ERB Milestone Testing
Dear Grades 3-8 Parents:
In light of the pandemic, we have decided to forego administering the full ERB testing program this year. In lieu of that, on April 14 and 15, teachers in grades 3-8 will be administering an instrument that we will use to assess the effect of the pandemic on student learning. The company that provides the ERB achievement test (the achievement test we have traditionally used each year) has created a product called Milestones, which is made up of two 40-minute tests, one in reading comprehension and one in math skills. This test is not the ERB we traditionally use. It is not part of a student’s file for high school admission. It is, instead, an internal assessment to help the faculty and administration determine areas to address due to the pandemic.
Students will practice logging into the ERB portal in advance of the tests to get familiar with the format. The question and answer screens are identical to the ERBs, so students who have taken the regular ERB in the past will find the format familiar. As is the case with any standardized test, students cannot study for this assessment. The best preparation is a good night’s sleep and a healthy breakfast. Middle School students must be sure to bring their fully charged Chromebooks to school each day.
You may wonder why we are choosing to use this assessment. We believe that the conditions all schools have faced during the pandemic, some (but not all) of which include limited instructional models, variable schedules, student’s emotional responses, and classroom environment, may have had an impact across the educational landscape. It’s also entirely possible that the resilience of our students has overcome these challenges. Nevertheless, we want to explore our students’ learning to be sure we are addressing any gaps. The data we collect will be compiled in a report to our families about the general trends we are seeing in regards to St. Michael’s experience in the context of the wider independent school community.
We will administer the tests on Wednesday and Thursday, April 14 and 15. If your child will be absent on either of those days, they will not be able to make up the test. If you have any questions, please contact Mr. Gregg or your Division Directors.
Sincerely,
Bob Gregg, Head of School
