and hard work needed to scale existing pockets of success across the entire system.