Consistent with the Department of Education’s strategic imperative to improve student learning and
independence, we are pleased to provide you with the results of the 2007 Florida Kindergarten Readiness
Screener. These results are especially noteworthy as fift
participated in Florida’s Voluntary Prekindergarten (VPK) Education Program in 2006-07.
Section 1002.69(1), Florida Statutes, (F.S.) directed the Florida Department of Education to establish a
kindergarten readiness screening based upon standards adopted by the State Board of Education, under Section
1002.67(1), F.S., for the Voluntary Prekindergarten (VPK) Education Program. These VPK Education
Standards describe what children should know and be able to do at the end of the VPK year in the areas of
physical health, approaches to learning, social and emotional development, language and communication,
emergent literacy, cognitive development and general knowledge, and motor development.
For the second consecutive year, the 2007 Kindergarten Screening consists of a subset of the Early Childhood
Observation System (ECHOS) and two measures from the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills
(DIBELS) and is administered within the first 30 days of kindergarten. ECHOS is a brief observational
screening instrument that is designed to measure a child’s performance across seven developmental areas that
are aligned with the VPK Education Standards. The two DIBELS measures, Letter Naming Fluency (LNF) and
Initial Sound Fluency (ISF), are screening instruments designed to measure specific skills that are important in
learning to read and that are specifically aligned with Florida’s VPK standards in the area of emergent literacy.
This is the fourth consecutive year these measures were administered as part of Florida’s kindergarten screening.
325 W. GAINES STREET • TALLAHASSEE, FL 32399-0400 • (850) 245-0505 • www.fldoe.org
District School Superintendents
December 11, 2007
Page Two
The results from the kindergarten screening data are used to determine the readiness of children entering
kindergarten for the first time in 2007-08, to inform classroom instruction, and to provide useful information to
parents. These data will also be used to annually calculate a readiness rate for private and public school
providers of the VPK Education Program, as required by Section 1002.69(2)&(5), F.S.
READINESS CATEGORIES USED FOR REPORTING
The results of the ECHOS were calculated by using the ratings teachers assigned to 19 activities as a result of
their on-going classroom observation. Scores are reported for FLKRS/ECHOS in the following readiness
categories:
Consistently Demonstrating
- the child demonstrated what he or she should know and be able to do at the
beginning of kindergarten
Emerging/Progressing
-
the child demonstrated some of the skills he or she needs to know or be able to do
at the beginning of kindergarten
Not Yet Demonstrating
- appropriate skill development was not yet demonstrated during the screening.
The results of the DIBELS are based on two measures of the instrument that were administered by local
school staff. Scores were calculated based on kindergarten students’ performance on Letter Naming Fluency
(LNF) and Initial Sound Fluency (ISF). Scores for both measures are reported in the following categories:
Above Average -
the child’s performance was at or above the 60th percentile
Low Risk
- the child’s performance was at grade level
Moderate Risk
- the child’s performance was moderately below grade level and additional intervention is
needed
High Risk -
the child’s performance was seriously below grade level and substantial intervention is needed.
Scannable response sheets were received for 193,817 kindergarten students. This represents 98% of the 197,416
kindergarten students in membership during the October 2007 FTE reporting period. In addition to the results of
the screening, teachers provided a reason when a child could not be screened. The Department uses this
information to track the status of as many children as possible. Screening is not valid or appropriate if:
The child began school after the 30th day of school.
The child was retained from the previous year.
The child has limited English proficiency.
The child has significant disabilities.
Valid scores could not be determined because of coding or gridding problems.
District School Superintendents
December 11, 2007
Page Three
2007-08 ECHOS RESULTS
For the kindergarten children with valid results on the ECHOS (180,351) teacher ratings indicated the following:
48 percent were considered “Consistently Demonstrating.”
40 percent were considered to be “Emerging/Progressing.”
12 percent were considered “Not Yet Demonstrating.”
To be considered “Ready for Kindergarten,” children should be scoring at the
Consistently Demonstrating
or
Emerging/Progressing
levels.
These findings are important for establishing baseline information about students upon their entry into
kindergarten. Figures 1 and 2 provide these results.
Figure 1
Summary of ECHOS Status
2006 2007
Total Scored
184,124 180,351
Consistently Demonstrating
78,006
42.37%
86,607 48.02%
Emerging/Progressing
80,234
43.58%
71,650 39.73%
Not Yet Demonstrating
25,884
14.06%
22,094 12.25%
Figure 2
2007-08
Florida Kindergarten Readiness Screener
ECHOS: Students with Valid Scores
(N = 180,351)
48%
40%
12%
Consistently Demonstrating
Emerging/Progressing
Not Yet Demonstrating
District School Superintendents
December 11, 2007
Page Four
2007-08 ECHOS RESULTS (CONT.)
Attachments 1 and 2 compare the 2006-07 to 2007-08 ECHOS results. On ECHOS, there were increases
ranging from two to 13 percent in the percentage of children entering kindergarten “Ready to Learn” in 52
percent of the districts (35/67 school districts).
2007-08 DIBELS RESULTS
For the kindergarten children with valid results on the DIBELS Letter Naming Fluency (177,996), the following
scores were attained.
