ERB results - 99th percentile

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP again.

Kid is in 7th at a K-12, we were planning to stay through 12th but kid is unhappy because they are bored. They did a great STEM camp over the summer and seemed happy again, now we’re into the school year and they complain that school is mostly memorizing with no deep engagement.

I don’t know what I’d push the school to do. Last year they at least let them finish math work in advance (they’d do 2 weeks of work in 1 day) and then do challenge problems, but Dc says it was boring and I think it was lonely.

I almost want to hear that DC is exceptional and might not be deeply engaged at most schools (depending on class and teacher of course), not because I need or want an exceptional kid but because I don’t want to change schools. But it seems silly to keep them at a place where they are bored. Everyone talks about Sidwell or STA being so rigorous, and I wish I knew what that meant. I don’t necessarily want the extra workload or pressure for my DC, but they obviously aren’t happy with the current situation.

Ugh.

Consider another school for high school, one with more rigor. Next year you can go on tours, have him prepare for and take the ISEE, and apply to more academically rigorous schools. You can't "push" his current school to provide him the experience of attending a highly rigorous school, and a rigorous course of study is by definition going to come with a high workload and some pressure.

[Anonymous]

It’s also an age problem. Middle school is tricky because kids are growing quickly but everyone is in a different place. I’d maybe supplement externally for now, and get more info on high school and figure out if that will be the right place for those years.

[Anonymous]

I knew you would get some negative responses, OP, but I believe your question is legit because these were the questions I once wondered to myself but never asked anyone. For us, moving DC into a school known for rigor was absolutely the right move. On the ISEE for upper school entry, DC scored straight 9's and only missed one question on the entire test. I actually have no idea how common such 99th percentile scores are at our rigorous private school, but DC is extremely happy to be surrounded by peers who care about academics. Your kid is already saying they are unhappy, so I would encourage a move, either to a high performing public magnet, or to a rigorous private.

We were worried bout a stressful, high-pressure environment, but it turns out that because DC works very quickly and grasps concepts easily, they have been able to thrive without much stress. I know that some of their peers are similar, and others have had to work a lot harder. What matters most is that DC enjoys the more challenging courses, and we have no regrets.

[Anonymous]

If your kid is in the 99th percentile on ERB, get them into CTY for additional supports and challenge. Your kid is not completely unique, but is above their peers. If you have intelligence tests (not achievement tests) that show similar results, you can also look into Davidson Young Scholars for more community.

[Anonymous]

+1 to CTY, Davidson. You can also try engaging with school to see if they can make classes more challenging in certain subjects.

[Anonymous]

AN ERB score in the 97 - 99 percentile is the private school equivalent of a participation trophy. At our very good K-8, it seemed like everyone got these scores.

[Anonymous]

I don't discuss scores with other parents, but my 7th grader at a local K-8 tests in the 99th percentile.

I think it would be more helpful to set the score aside, except as confirmation your kid isn't bored because he checked out and missed vital information. Just ignore it and focus on whether he's actually bored (really, like a week into the year?) or if he's lonely or if he doesn't understand how to come up with interesting questions.

This is a little bit of a reach and I'm not trying to be insulting -- your kid is doing STEM camp and working ahead in math ... is he ahead in anything else? Does he read a broad range of fiction or do any creative writing? Music, theater, ceramics, woodshop? One of the best things about private school, IMO, is the time and money that allows the kids to work on the arts. I think too much focus on STEM, especially "hard" STEM that tends to sneer at things like natural history and botany, is limiting and leads to less engaged minds overall.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Help me understand!

If child scores 99th percentile on ERB by national standards AND by independent school standards….

What percent of kids at an average private school in DC scores that high? (I understand statistics but I’m not sure if the DC area has 10x as many smart kids as nationally, or does ERB independent school stat only consider local area)?

Also, what percent of kids would you guess score 99th percentile in independent school group (NOT just nationally which is obviously much easier) at a top top school like sidwell or NCS vs a more average DC private like Bullis, St Andrew’s, Maret, etc?

For context: middle school child scored 99th nationally and 99th independent school in several areas including math and I’m annoyed our private school isn’t challenging this kid but I’m wondering if there ought to be 10+ kids per grade like that in this area, or if there truly is 1-3 kids per 100 per grade testing that high.

My kid scored 99th percentile for IN. My guess is about a third of her grade did the same. She's at a top private in a different large city.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most kids in this area score 100%.

Hahhahahahah.Hahaha hahaha.. liar. Not possible. The highest is 99.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, I’m confused both your question and thought process. Kid scored very well by any standard and seems to be learning. What are you trying to understand here, or is this an humble brag post?

I'm going will humble brag. Unfortunately if her kid is that smart they won't be if their parents are so dumb they can't grasp the scoring of a test with pages and pages about the scoring written online.

[Anonymous]

My kid scored in the 108th percentile and I was upset he wasn’t being challenged too

[Anonymous]

Davidson is different. It’s for the 0.001 percent. CTY is a better bet. If your kid were Davidson gifted, you would know it. Many are ready for college in 7th grade. (No bragging here, mine is not that kind of kid either but I know 3 of them.)

[Anonymous]

From Chatgpt:

Bottom line / practical guidance

If you care about how many students in your grade actually show up as 99th percentile on an ERB report, expect variability — small grades, ties, subject differences, and whether your school compares to independent vs national norms can make that observed fraction higher or lower. For stanine 9 (top band, 96–99) expect roughly ~4% of a large norm group to fall there.

In a class with 50 kids total, that would be 2 kids that got 96-99%.

[Anonymous]

I’ve worked in a variety of independent schools, and I’ve seen the span of ERB scores. There are a few things to know. We see students who are great at taking tests but not exceptional at in-class work. Some of these students have really great recall of information but weaker skills in the higher-order thinking that is required for a research project or multi-step mathematical reasoning—things the ERB does not test. It’s also unusual for a child to be 98th or 99th percentile in both math and language. That said, in an elementary grade cohort of 30-60 students at a good but not extremely selective school, I would see one to four students score that highly per year. I would also have one or two students who would score in the single-digit percentiles. Usually, these were students with diagnosed learning disabilities who were perfectly able to access the curriculum but who found standardized testing to be challenging. When class sizes were 10-20 students, the range of abilities was very large, and I was only provided with one curriculum, it was very difficult to get every student a “just right” level of instruction.

Look for schools that ability group for math and reading. Your child might still stand out as strong in the more challenging classes, but there will certainly be material that is appropriately difficult and engaging.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most kids in this area score 100%.

Hahhahahahah.Hahaha hahaha.. liar. Not possible. The highest is 99.

Joke missed.