ERB Information


Save the dates: Jan. 28 - Feb. 8, 2013
Make up dates: Feb. 9 and Feb. 10, 2013 from 1:00pm - 3:30pm

All 4th-8th grade students will take the standardized CTP tests published by Educational Records Bureau (ERB) during the weeks of January 28 - February 8, 2013. This year the tests will be given online. All testing will be done in Lab 1, Lab 2, and the library (where 20 laptops will be set up for the extra students in grades 5 and 6). Classroom teachers will proctor the tests for their grade.

The benefits to taking these tests online include:

  • It will show if the student skipped questions and with a click the student can go directly back to the missed question to answer.
  • Students can never get 'off by a line' and have their answers skewed by filling in a bubble in the wrong line.
  • If there is time, students can go back and review all of their answers.
  • Students can still use scrap paper. They will be provided with scrap paper for all testing sessions.
  • Students do not see the entire test booklet, but instead only one question at a time on the screen. While some schools report that this makes certain students anxious, other schools report less anxiety as a result of this difference from the paper-and-pencil version.
  • Students can see the question number they are on out of the total number of questions in the test, plus a timer clock in the upper right corner of the screen shows the remaining time.
  • If a bathroom break is needed by a student in the middle of testing, his/her test is paused without time penalty and may be automatically resumed at the same point.
  • If there is a power outage or internet failure, the test is paused where that failure occurred and will resume at that same point (for all students) when the problem is resolved.
  • Some schools reported test scores went up when they administered this online version.

We hope this information answers your questions. Please feel free to contact your child’s teacher, Jan Walker or Renee Durrant with other concerns or questions.

Jan Walker - jwalker@emerson-school.org
Renee Durrant - rdurrant@emerson-school.org