By Diane Landers
Director of Student Services
Most parents have probably seen the notation on the School calendar for ERB testing. This year, St. Johns will be testing all students in Grades 4-8. We know that for many parents and students, these tests can cause nervousness and bring up a question or two about how standardized tests will affect our students’ lives. These days, there are many questions about the benefits of standardized testing, particularly as balanced against the concerns of the impact they may have on our students, particularly, depending on the scores, how the rest of their lives might be affected. No wonder students and parents are nervous!
Fortunately, we know that while standardized testing does play a role in our educational system and our world, much of the concern, particularly around ERBs, is not warranted. One of the benefits of sending your children to a school like St. Johns is that our faculty and staff work to protect children from the high-stakes testing (defined as testing with a direct consequence attached to the result) seen in many other schools. At St. Johns, we are truly able to use these tests as they were designed to be used—to inform our teaching practice and thus, your child’s learning.
What is the ERB Test Anyway?
The Educational Records Board, or ERB, is a nonprofit advisory group which oversees the development, implementation, and evaluation of testing for more than 1,600 independent and public schools. ERB is committed to equity in testing and to providing resources and insights to families and schools worldwide to accurately track student achievement and help each student reach their learning goals.
The ERB test is a suite of multiple choice tests designed to provide information about a student’s performance in several key areas (depending on the grade level): listening, verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, reading comprehension, word analysis, writing mechanics, and mathematics.
Why Do Students Take These Tests and How Does St. Johns Use Them?
For the School as a whole, the ERBs provide a comprehensive picture of student learning and can highlight trends in achievement. These results help guide discussions about where St. Johns would like to focus instruction and where the school is excelling.
From an individual perspective, the ERBs can provide more insight into a student’s strengths and areas for growth. The ERBs are simply a snapshot in time of a student’s performance. Test-taking skills, nerves, and general unfamiliarity with standardized tests (particularly in the younger years) can affect scores. ERB results are always best considered in partnership with the student’s daily work and performance in the classroom. Particularly in Lower School, ERBs are not used for determining placement in classes or special accommodations, though in Middle School they can be used as one determinant for math placement.
What Can Parents Do?
Parents play a crucial role in helping children prepare for tests like the ERBs. Your involvement is critical to helping students enter into any test fully prepared and with a calm presence and confidence in their abilities. Here are some tips:
Make sure your child is well-rested. Standardized tests like the ERBs require us to think clearly and focus—two things we can’t do without adequate sleep. So make sure you have a clear bedtime and stick to it, particularly over the nights before testing.
Eat a good breakfast. Like sleep, nutritious food helps us remain alert and fuels our brains. Be sure to fill up on good proteins and high fiber foods (think oatmeal or eggs) so your child doesn’t get hungry during tests.
Keep it in perspective. Children look to the adults in their lives to determine how they should react to different stressors. If we hype up the ERBs by asking about them every day or by focusing on scores, we send the message that these tests carry more weight than they actually do. While small amounts of stress can help us attend to an important task, too much only leads to panic—and panic will always result in lower scores. Help children understand how these tests are used, and how taking these types of tests can be learning experiences. But remain calm and try to treat ERB testing days as normally as you can.
Don’t automatically compare ERB scores to how your child will perform on the SAT or ACT down the road. Yes, ERBs is a standardized test, but not all standardized tests are alike, and because they aren’t high-stakes, we don’t spend much valuable class time teaching to the test. When it’s time for students to take the SAT or ACT, St. Johns will provide resources and teaching to help students master the art of a standardized test. Because of ERBs, students will already have a sense of how they respond to standardized tests and know more about where they could use support when the SATs or ACTs roll around.
Dos and Don’ts
Don’t panic! Don’t overestimate the impact of ERB testing on your child’s life. Do encourage a healthy perspective. Do encourage your child to learn from the experience. And definitely DO enjoy this time in your child’s life. There will be high-stakes tests down the road, but your child will be prepared when the time comes. The ERBs help us do the work that every teacher, staff member, and administrator at St. Johns is committed to—assessing our students’ growth and learning, and ensuring your child receives the education they need to reach their unique potential.