Letter Naming Fluency
58% were considered “Above Average.”
14% were considered “Low Risk.”
14% were considered “Moderate Risk.”
15% were considered “High Risk.”
Figures 3 and 4 provide a summary of the DIBELS Letter Naming Fluency results for the past three years.
Figure 3
Letter Naming Fluency Status Summary
2004 2005 2006 2007
Total Participants
175,023 178,953
182,278
177,996
Above Average
84,550 48.31% 89,229 49.86%
101,400
55.63%
103,578
58.19%
Low Risk
26,550 15.17% 25,930 14.49%
25,461 13.97%
24,073 13.52%
Moderate Risk
29,359 16.77% 29,150 16.29%
26,347 14.45%
24,339 13.67%
High Risk
34,564 19.75% 34,644 19.36%
29,070 15.95%
26,006 14.61%
Figure 4
20%
17%
15%
48%
19%
16%
14%
50%
16%
14%
14%
56%
15%
14%
14%
58%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
2004-05
State
2005-06
State
2006-07
State
2007-08
State
DIBELS/Letter Naming Fluency: State
High Risk
Moderate Risk
Low Risk
Above Average
District School Superintendents
December 11, 2007
Page Five
2007-08 DIBELS RESULTS (CONT.)
To be considered “Ready for Kindergarten,” children should be scoring at the
Above Average or Low Risk
levels. Figure 5 displays the percentage of children “Ready” and “Not Ready” for Kindergarten as measured by
the DIBELS Letter Naming Fluency results.
Figure 5
Percent of Children "Ready" and "Not Ready" for Kindergarten:
DIBELS Letter Naming Fluency
2004-05 - 2007-08
63%
64%
37%
36%
70%
72%
28%
30%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08
Ready for Kindergarten
Not Ready For Kindergarten
For the kindergarten children with valid results on the DIBELS Initial Sound Fluency
(173,214),
the following
scores were attained.
Initial Sound Fluency
45% were considered “Above Average.”
19% were considered “Low Risk.”
19% were considered “Moderate Risk.”
17% were considered “High Risk.”
Figures 6 and 7 provide a summary of the DIBELS Initial Sound Fluency results for the past three years.
Figure 6
Initial Sound Status Summary
2004 2005 2006 2007
Total Participants
174,913
172,901
176,957
173,214
Above Average
68,297 39.05%
70,167
40.58%
77,961
44.06%
78,785 45.48%
Low Risk
33,564 19.19%
33,836
19.57%
34,289
19.38%
33,536 19.36%
Moderate Risk
34,992 20.01%
33,815
19.56%
33,103
18.71%
31,927 18.43%
High Risk
38,060 21.76%
35,083
20.29%
31,604
17.86%
28,966 16.72%
District School Superintendents
December 11, 2007
Page Six
2007-08 DIBELS RESULTS (CONT.)
Figure 7
22%
20%
19%
39%
20%
20%
20%
41%
18%
19%
19%
44%
17%
18%
19%
45%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
2004-05
State
2005-06
State
2006-07
State
2007-08
State
DIBELS/Initial Sound Fluency: State
High Risk
Moderate Risk
Low Risk
Above Average
To be considered “Ready for Kindergarten,” children should be scoring at the
Above Average or Low Risk
levels. Figure 8 displays the percentage of children “Ready” and “Not Ready” for Kindergarten as measured by
the DIBELS Initial Sound Fluency results.
Figure 8
Percent of Children "Ready" and "Not Ready" for Kindergarten:
DIBELS Initial Sound Fluency
2004-05 - 2007-08
61%
63%
64%
58%
37%
40%
35%
42%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08
Ready for Kindergarten
Not Ready for Kindergarten
District School Superintendents
December 11, 2007
Page Seven
Attachments 3, 4, 5, and 6 compare the 2006-07 to 2007-08 DIBELS results. On LNF, there were
increases ranging from two to 13 percent in the percentage of children entering kindergarten
“Ready to Learn” in 61 percent of the districts (41/67 school districts). On ISF, there were
increases of two to 20 percent in 49 percent of the districts (33/67).
DISTRICT REPORT OF SCHOOL RESULTS
School districts have received copies of the
District Report of School Results
directly from the
Department of Education’s contractor. These data may be used in the development of local
School Improvement Plans and for related student achievement initiatives.
Copies of the
District Report of School Results
will also be provided to the Florida Center for
Reading Research, the
Just Read, Florida!
Office, the chairpersons and executive directors of the
local Early Learning Coalitions, and the Office of Early Learning, Agency for Workforce
Innovation. The Department of Education will be using these data for additional analysis.
If you have additional questions regarding the Florida Kindergarten Readiness Screener, please
contact Shan Goff at 850/245-0445 or via email at shan.goff@fldoe.org or Jackie Muller at
850/245-0775 or via email at jackie.mueller@fldoe.org).
We appreciate your support, collaboration, and ongoing commitment to young children and their
families.
EJS/sgg
Attachments (6)
cc: Assistant Superintendents for Curriculum and Instruction
District Coordinators of Assessment
Chairpersons, Early Learning Coalitions
Executive Directors, Early Learning Coalitions
Monesia Brown, Director, Agency for Workforce Innovation
