ERB CTP Test

In order to familiarize yourself with what the test looks like and what types of things are asked, have a look at sample questions that are representative of the ones on the test in some of the key subjects:

The ERB (Educational Records Bureau) aims to provide meaningful and actionable assessments that allow schools to better their curricula, teachers to optimize their focus, and students to improve their education. As such, it offers two main testing programs that are designed to complement each other yet can also be utilized individually:

• The CTP is a comprehensive and detailed program that aims to assess curricular performance over a year and dives deep into knowledge and reasoning in several different subjects and subtopics. This test is aligned to the Common Core State Standards, ensuring it measures skills and knowledge relevant to your child's grade level.
• The Milestones Assessments are briefer and more generalized tests in mathematics and reading comprehension (for grades 3-8) that are taken periodically across the school year to provide formative assessment and interim results to assist students and educators in their learning and teaching. This test is aligned to the Common Core State Standards, ensuring it measures skills and knowledge relevant to your child's grade level.

Language arts and mathematics are the main areas tested on the CTP, with these topics (especially language) broken into many specialized subtopics, including reasoning skills assessments beginning in grade 3. Here is a list of the individual tests and in which grades they are administered:

• Reading Comprehension (Grades 1-11)
• Writing Mechanics (Grades 2-11)
• Writing Concepts and Skills (Grades 3-11)
• Verbal Reasoning (Grades 3-11)
• Vocabulary (Grades 4-11)
• Mathematics (Grades 1-11)
• Quantitative Reasoning (Grades 3-11)
• Science (Grades 3-9 only online)

There are also a few tests taken only in select grades:

• Word Analysis (Grades 1-2)
• Auditory Comprehension (Grades 1-3)
• Algebra 1 (Grades 7-9)

We are excited to introduce a study guide to help you prepare for Math Communication Questions. We also have included two quizzes for you to practice. For extra practice and support in math, check out our resources for 3rd grade math practice. Please note that to gain maximum points for a Math Communication question, students need to:

• Show all of their work and calculations clearly.
• Provide the correct numerical answer.
• Explain their reasoning and problem-solving process thoroughly.
• Use drawings, words, or numbers to illustrate their solution, as appropriate.

Here is a sample question. See how the student tackled this question and showed their answer.

The main difference between the CTP 5 and the previous versions of the tests is an increased emphasis on reasoning and critical thinking skills. In the past, CTP tests have focused on accumulation of knowledge and academic growth, with specific tests designed to test reasoning skills. In the CTP 5, different levels of cognitive skills are assessed throughout the tests, as they are embedded into the questions in each subject. Instead of simply demonstrating acquired knowledge of the material, you will be asked to apply it and recognize how to utilize it in different contexts.

The test categorizes the questions based on the degree and sophistication of reasoning required to solve them in a series of numbered levels called DOK, which stands for depth of knowledge.

The best way to prepare for the CTP 5 is to review what you’ve learned in school in each of the relevant subjects, study the material that is touched upon in the tests, and most importantly, practice answering questions that resemble the ones that appear on the test.

Your time in school is supposed to prepare you for the tests on an informational level, as the tests are designed to complement the curriculum, so the main task that remains is simply familiarizing yourself with test taking in the CTP format.

Taking practice tests will help you review the material while simultaneously improving your test-taking skills; it will allow you to demonstrate your knowledge of the material effectively as you will be familiar with the format and how the CTP aims to assess your understanding.

For students in 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades, preparation can be tailored to their specific needs and developmental levels.

In 3rd grade, focus on building foundational skills in reading comprehension, basic arithmetic, and understanding test instructions.

For 4th graders, enhance critical thinking abilities and reinforce skills in areas such as multi-step problem solving and writing responses.

For 5th graders, preparation should include honing more advanced skills, such as analyzing texts for deeper meaning, solving complex mathematical problems, and managing time effectively during the test. By targeting these grade-specific strategies, students can build confidence and achieve better outcomes on the CTP 5.

The ERB expresses your results in a number of different ways, and each one can be helpful for a different context in facilitating the students’ growth, the school’s teaching, the district’s curricula, and much more.

Therefore, the quality of a given student’s score can be subjective, as it depends on what you are looking for and what it is being compared to. Here is a quick breakdown of how the scoring works:

For every test you are given a raw score that is simply the number of questions you answered correctly.The closer this number is to the number of questions on the test, the better the score. The raw score is then weighted for difficulty of question on a scale that equalizes it across the various tests between subjects and previous attempts.

Each question answered correctly will give you a certain amount of points in relation to the level of difficulty such that the more challenging the correctly answered questions were, the higher the score will be. This score is called the scale score, and it is a three-digit number whose purpose is to be compared with others’ equivalent results in order to determine its value.

your score report will then proceed to compare these results for each subject with other results in the same age group within a class, grade, district, country, type of school or schools within the same association, For each of these comparisons, you will be given both a percentile (0-100%) and stanine (1-9) score that indicate how well you preformed compared to the others who took the test within that group.

So, for example, you may be given a raw score of 32 indicating the number of questions you got right on the Verbal Reasoning test, a scale score of 673 based on the difficulty of those questions and on a universal scale between the different tests, and then a series of percentiles and stanines comparing that grade to different groups, such as GN (grade norm) 86% or NN (national norm) Stanine 6—each great scores indicating a high percentage of your peers whom you outperformed.

The ERB has one of the most convenient and comprehensive score reports called ERB 360 Access. It is an interactive website that can be accessed through your ERB account, and it allows users to view results from each test, individually and compositely, including easy to understand explanations of what the reports mean.

ERB 360 Access incorporates both CTP and Milestones results when applicable, and you can view the results individually, collectively, or as compared to other students and norm groups divided by class, grade, district, country, and more.

It also offers tracking progress over the years or within the year, the ability to highlight specific skillsets and weaknesses based on norms and subcategories, as well as other helpful features, and the scores appear in the forms of raw score, scale score, percentile rank, and stanine.

The CTP 5 assessments are offered in an online format or paper and pencil, and they can be administered in school or even taken at home. On the test, you will encounter varying questions offering multiple choice answers from A-D.

The number of questions and allotted time differs between the tests, but in general, students are given more than enough time to complete all the questions—each test taking usually between 30-60 minutes. Students can move freely within and review all of their questions within a section, but once the section is completed, it is finalized, and a new section is begun.

ERB CTP Practice for 3rd Grade