I've often heard that it's a good idea to take a long walk around the neighborhood at night to get a sense of safety. Another idea might be to try to find a neighborhood listserv or blog on Yahoo or other hosts. That might give you some unvarnished feedback. You also could try to sign up for some neighborhood group (youth soccer for your kids or something like that), so you can meet more parents and hear what they have to say. It's sort of like commuter living in the neighborhood without renting there. A pain, but maybe worth it if this is intended to be your forever home.

Good luck!

With the next admissions season, I'm trying to find time to test the links in the FAQ, and update any dead ones. If you see any that are off, please let me know. Alternatively, if you think other items ought to be added, let me know. Better yet, if there is some topic you know a lot about, and you're willing to write up a short summary, I'd be happy to incorporate it. For example, two topics I know comparatively little about are financial aid and upper school admission tests.

Thanks. Good luck to everyone applying this season.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP from Sam2, if it wasn't obvious.

Sam2 doesn't post anon and I've seen posts where he has alerted all on the forum that posts that were libel have been taken down.

Huh? It was me posting. And I identified myself so it wouldn't be anonymous. I don't know what you mean about libel posts.

Here are some reports on a few schools' ERB results.
marymountsb.org/main/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/erb-10-sept-20.ppt
(also this article on Marymount http://marymountsb.org/main/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/celebration.pdf )
http://www.caryacademy.org/uploaded/Academics/Middle_School/General/documents/ERB_Report.pdf
http://www.sfds.net/Announcements/ExhibitA_ERB.pdf
http://classicalchristian.com/CCAWhitePapers/CCA_Achievement_Test_Summary_Report_Final.pdf

None of these are from the VA/DC/MD area, but they give a good idea of how the norm community really affects the percentile. For example, looking at the Cary Christian Academy (the last item on the list above), you can see at page 5 that their 4th graders scored at the 70th percentile on a national norm. But as compared to suburban or independent schools, their 4th graders were at only the 45th percentile. You can see a similar disparity in norms for the other schools.

I was reading some of the recent threads that discuss ERB scores, and I decided I don't know enough about them. So I'm starting this thread to collect information about ERBs and learn more. I will post useful information I find. If someone here already knows a lot about them and is willing to summarize what you know, I'd really appreciate hearing from you.

A nice slide show summary of ERBs from some Oregon school: http://www.oes.edu/us/ERB-tests.pdf . One interesting takeaway is that a child's ERB score percentile is completely meaningless unless you know the norming group. For example, one child may be at a 90th percentile on a national all-schools norm, but at only an 70th percentile on a norm that considers only local private and suburban public schools. Here are the different norm scales that ERB can use to compare students: http://erblearn.org/schools/difference/quality-assessment/norms-and-scoring .

Here are Wikipedia entries on ERB issues: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Educational_Records_Bureau . They provide interesting background on how the company operates.

Many people on parenting sites use "the ERB" as a shorthand for the test given to 3-4yo children in NYC, for admissions to private schools and the public magnets there. This test from the Educational Records Bureau is similar to the WPPSI (which is a more common measure in DC). The Educational Records Bureau also creates standardized tests for other grade levels.

Here are various DCUM threads discussing ERBs and ERB results. As I learn more, I may delete the ones that are less useful.
http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/37508.page#248553
http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/87372.page
http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/90861.page#717279
http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/91097.page#720258
http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/49770.page#347443
http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/55055.page
http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/58593.page#420736
http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/76600.page#576785
http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/120/190306.page#1816952

Very interesting article here on the effect of sibling status, diversity, and donations on admissions at top schools -- http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/06/nyregion/at-elite-new-york-schools-admissions-policies-are-evolving.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all . Lots of details on issues that interest many people here. I have not even finished reading it yet. I'll update later after I finish reading it. Enjoy.

ETA: I am putting below some of the quotes I find most interesting.

NYTimes article wrote:"Of those 62 spots at Trinity, one of New York’s most competitive schools, 33 were taken first by qualified siblings of Trinity students. An additional 11 went to children of alumni, who also get a leg up in the process, and one more belongs to the child of a staff member. That left 17 spaces for families with no ties to Trinity, giving those without connections a 2.4 percent shot at the prize."

On the idea that sibling preferences may hurt family donations in a tough economy: “You get more money from five families than two families with five children.”

"29 percent of students at 31 private schools in New York City were minorities in the last school year, up from 20 percent a decade earlier ... Minority students make up half of Fieldston’s lower school now ... Dalton’s 2011-12 kindergarten class is 47 percent minority ... Trinity’s 45 percent."

"Administrators at several schools, along with consultants, said the sibling crunch had intensified in recent years both because families have gotten larger and because families are staying in the city longer. The increased demand has led schools to rethink not only sibling and legacy preferences, but everything about the application process."

PP, would you mind sending me the full list? I'd really appreciate it. Send me a PM (private message) via DCUM.

It's commencement season, so many schools are starting to post college matriculation lists for their seniors. I've gathered a few. If anyone sees college lists for seniors, please post a link online. Alternatively, if it's a paper list, you can send me a PDF scan. If you want to keep it confidential, just login and send me a personal message so we can arrange something. Many thanks for any help in pointing me to data.

Congratulations to all graduates, and more importantly, parents of graduates.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Stone Ridge announced today that they have hired the new Lower School Head. Interestingly, it's a man. He seems to have a wealth of experience in elementary education.

Seriously - this has got to be a post from the school itself. Transparent.

I don't understand why you'd assume this post came from the school. It does not sound that way to me.

EZ Pass (Peace Bridge style)
iPhone
DC library card
Nike+ iPod
dried apricots
tomatoes
Digiorno frozen pizza (rising crust)
Ben & Jerry's
espresso
minivan
Amazon Moms
Costco
Tivo
Stuff You Should Know podcast
polar fleece
pistachio nuts

Try this: http://www.ehow.com/how_5154500_create-dvd-flip-video.html
Or Google "how to burn flip movie to DVD". Have fun!

Anonymous wrote:If anyone can share other ways to learn more about private schools that would be appreciated.

Try following some of the links in the Private School Admissions FAQ. Several point to articles and lists of local private schools with good information about enrollment, tuition, etc. I recall thinking that the Washingtonian list linked there was actually pretty good.

Go to thrift store and buy the fanciest and whitest clothes you can find! Perfect for mud. Bring your camera.

Interesting article by Alison Gopnik on learning for children. This is consistent with the move of many teachers toward a more progressive teaching style.
http://www.slate.com/id/2288402/pagenum/all/

Anonymous wrote:OK, but the rest of the stuff about how getting into a magnet depends on who your parents know and how much they are willing to donate to the public school system?

Maybe you missed the smiley face at the end of that post, which I took to mean that it was a joke. And I think that person posted up higher on this page to make clear it was a joke.