Understanding the ERBs:

1. Understanding the ERBs: A Presentation for FSH Parents

2. What are the ERBs? • ERB: Educational Records Bureau, a non-profit educational service organization which meets the student assessment needs of over 1500 independent school and suburban public school members • ERB member schools include independent schools from 46 states and 42 countries and suburban public school districts from every region of the United States

3. CTP-4 and WrAP • What we refer to as “the ERBs” is a standardized achievement test, the Comprehensive Testing Program (CTP-4), “designed specifically for high-achieving schools and schools wishing to set high standards.” • CTP-4 includes subtests that vary by grade level • WrAP (Writing Assessment Program)

4. Third Grade CTP-4 Tests • Auditory Comprehension • Reading Comprehension • Word Analysis • Writing Mechanics • Mathematics

5. Fourth Grade CTP-4 Tests • Auditory Comprehension • Verbal Reasoning • Reading Comprehension • Writing Concepts and Skills • Writing Mechanics • Mathematics, Parts 1 & 2 • Quantitative Reasoning

6. Fifth and Sixth Grade CTP-4 Tests • Verbal Reasoning • Vocabulary • Reading Comprehension • Writing Concepts and Skills • Writing Mechanics • Mathematics, Parts 1 & 2 • Quantitative Reasoning

7. Differences among Grade Levels • In addition to differences in the specific tests administered, • Third grade tests are all untimed • Fourth grade Auditory Comprehension test is untimed • FSH students in Grades 4, 5 and 6 take the WrAP in addition to the CTP-4

8. WrAP • Administered over a two-day period • Time to do pre-writing, write a rough draft and revise • Scored by two readers, according to a rubric covering 6 dimensions of writing

9. WrAP Scoring Rubric • Overall development • Organization • Support • Sentence Structure • Word Choice • Mechanics • Each dimension is scored on a 6-point scale

10. Why do we administer the ERBs? • To gain information about students’ strengths and needs • To inform instruction at the individual and curricular levels • To give our students practice in test-taking • To evaluate our curriculum over time

11. How are test scores interpreted? • Percentile rank • Stanines • Item analysis

12. What is a Stanine?

13. Norms • National Norms • Suburban Norms • Independent Norms

14. ERB Reports for Parents • Primary Grade Parent Report (Grade 3) • Individual Narrative Report (Grades 4 to 6) • FSH also provides parents with the Individual Instructional Summary designed for teachers (Grades 4 to 6)

15. ERB Reports for Teachers • Provide insight into students’ particular strengths and needs • Provide another perspective on student performance, in addition to classroom assessments • Provide information to guide curriculum planning and to improve our instructional program

16. FSH Student Performance on the ERB tests • FSH students’ performance on the tests is very strong • This year’s sixth-grade students’ median scaled scores surpassed the independent school median and the NAIS median in nearly all areas • Significant improvement in scores on Writing Mechanics subtest

17. Reading Comprehension Item Analysis, Sixth Grade

18. MathematicsItem Analysis, Sixth Grade

19. What can parents do? • Read, read, read! (and relax!) • Read aloud to your children, even those in the Intermediate School. Choose books that you love and want to share. • Discuss the meaning of new words that you and your child encounter in all types of reading and in other media--novels, newspapers, magazines, movies, television, websites. • Discuss nuances of meaning to improve precision in word choice.

20. Resources • Classroom teachers--always the primary resource for ideas about supporting your child’s learning • FSH librarian and reading specialist: Marian McKenzie and Lea Keil Garson are available to assist you in choosing books to read aloud and books for your children to read on their own • In-class test preparation: Lea teaches test-taking strategies and works with teachers to enhance vocabulary instruction • Test prep club: Tom Forstik offers this club each fall to help students prepare for the ERBs • Writing Practice Program (WPP)