To assess education progress in the early grades and identify achievement gaps, this study examined reading achievement data for kindergarten and grade 1 students in two districts in Illinois: District U-46 (Elgin Area Schools) and District 186 (Springfield Public Schools). Drawing on a different reading assessment in each district, the study team documented reading achievement in these two early grades for two kindergarten cohorts (2016/17 for District U-46 and 2017/18 for District 186) and examined disparities in achievement for several student demographic groups. In particular, the study identified gaps in reading achievement at different time points in kindergarten and grade 1 by students' race/ethnicity, eligibility for the national school lunch program (an indicator of poverty), English learner status, participation in special education, and gender. Policymakers can use these findings to advocate for increased supports for early intervention before or at the start of kindergarten to close the reading achievement gaps found in the study. [For the full report, see ED610445; for the appendixes, see ED610446; for the study brief, see ED610448.]