Anonymous wrote:

All the schools that test with the ERB, prep for the ERB. Usually this takes the form or 1-2 weeks of 2-3 hours a day doing practice tests. Believe me, private schools want good results against the independent school norm ( how else can they justify 30K in tuition). If your kid goes to a Private School, they will be prepped.

Not true at GDS. Little or no test prep. Definitely no practice tests for my DC from 3rd-8th grade.

Anonymous wrote:Are there ERB sample tests or practice questions available somewhere? My DC has never taken a standardized test before, and I'd like to familiarize him with the format, if possible. Not "test prep" -- at this point, his skills are whatever they are-- but I'd at like to help ensure that the test results capture his actual skills, and aren't too distorted by his lack of familiarity with format.

All the schools that test with the ERB, prep for the ERB. Usually this takes the form or 1-2 weeks of 2-3 hours a day doing practice tests. Believe me, private schools want good results against the independent school norm ( how else can they justify 30K in tuition). If your kid goes to a Private School, they will be prepped.

My DC did not take a class or practice, but he does like to read and so he does A LOT of reading. Websites like IXL are good for practicing skills in math.

Not sure why that posted twice. Sorry.

Anonymous wrote:Got the ERB results back. Kid scored in the 90th to 99th percentile compared to public schools and 75th to 95th percentile compared to private schools.

Well done to your child!
What grade? Our kids haven't done theirs yet. I don't know why I thought they were all done at the same time.

Oh thanks, but i wasn't trying to highlight my kids performce. I was trying to highlight the difference between public and private schools.

Anonymous wrote:Got the ERB results back. Kid scored in the 90th to 99th percentile compared to public schools and 75th to 95th percentile compared to private schools.

Well done to your child!
What grade? Our kids haven't done theirs yet. I don't know why I thought they were all done at the same time.

Got the ERB results back. Kid scored in the 90th to 99th percentile compared to public schools and 75th to 95th percentile compared to private schools.

If your school is any good, they should prepare the students for their first standardized test. Many privates do a prep test in 2nd grade to prepare the kids for the first real ERB in 3rd. If your school is not doing this, yiou should ask them to consider it. The ERB is actually pretty important and, if taken correctly, very accurate in assessing where your child is in relation to his peers. Unlike many other standardized tests, the individual results are ranked in accordance with the other local privates (good way to assess how your child's school is doing as well as your child), privates nationally, and certain suburban publics (usually the most highly regarded). If your child is aplnning on applying to a different school for 4th or 6th or 7th or 9th, the ERBs will be part of his/her application and are weighted pretty heavily by many ADs.

Anonymous wrote:Are there ERB sample tests or practice questions available somewhere? My DC has never taken a standardized test before, and I'd like to familiarize him with the format, if possible. Not "test prep" -- at this point, his skills are whatever they are-- but I'd at like to help ensure that the test results capture his actual skills, and aren't too distorted by his lack of familiarity with format.

In my experience the teachers give them a lot of opportunities to practice at school. I know that at my child's school they are doing a lot of practice tests right now as the time for the tests approaches. In addition my child brought home a stack of work sheets to practice over spring break. But to answer your question, I don't know of any actual practice questions. I know that some parents buy the standardized test prep books that you can find at barnes and noble or any other book store.

Are there ERB sample tests or practice questions available somewhere? My DC has never taken a standardized test before, and I'd like to familiarize him with the format, if possible. Not "test prep" -- at this point, his skills are whatever they are-- but I'd at like to help ensure that the test results capture his actual skills, and aren't too distorted by his lack of familiarity with format.

ERB's are not just used for curriculum eval. That is just the PC talk on them. They are often relied on to set expectations for a child by teachers in 2nd grade and up. If your school ends in 3rd or 6th grade, they are used as part of their application. If your child has an SST opened on them ( special learning needs meeting) the ERB scores are kept as part of the talking points, as in, "well look how low ashley scored on the verbal comprehension portion of the ERB and look at what the learning specialist said about... and the neuropsychologist's report says... " YUK.

Anonymous wrote:how do you prepare for them? I know that you aren't supposed to, but I am sure that some people do.

You can't really prepare for them, other than talking about multiple choice test taking strategies in general.

19:50 here. Sorry for all the typos and errors; it's been a terribly long day.

To PP, it's a very frustrating outcome. I wish there was a more meaningful assessment being used. He has never performed poorly on a standardized test. He has a 99th percentile score on the VCI vocabulary subset of his WISC-IV test, but barely got 50% corrent on vocab portion of this stupid one-shot, timed test that is the end-all-be-all for enty to a Gifted Center.

Same thing happened with my DC -- perfect accuracy on the math exam, but only got through about 1/2 of it, doing everything twice to check her work.

Anonymous wrote:If it is your kid's first time taking a standardized test, I would just remind him to take his time, answer every question (even if guessing) and to check his math work. Otherwise there is not much else to do to prepare.

Caution regarding the above advice. I said the same thing to my DS who usually a fast reader the morning of his Highly Gifted Center testing in Montgomery County. When he came home, I asked how it went. His response: "The questions weren't hard, but I was reading so slow and carefully and checking my answers that I only made it half way through each section." His scores results were at 60% accuracy so he was not admitted. I guess I shouldn't have left out the "answer every question."

If your child generally does well on standardized test, I would just say/do nothing....but that's just my anecdotal advice.