April 2011
Dear Middle School Parents,
We will be conducting ERB (Educational Records Bureau) testing for all fifth, sixth, and seventh graders on the mornings of Tuesday, May 10th – Thursday, May 12th. These standardized achievement tests covering skills in language arts and mathematics do not require any studying or other preparation on your or your child’s part.
There are a number of reasons why we administer these tests each year. First, they provide us with an external check on how well our curriculum is leading to skill growth for our students as a whole. Second, they provide additional data on each student’s individual progress in key skill areas. Finally, since students will take other standardized tests in the future, they give students an opportunity to practice taking these types of timed, multiple choice tests that they rarely see during their regular program at Gordon. Besides being used internally, the results are sent to secondary schools in eighth grade as part of the Gordon transcript.
Your child’s teacher(s) will familiarize students with the structure, content and strategies for the test. You can assist us by making sure that your child is well rested, has eaten breakfast, and arrives at school on time on these three test dates. Testing will take place for most of the morning all three days. Please avoid outside appointments on these days, as make-up testing will require your child to miss class time. Also, please make sure your child brings a book to school to read each day in case he or she finishes a test before her or his peers.
If you have any questions about the ERB test or the schedule, please contact me.
I would also welcome the opportunity to share and interpret your child’s results with you. We will have the results soon after school is out for the summer. Please contact Kim Mongeon by email () or at extension 167 to schedule an appointment with me if you wish to review these scores. Parents of rising eighth graders will be shown these scores during your regular meetings with Ralph Wales, Sarah Whinery, or me in the secondary school guidance process.
Sincerely,
Danny Karpf
Middle School Director