As we look ahead to our scheduled testing that will take place for all students in grades 3-8 this month, we wanted to provide you with some additional details and offer a parent coffee for more conversation. Salisbury Academy uses the ERB (Educational Records Bureau) to provide rigorous, level-appropriate assessments of student progress in meeting essential academic standards. Salisbury Academy uses the ERB because we believe it is the most respected and most rigorous standardized testing program used by leading independent and public schools across the country.
Salisbury Academy students take the ERB's CTP4R-Comprehensive Testing Program. This is a reasoning/achievement test battery that is designed to measure learning. Salisbury Academy uses results from the ERB to evaluate our curriculum, to review the progress of whole classes, and to monitor individual student progress. This test is administered over a five-day period and typically takes an hour or so each day. Students in grades 6-8 will test the week of April 16-20 and students in grades 3-5 will test the week of April 23-27.
Here are some tips for parents to help their children during the ERB testing week:
1 - Ensure students get a good night's sleep.
2 - Make sure students eat a healthy breakfast before school to nourish the body and brain.
3 - Keep to a schedule and routine during ERB week.
4 - Be on time to school! Students should arrive with plenty of time to get into "school mode" before taking the test.
5 - Encourage your child to put forth their effort without over-stressing the child.
6 - The ERB's are not an assessment you can study for, so don't try to study extra for the tests.
Parents will receive detailed student progress reports later this quarter. If you would like to learn more about the assessment or see a sample student report, please join me for coffee on Friday, April 13 at 8 a.m. for an overview and question and answer session.