ERB

[Anonymous]

Anyone know how you can find out your kids score if the school doesn't share that information with you?

[Anonymous]

If they're subject to FERPA they have to show your child's educational records to you. They'd have to receive federal funds to be subject to FERPA. Whether or not they're subject to FERPA, what justification can they have for keeping you from seeing a test score?

http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/index.html

[Anonymous]

Agree with pp. There is a an official form that is mailed to all parents that shows the scores and what they mean. You should also get a letter from the administration of your school asking that you call them if you need help interpreting the scores.

[Anonymous]

PP here - do the schools to which you are applying also have an obligation to share the scores with you?

[Anonymous]

Your current school should be forwarding those scores to the potential new schools.

OP - sounds like your school is not sharing the ERB scores with you? Why?

If so, one thing the ERBs measure is how your school compares to other privates as well as all schools in general. The only reason I can give for keeping them secret is that the school is doing a poor job of educating in comparison.

Please tell us more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Agree with pp. There is a an official form that is mailed to all parents that shows the scores and what they mean. You should also get a letter from the administration of your school asking that you call them if you need help interpreting the scores.

In my experience, the results are mailed to the school, then the school sends it to parents. At one K-8 school our children attended, the school didn't send along to parents the data on how the child's class in that particular school did as a whole - only the data on how our child ranked in terms of national and independent school norms. In contrast, at our current school they send data about how the school (or that child's grade) performs as well as the national and IS standings.

[Anonymous]

Is this common for all privates are just certain ones? If so can you give names please? Thanks!

[Anonymous]

I have never heard of schools leaving info off the reports they send to parents. From my understanding, part of the reason ERBs are done is for the school to see how they stand in comparison with other schools. Technically, they are supposed to incorporate this info into their curriculum reviews.

If they are leaving information out of the reports, I would take this to mean that they don't want others to see that they are trailing other comparable schools. It would be a red flag to me.

A full report should include your child's class results and comparison to other private schools as well as national results.

[Anonymous]

Thank you for this. Our school does not report "school performance" either - I will def. be checking in with the head of school at some point.

[Anonymous]

My kids' private school doesn't administer ANY standardized tests in the elementary or middle school grades. I have always meant to ask why, although I expect I would be told that it is b/c the school doesn't want teachers to start "teaching to tests." Can anyone suggest any other good reason why a school would not administer standardized tests? I can speculate as to the not so good reasons based on some of the prior posts.... I also worry a little that come high school the PSAT and SAT are going to come as a big suprise for my kids, who have never seen any form of standardized test. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

PP, I can only think that the reason they do not administer tests (and most privates only start doing such around the 4th grade) is either due to the cost or avoiding comparison to other schools. I'd rather not guess and give them the benefit of the doubt. I would call the school and ask - it's perfectly within a parent's right to know.