Definition: Percentage of students in Sarasota County that scored in achievement levels 3 or above on the English Language Arts portion of the Florida Standards Assessment.

**In 2015 the Florida Standards Assessment (FSA) replaced FCAT 2.0 as the tool for assessing reading proficiency. All values reported before 2015 represent the percentage of students that passed the reading portion of the FCAT 2.0., while all values 2015 and on represent the percentage of students who passed the English Language Arts section of the FSA.

Source: Florida Department of Education

2025 Target: 78.1%

Below is a comparison of the value for this indicator among seven coastal counties: Charlotte, Sarasota, Collier, Lee, Manatee, Hillsborough, and Pinellas. These counties have been recommended as comparable counties by Sarasota County Government.

Third Grade Reading Proficiency (2017)

In 2017, 71% of third graders in Sarasota County passed the English Language Arts section of the Florida Standards Assessment (FSA). The third grade reading proficiency rate in the county is 13% higher than the state average of 58%, and is also higher that all of the comparison counties (Charlotte, Collier, Lee, Manatee, Hillsborough, and Pinellas). Sarasota County Ranks 6th out of 67 counties in Florida for third grade reading proficiency.

The discrepancy in FCAT 2.0 scores by race and socioeconomic status in 2014 (measured by whether or not the student receives free/reduced lunch) shows that there were significant achievement gaps in third grade reading proficiency. In 2014, there was a 33% achievement gap between White and Black/African American students, and a 23% achievement gap between those who do not receive free/reduced lunch and those who do.

The recent report, Early Warning! Why Reading by the End of Third Grade Matters, by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, notes several factors that influence reading proficiency in the third grade. Low income students and students of Color are less likely to be reading at grade level because they have less access to prekindergarten programs and high quality educational opportunities. Family support and school environment are also contributing factors. Family involvement, particularly in early education, fosters a child's excitement about school. Schools that do not have access to adequate resources or that do not engage parents are likely to have a student body with more barriers to academic achievement. According to the Annie E. Casey Foundation, students who express reading proficiency in the third grade are less likely to drop out of high school and thus are less likely to experience poverty later in life.