NEW ORLEANS (AP) — State education officials say 77 percent of publicly funded early childhood education programs provided care and instruction last school year that promotes kindergarten readiness.

That's a 7 percent improvement over the previous year. The figures were among data released Thursday on how well schools, kindergartens and early childhood programs prepare students for their next level of learning.

It includes performance scores for school districts and individual schools. The state's overall score for the 2017-2018 school year was 76.1. It's down from previous years. But officials note that's because there is a new scoring formula as the state adopts increasingly higher standards.

Four of Louisiana's 70 districts received an A; 35, a B; and 25 a C in Thursday's data. Four districts had a D and two, an F.

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