Dear Parents,
We are coming up on the anniversary of when school closed last spring. It seems like it has been longer than a year, doesn’t it? So much changed on that day. COVID has changed the way we interact with one another and with your children. And, oddly enough, it has given us opportunities to do things in some new and creative ways.
The administration of the ERBs, our annual standardized testing, is a case in point. For those of you who are new to our school, Crossroads (alongside most independent schools) uses this testing form. It allows us to compare our students’ achievement to that in other independent schools, suburban schools, and schools across the nation.
For many years our teachers wondered how we might better utilize data from our ERB testing. Teachers wanted to be able to use the data during the school year, and it was helpful in overall planning for the following school year. But since the testing was historically done in the late spring, it was not as helpful as it could have been for tailoring instruction to benefit individual students. We longed to have that important information earlier in the school year.
Last spring, due to the pandemic and school closing for the year, we did not administer the ERBS. In looking at the calendar, we realized that this year would be the perfect time to switch from a spring administration to a fall administration so that we would have this helpful data early in the year. I called several independent schools and found that they are doing the same. After polling our faculty and finding strong agreement, we have decided to move our ERB testing to the fall. The next administration will take place on November 15-19, 2021. Thereafter, we will be able to track scores year to year in the fall for individuals, grades, and for the school as a whole.
Fall administration will include students in grades two through eight. Second graders take the test as a practice. Students in all grades will have the opportunity to take brief practice tests so that they can become familiar with the test format. When the results are returned to us in the fall, the data we receive will help us to track student and class progress year to year and to provide more accurate and timely individualized attention for your children.
Feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.
All the best,
Jean
