Now that I’ve had more time to analyze this year’s ERB scores, I can’t help but smile and applaud our success. Our students did an amazing job! They took these tests seriously, put forth a tremendous effort and reaped the benefits. I am so proud of their hard work.
Our biggest gains were in math. We saw outstanding growth in grades 4-8. The scores are broken into three norms: National, Suburban, and Independent. The Independent norm is the most competitive, given it is comparing reputable, college-preparatory independent schools across the country.
In 4th grade, our students outperformed the Independent norm in math by 19%, verbal reasoning by 12%, and reading comprehension by 16%.
In 5th grade, our students outperformed the Independent norm in verbal reasoning (12%), vocabulary (9%), reading comprehension (10%), and writing mechanics (3%).
In 6th grade, our students outperformed the Independent norm in verbal reasoning (6%), vocabulary (13%), reading comprehension (18%), and math (8%).
We had the most success in 8th grade by outperforming the Independent norm in every category tested: verbal reasoning (4%), vocabulary (6%), reading comprehension (21%), writing mechanics (10%), writing concepts (8%), and math (7%). WOW!
I attribute much of this success to our vertical math team. This team has worked extremely hard to establish standards and ensure continuity between grades PK-12, as well as to ensure that the curriculum is aligned with the assessments. Our vertical team will continue to meet and seek ways to take our curriculum to a whole new level.
As with any assessment, we did see areas on which we need to focus our attention. We have already begun developing plans to enhance student writing across the curriculum. Our English department will begin holding vertical team meetings this year to build standards and continuity PK-12. I feel confident we will see similar successes as we have in math!
If you still are having difficulty interpreting your child's test scores, please stop by. I am here planning for another wonderful year!
