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ERBs - do most children in WDC privates recieve "exceeds" or "meets" expectations in all categories?
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Anonymous
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Received first ever ERB scores for oldest child. Wondering if the "developing" category is really unusual in this demographic. I am asking because as the first "standardized test" one of my childen has taken (I am discounting the WIPPSI as it seem unreliable and rather worthless since everyone and their brother seems to score in the 99%) and I was fairly surprised by the results. I did, of course, already call the school and ask for further details but, we all know that sometimes school administrators don't really give a straight answer (in regards to comparing your child to the larger demographic) so I thought I would ask private school prents with older children.
One caveat so no one feels the need to point thsi out to me - I do not believe the ERB is the end-all-be-all of my child's abilities or IQ but, as a gauge of DC's current knowledge base and comfort with standardized tests, I would like to know more about what typical v. atypical results in local privates are and other parent's exepriences. Thanks. |
Anonymous
| never seen exceeds or meets used on ERBs. They are reported as percentiles like the SATs. There are national norms and independent school norms (much harder to be in the top stanines in the latter group). |
Anonymous
They are reported as both stanines (percentiles) as well as exceeds/meets/developing for grades 3 and 2 I believe. Anyway, my son in 3rd grade got one developing in a category in which there were only 3 questions (he missed one, and that plunged him into developing). I am sure it is not too uncommon, but if it were in many categories, I might be a little more concerned. You didn't report where your child fell within the stanines for the three categories: audio, verbal and math. Were they high? In which case, don't even worry about the individual components, which can easily be thrown off if there are only a few questions. |
Anonymous
| What's an ERB? |
Anonymous
| Correct me, someone, if I'm wrong, but I think an ERB is like a WPPSI. |
Anonymous
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No, an ERB is a standardized achievement test - one of those "fill-in-the-bubble" things, although younger kids may actually write in the book.
The WPPSI is an individual test of intelligence or cognitive potential - done one-on-one with the examiner asking questions or giving puzzles. |
Anonymous
| Achievement is what you've learned. IQ tests measure intelligence. |
Anonymous
I asked because, for his first standardized test in a year that was a bit challenging (he had trouble staying focused on work and experimented with being silly) I was pleasantly surprised by the results. Actually, he didn't get any developing and did get mostly exceeds, and some "meets." I wondered however if that was pretty "normal" in WDC. He is indeed in second grade. His independent school percentiles were a bit all over the place: one in the 60s and two in the 90s and the rest in between (stanines were somewhat similarly spread) but still no "developings" even in relation to his lowest score. The school said that type of spread is typical in second graders or those taking it (any standardized test) for the first time. Thanks for addressing my curiosity. I think the ERB tells you mostly if the school is educating your child at the correct pace and in the correct manner and, secondarily shows how well your child is learning. So, at this point, I am pleased. We will see next year. |
Anonymous
| What is the purpose of the ERBs? Is this considered a measure of success of a particular school? In other words, is it used as an accountability measure the way DC-CAS is used to grade DC public schools? |
Anonymous
I think that's right. But as part of the application process in later grades the ERBs are submitted with the child's grades. ERB scores can also be used to determine eligibility to apply to the Hopkins CTY program. |
Anonymous
| So you see your child's score, but not a score for individual schools? |
Anonymous
| No school score. The school can use the collective scores to say: Hmmm. Great reading comprehension, we seem a little weak on grammar let's work on that. Each year/class has its own make up, and there will be strengths and weaknesses from year to year. If there are consistent trends in strengths & weaknesses, it gives the school a message about their own program. It also gives parents information about whether, in the larger picture, their kids are basically learning at least what everyone else is learning. |
Anonymous
| Are private school teachers under any pressure to prepare students for ERBs? Do they engage in "test prep"? |
Anonymous
I think most teachers have a day or two of prep, in the sense that they get the children familiar with the ways in which they will be tested. Is that what you meant? |
Anonymous
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Yes. Thank you.
As you probably know, public school teachers are under tremendous pressure to raise standardized test scores. Our education secretary, Arne Duncan, is upping the ante, pushing for public school teachers to be evaluated, rewarded, or let go based on standardized test scores. Therefore, many public schools and public school teachers are increasingly devoting significant amounts of class time to test prep. I was interested in how private schools use test data. It seems, from what you have shared with me, to be a much more sensible approach. |