First-time kindergartners who demonstrated positive approaches to learning behaviors more frequently in the fall of kindergarten tended to make greater gains in reading, mathematics, and science between kindergarten and second grade. For each additional point in students' fall kindergarten approaches to learning score, average gains from kindergarten to second grade were 3.4 points higher for reading, 1.9 points higher for mathematics, and 1.3 points higher for science. The positive relationships between initial approaches to learning behaviors and academic gains in reading, mathematics, and science were stronger for students from lower socioeconomic status (SES) households than for students from higher SES households.