2nd- and 5th-grade performance ratio

In collaboration with the Natura Institute, we sponsored a groundbreaking study revealing that children who achieve literacy by the 2nd grade are 2.6 times more likely to reach an advanced level of learning by the 5th grade than those who do not. In Portuguese, the likelihood of reaching an advanced level is 55% for children who became literate on schedule, versus 21% for those who did not become literate at the right time. In Math, the probability is 40% for the group who learned the basics at the right time compared to only 15% for those who did not. It’s stark proof that the more a child falls behind early on, the harder time they will have catching up.

The breakthrough study was conducted by the University of São Paulo's Laboratory of Studies and Research in Social Economy (Laboratório de Estudos e Pesquisa em Economia Social – LEPES) and the Federal University of Ceará (UFC), using data from Ceará's public school system and national projections based on Brazil's National Learning Assessment (SAEB).