Standardized testing in indep schools

[Anonymous]

Which standardized tests does your child's school administer and in which grades? Thanks.

[Anonymous]

My son took the ERB test this year at Landon in 4th grade.

[Anonymous]

Do they post the average scores?

[Anonymous]

Your child's results are compared on a chart to other independent school students taking the test.

[Anonymous]

Private schools all over the country take the ERBs. 2nd grade is a prep-practice year, 3rd and 4th are reporting years. It goes on from there. Also, some public schools in very high socio-economic areas also take the ERBs as a control group.

Also, older students take the SSATs.

[Anonymous]

Can anyone enlighten me on how different the ERBs/SSATs in private school are from the DC CAS or SOL in public schools (as required by the No Child Left Behind law)? One argument I have heard from parents who put their kids in private schools is that they do not like required standardized testing and the consequential "teaching to the test" practices in public schools. Are there any educators out there who are familiar with both of these tests? Do teachers teach less to the ERB/SSATs? For parents with kids in both public and private schools, do you see major differences in how kids respond to these tests?

Thanks!

[jhuber]

Anonymous wrote:Can anyone enlighten me on how different the ERBs/SSATs in private school are from the DC CAS or SOL in public schools (as required by the No Child Left Behind law)? One argument I have heard from parents who put their kids in private schools is that they do not like required standardized testing and the consequential "teaching to the test" practices in public schools. Are there any educators out there who are familiar with both of these tests? Do teachers teach less to the ERB/SSATs? For parents with kids in both public and private schools, do you see major differences in how kids respond to these tests?

Thanks!

I cannot speak for public school test-taking, but my school's take is that standardized tests are a tool for assessing both student comprehension and programmatic strengths & weaknesses. We administer the ERB CTP4, as do many other independent schools. No big test-taking hoopla (banners, peppermints, etc.) for the students when they take the tests, just recommendation for a good night's sleep. Our Director of Teaching & Learning then works directly with teachers to analyze students' results (for outgoing / incoming students), and works with the curricular review committee to analyze how we fare as a school.

If the primary goal of a school is for students to do well on a test, it changes the structure and nature of teaching, especially if there are financial strings attached (teacher pay, school funding, etc.). I await the pendulum of educational practice to swing away from standardized test-centered curriculum.

An aside - is it just me, or does anyone else do a double-take when they see the abbreviation SOL?

[Anonymous]

If the primary goal of a school is for students to do well on a test, it changes the structure and nature of teaching, especially if there are financial strings attached (teacher pay, school funding, etc.). I await the pendulum of educational practice to swing away from standardized test-centered curriculum.


I agree that if the tests become too high stakes (graduation, teacher pay, schools in restructuring, etc.) and the schools are struggling, then it does change the emphasis on how teachers will structure their days around getting higher test scores. However, for schools that are already doing well on standardized test (as least by the meeting AYP standards), then I think the tests are not necessarily detrimental because as you have said, they can be used as an assessment tool to help refine curriculum and teaching. Personally, I also think that if the tests are well thought out to reflect testing an understanding of the learning standards, then they should reflect if the students have met grade level standards.