Transcript Understanding the ERBs: - Friends School Haverford

Understanding the
ERBs:
A Presentation for FSH Parents
What are the ERBs?
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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
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ERB member schools include independent
schools from 46 states and 42 countries and
suburban public school districts from every
region of the United States
CTP-4 and WrAP
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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.”
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CTP-4 includes subtests that vary by grade level
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WrAP (Writing Assessment Program)
Third Grade CTP-4 Tests
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Auditory Comprehension
Reading Comprehension
Word Analysis
Writing Mechanics
Mathematics
Fourth Grade CTP-4 Tests
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Auditory Comprehension
Verbal Reasoning
Reading Comprehension
Writing Concepts and Skills
Writing Mechanics
Mathematics, Parts 1 & 2
Quantitative Reasoning
Fifth and Sixth Grade
CTP-4 Tests
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Verbal Reasoning
Vocabulary
Reading Comprehension
Writing Concepts and Skills
Writing Mechanics
Mathematics, Parts 1 & 2
Quantitative Reasoning
Differences among Grade
Levels
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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
WrAP
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Administered over a two-day period
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Time to do pre-writing, write a rough
draft and revise
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Scored by two readers, according to a
rubric covering 6 dimensions of writing
WrAP Scoring Rubric
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Overall development
Organization
Support
Sentence Structure
Word Choice
Mechanics
Each dimension is scored on a 6-point scale
Why do we administer the
ERBs?
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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
How are test scores
interpreted?
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Percentile rank
Stanines
Item analysis
What is a Stanine?
Percentage of
Students
Percentile
Ranks
9
4
96-99
8
7
89-95
7
12
77-88
6
17
60-76
5
20
40-59
4
17
23-39
3
12
11-22
2
7
4-10
1
4
1-3
Stanine
Norms
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National Norms
Suburban Norms
Independent Norms
ERB Reports for Parents
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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)
ERB Reports for Teachers
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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
FSH Student Performance on
the ERB tests
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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
Reading Comprehension
Item Analysis, Sixth Grade
Mathematics
Item Analysis, Sixth Grade
What can parents do?
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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.
Resources
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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 testtaking 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