Spring is in the air! We know this because the landscape is more colorful, the weather is warmer, and because it is time to take the ERB test. Next week, students in the third through eighth grades will take the standardized test commonly called the ERB.  

Each year, students in independent and suburban public schools take a test that the Educational Records Bureau produces and distributes; this test is the Comprehensive Testing Program IV. In some schools, the test is called the CTP IV and in others it is called the ERB. At RDS, we know it as the ERB.  The ERB is a test of students' academic achievement and reasoning abilities:

The act of taking the test and testing results are helpful to students, families, and the School for several reasons: 

• Combined with teacher reports and academic grades (in the Middle School), the ERB provides families and the School with a more complete picture of students' progress in a particular year and over the course of their schooling. ERB scores are an important part of understanding each child as a learner.
• Because it is a nationally administered test, we also see a snapshot of how our students perform in relation to other suburban and independent school students. From this data, we are able to make adjustments to our curriculum and teaching to ensure that we are meeting the educational needs of all of our students.
• Beginning in grade three, students get extensive practice in taking standardized tests. This is an essential skill that students will need throughout their educational careers.
• The tests also have an important role in the high school placement process. High schools receive students' sixth- and seventh-grade ERB scores and their transcript. Along with the other high school placement tests, the inclusion of the ERB scores provides several years of student testing performance. In other words, high schools do not evaluate students based on one day of testing. 

Finally, there is no particular course or workbook that families or the School can use to prepare students for the ERB. The best preparation for any standardized test is a school curriculum and home environment that ensures that students are actively reading and discussing literature, solving math problems creatively and efficiently, and doing activities that require logical thinking and problem solving. We are constantly looking at our curriculum and program to ensure that we are engaging our students in these areas. Having said this, we do give students an ERB practice test that familiarizes them with test questions and the testing format so that they are able to effectively demonstrate what they have learned.

Clarence Perkins, Assistant Head of School & Middle School Director