School Readiness at Kindergarten Entry

School Readiness at Kindergarten Entry

The percentage of kindergarten students who score 690+ on the Florida Assessment of Student Thinking (FAST) Star Early Literacy. State law requires screening for all public school kindergarten students within the first 30 days of the school year. Kindergarten teachers use the results to help understand each child's readiness for school and plan lessons to meet individual needs.

Readiness at kindergarten entry greatly impacts future school success.

In 2024, the percentage of School Readiness at Kindergarten Entry in Alachua County was 52.5 compared to Florida at 51. The line graph shows change over time when there are at least three years of data.

Alachua County is in the third quartile for this measure. This means that relative to other counties in Florida, the situation occurs less often in about one half of the counties, and it occurs more often in about one quarter of the counties.

The map illustrates county data by quartile. A quartile map is presented when there are at least 51 counties with data for this measure.

Links:   Healthy People 2030 | Other Resource
                    
Alachua County
School Readiness at Kindergarten Entry, Single Year
Click on county name or “Florida” in the legend to hide or show the county or state.
School Readiness at Kindergarten Entry, Percentage of, Single Year  
AlachuaFlorida
Data YearPercent (%)Percent (%)
202452.551.0
202348.649.2
202254.850.0
202158.456.9
202056.953.4
201958.252.7
201857.553.9
Florida
School Readiness at Kindergarten Entry, Percent, 2024
*Mouseover map to see county name and value. *Click a legend category to hide or show that category.
School Readiness at Kindergarten Entry, Percent, 2024  
CountyPercent (%)
Florida51.0
Alachua52.5
Baker40.7
Bay47.3
Bradford48.6
Brevard60.8
Broward50.7
Calhoun56.3
Charlotte57.0
Citrus43.6
Clay59.5
Collier43.5
Columbia52.1
Miami-Dade49.5
DeSoto25.6
Dixie55.1
Duval45.8
Escambia49.5
Flagler53.2
Franklin40.0
Gadsden45.3
Gilchrist49.0
Glades55.6
Gulf39.6
Hamilton37.1
Hardee34.2
Hendry54.4
Hernando50.5
Highlands45.0
Hillsborough52.0
Holmes40.5
Indian River55.4
Jackson41.1
Jefferson26.4
Lafayette38.0
Lake56.6
Lee49.1
Leon53.5
Levy48.2
Liberty52.3
Madison52.4
Manatee51.6
Marion49.2
Martin58.8
Monroe50.1
Nassau53.0
Okaloosa47.7
Okeechobee39.1
Orange49.8
Osceola44.9
Palm Beach49.5
Pasco56.8
Pinellas58.4
Polk44.0
Putnam44.7
St. Johns68.6
St. Lucie46.9
Santa Rosa59.2
Sarasota57.1
Seminole63.7
Sumter55.0
Suwannee44.5
Taylor59.0
Union45.9
Volusia51.2
Wakulla54.1
Walton49.1
Washington49.8
11/21/2024 5:19:28 AM

Data Note(s)


Data Source: Florida Department of Education (DOE)

  • Chart will display if there are at least three years of data.

  • Multi-year counts are a sum of the selected years, not an average.

  • Quartiles are calculated when data is available for at least 51 counties.

  • MOV - Measure of Variability: Probable range of values resulting from random fluctuations in the number of events. Not calculated when numerator is below 5 or denominator is below 20, or count or rate is suppressed. The MOV is useful for comparing rates to a goal or standard. For example, if the absolute difference between the county rate and the statewide rate is less than the MOV, the county rate is not significantly different from the statewide rate (alpha level = 0.05). When the absolute difference between the county rate and the statewide rate is greater than the MOV, the county rate is significantly different from the statewide rate. MOV should not be used to determine if the rates of two different counties, or the county rates for two different years, are statistically significantly different.

  • Denom - abbreviated for Denominator.

  • Population estimates are not available for persons whose county of residence is unknown. Given this, the denominator and associated rate are not available.

  • * - Indicates the county rate is statistically significantly different from the statewide rate.

  • From 2017-2021, screening for school readiness was done with the Florida Kindergarten Readiness Screener (FLKRS). In 2022-2023, Florida adopted a statewide Coordinated Screening and Progress Monitoring System known as the Florida Assessment of Student Thinking (FAST) Star Early Literacy. FAST Star Early Literacy now serves as the kindergarten screener. A FAST score of 690 is equivalent to a 500 on the FLKRS.
  • Data are for school years which vary by school district.
  • Blank cells indicate data are suppressed by county (school district) and grade if there are fewer than 10 students. Therefore the state total may exceed the sum of the counties.
  • This is secondary, quantitative data.